fitecho063

Thank you all for you input. What I have gatherd is that the GE score is completely subjective. It can make or break any performance. As I read through a bunch of other posts, it seems that UIL is taking steps to eliminate the "subjectiveness" of GE when it comes to State competition. I find that encouraging for the most part. I also find that those schools that have the grand, GE heavy, shows are against this. Surprised, not really. If you keep going to the well with the same approach and keep coming back with a full bucket, why change it, right? My, and completely mine, opinion is that there is a mix of all things that works when done well. I guess my frustration with the judging is that those school that do not have the larger, prop heavy shows got passed over at BOA. I understand the difference between BOA and other competitions. What works at BOA doesn't always work elsewhere, and vice versa. Looking at the results from The Woodlands, it seems that what works at one BOA doesn't work at another, see Vandergrift at Arlington and The Woodlands. Not that it's bad, it is just difficult to put my finger on what is good and what is not. I started this thread out of my frustration with the fact that most of the bands I saw and liked, didn't make the cut. I know all the kids at all the schools work extremely hard and i will never dismiss their efforts. I admire every single person that steps onto the field. This is the best show going and I always get my money"s worth. As a person who has followed figure skating, I know that the system can and will be manipulated in order to succeed. When they switched to a points based on "tricks" we got a ton of "jumping machines" that won with big points. When the artistry was the determining factor, we got winners with less skill than others. When you find the balance of skill and artisty, it works. I feel that judges NEED some sort of benchmark to judge against, hense the technical scores, as well as a LIMITED influence on artistry and GE. If the show just doesn't work but has extreme difficulty should be punished for not working, as well as if a show works well but is not as difficult, it should be punished for lack of difficulty. Again, the emphasis of one over the other is what I am against. I was looking for a concrete answer to what the judges want and I guess the only way to know is after the performance and the schools get their critiques. Wouldn't it be more productive and create better competition if this was known up front?

Anybody have the scedule for next weekend?

My wife and I have followed DCI for many years. This is our second year attending local competitions and I cannot remember a single competition that I walk away from without scratching my head and saying WT? were they thinking there. I have read a bunch of posts on here and this seems to be a reasonably fair minded and informed. So please help me. I was at the BOA Arlngton and I was extremely confused with some of the results. Please understand this, I am not questioning nor complaining about them. I have raised a figure skater and have dealt with the reality of judges on several levels of competition. That being said, I could usually figure out what they were looking for. I am not trying to offend anyone, I just want tunderstand the scoring and interpretatin and these are the only examples I have so if I mention your school, I am not poking, just telling you what I observed. I cannot figure out what was so great about LD Bells show. It was good but I felt that they use too much technology and cheap emotional tricks. As a veteran I was almost offended by the use of the grave markers, it is a VERY powerful visual for so many people. What is the deal with Markus and the massive props? Their show was pretty much performed on half of the field because the props covered the other half. I just get tired of the melodrama they bring every year. It is almost too much. Hebron is a good band and I like their style mostly. Their show was so predictable I could see the formations before they happened and the props added nothing. They did not sound as good as last year but they were good. Richland, what the heck was that? The playground equipment, the sound effects, the not so conservative guard uniforms and the adult entertainment style dance moves? The show made zero sense to me. Forgive me if I am stepping on toes. I am just very confused. The use of props has become a distraction from the performance. After Marcus' show last year it looks like everybody is getting into the act. From giant rolling candelabras to stars stuck in the ground to synthesized elevated marimbas. All we need now is pyro and lasers. Sorry , a little off topic. Is the judging simply reputation and squeeze in a few other to make it look honest? Marcus performed an unfinished show that without the props would not have incorporated half of the field. LD Bell used so much sound effect there were portions I could not hear the band if they were even playing. Has the emphasis gone from marching and playing to sets and choreography or is there a tasteful way to combine it. Maybe I am off base and I guess that is what I am asking you all to hel me with. I need a little sanity.