2022 6A UIL State

[MikeKyu]

I don't believe that we should try to get UIL to change the provider. The stream has been stable and the sound is good. No complaints there. It is on par with FLOMarching and BOX5. My only quibble is the lack of a high cam. I have a belief that this service is much more financially friendly to UIL so that's a good thing. I also like the option to donate a portion of my subscription to a certain school. Great touch! I believe that we just need to ask them not to treat this event like a football game. In my email to them I pointed out that no high cam coverage is the same as  braodcasting a football game and in the middle of the biggest plays focusing the camera on the left guard while completely missing the flea-flicker long bomb that just went for a touchdown. 

Cy-Woods had a great show today. and the FloMo show seemed to do well. 

[Parkwoodmom]

1 hour ago, LeanderMomma said:

Please email any and all streaming issues and complaints to music@uiltexas.com so this never happens again!

Dang! My email was returned. Is the address a .org and not .com?

[1998-2018]

1 hour ago, FaultLineBlues said:

Timber Creek sax soloist has a killer beard

His playing has matched his beard too. He has definitely thrived during this season and his moment in the sun.

[bk_bobb]

20 minutes ago, MikeKyu said:

I don't believe that we should try to get UIL to change the provider. The stream has been stable and the sound is good. No complaints there. It is on par with FLOMarching and BOX5. My only quibble is the lack of a high cam. I have a belief that this service is much more financially friendly to UIL so that's a good thing. I also like the option to donate a portion of my subscription to a certain school. Great touch! I believe that we just need to ask them not to treat this event like a football game. In my email to them I pointed out that no high cam coverage is the same as  braodcasting a football game and in the middle of the biggest plays focusing the camera on the left guard while completely missing the flea-flicker long bomb that just went for a touchdown. 

Cy-Woods had a great show today. and the FloMo show seemed to do well. 

This streaming service is definitely sub-par.     The sound quality is lacking and the image quality seems very low-resolution.    Like, are they using HD cameras?   

after watching box5 (and Flo) livestreams all season, it’s night and day.  

such a shame for those of us that can’t be there in person.  

[1998-2018]

28 minutes ago, OldViolet said:

Are there any mics down on the field?  Other than the ones the bands use?  Does not seem as loud today. 

Both 20’s and the 50.

[TXTrumpetGuy]

Here are some thoughts on the bands who performed in the first block:

CTJ: This isn't my favorite Claudia Taylor show by any stretch, but it's steadily growing on me. I thought their run on Saturday night was stronger musically, but they will be solidly in finals and the top 5 conversation.

Cedar Ridge: The colors of the props and guard flags serve as a nice contrast with the band uniforms - and the jam session at the end is so fun.

Timber Creek: Best run of the year, in my opinion. The staging of the brass in the ballad is so great, especially given how well they play timing-wise in that section. The guard was on fire today! I hope we see this again tomorrow afternoon.

Pearland: Wow! I really love this show. I missed their BOA runs this weekend but I definitely understand why they're becoming a perennial San Antonio finalist. They look and sound so, so good.

Cy-Woods: The best run I've seen from them too. I never thought I'd hear Four Scottish Dances on a marching band field, but I'm sold!

L.D. Bell: Another beautiful field design, I think that might be the best I've heard the brass sound all year! Bell being back at State is good for the activity.

College Park: Some really wonderful ensemble sounds from the brass today. The execution is phenomenal across the board; from the music and drill to the choreography, solos, and guard work. I really enjoyed this show.

Duncanville: I only got to catch the last couple of minutes due to the stream starting late. The vocalist is nails every time, and I loved hearing about the collaborative efforts of the Duncanville fine arts community in bringing this production to life!

 

[FormerWildcat]

As far as the stream is concerned, two main factors need to be considered.

1. How much does the recording equipment cost?

2. How much does the labor running the equipment cost?

Camcorders start at around $100, with "professional level" camcorders going for around $1,500. Soundboards start at around $50, with the top-of-the-line selling for about $1,000. Overall, a professional recording setup consisting of all brand-new components and field microphones could cost tens of thousands of dollars, but you could theoretically have a reasonably good recoding setup for under $1,000.

Let's say, for instance, you have two camera operators, one audio tech, and one visual tech. I'll assume that all four employees get paid $15/hour. Assuming that they're on the clock for 50 hours during the duration of the state contest, the cost of labor to run the competition is $3,000.

I have no idea of the viewership numbers for the state contest, but I'll throw out that 1,000 parties decide to fork out the $5.99/month fee to watch. You'd receive a revenue of around $6,000, for a profit of $2,000. This is of course assuming that the equipment has never been used by the recording company and will never be used again.

The factor that could be a wild card is the cost to actually stream the contest. I'm assuming the costs of transmitting it over the internet are negligible and mainly fall on the consumers, but the cost to build an interface (or, at the very least, the cost to license an existing interface) could be fairly significant. 

My analysis could be completely off, and I'm excluding certain factors (mainly taxes). Still, it would be interesting to know if these streaming services (TXHSFB, Box5, FloMarching) are actually profitable. 

[itsjaredh97]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but are they taking 14 finalists instead of 12? Never would have thought there'd be enough bands at the competition to field 14 but would be pretty sick to let in a couple more of the bubble bands.

[Gehrig4]

Just now, itsjaredh97 said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but are they taking 14 finalists instead of 12? Never would have thought there'd be enough bands at the competition to field 14 but would be pretty sick to let in a couple more of the bubble bands.

Yep!  14!

[Vidal28]

2 hours ago, lost said:

Well where can we find someone with an Ipad and a portable charger?

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Why haven’t I thought of this before, I hate using my phone and constantly cycling between forums along with it to where my battery’s already dying halfway through the day. Might be a good investment for me, purely for my enjoyment of the shows and for capturing some programs more effectively haha

[sogeg]

How was Keller’s run today? I don’t have the streaming service (and from the sounds of it, I don’t want it)

[bancl]

Keller with their best run in the Dome so far!  I wasn’t digging this show early in the year, but wow wow wow they were fantastic today!!!  

[Vidal28]

Is the 6A state field we have today as strong as a Grand Nats Semis level event? Asking for data🤔🤔🤔

[Dallas Hobbs]

Cedar Ridge Prelims Performance 

 

[MikeKyu]

3 minutes ago, Vidal28 said:

Is the 6A state field we have today as strong as a Grand Nats Semis level event? Asking for data🤔🤔🤔

IMO no, it's not as strong as Grand Nats Semis. The top 14 bands at a Grand Nats Semis (for a like comparison) would band for band be a higher level than 6A UIL state semis. You cannot downplay the power, strength, and consistency of bands like Carmel, Avon, Blue Springs, Broken Arrow, and Tarpon Springs. Would a few of these bands have a shot at beating them? Absolutely! But with all of these bands being consistent Grand Nats attendees they tip the average strength of the top 14 in GN Semis. That's not a bad thing, just realistic.

Is Texas' 6A state contest the best top flight State contest in the country? Yes, I believe it is. But we cannot take that and compare it to the best bands all gathering for one contest. No shame in that. 

[Dallas Hobbs]

I think the audio/visual is good it’s just that they don’t always focus the camera in the right spot😭 like when a section/soloist is featured the camera will be somewhere completely different. I’m also against the lack of a high-cam option. 

[MikeKyu]

Frenship going ham with U-87 or U-87 clone mics on their soloists. I love it! 

[LKendrick]

If they could just have a high cam option I would be happy.  

[MikeKyu]

1 minute ago, LKendrick said:

If they could just have a high cam option I would be happy.  

Since I cannot like this comment more than once I'm quoting for emphasis

[FEDude]

14 minutes ago, Vidal28 said:

Is the 6A state field we have today as strong as a Grand Nats Semis level event? Asking for data🤔🤔🤔

I'd say somewhere along the top 15-30 the bands would stop making GN semis.

[TXTrumpetGuy]

Second block thoughts:

Reagan: It could have been the stream, but it felt like there were some weird timing issues between the winds and front ensemble that I haven't heard before. Regardless, it didn't detract from the overall performance; I discover something new in this show on every viewing!

Flower Mound: The drill in the closer is so cool. One thing Flomo is going to do is hide musicians inside a big prop, and they never disappoint!

Keller: The bicycle set is one of the best drill moments of the year for me. The music in the opener is HARD and they are playing it really, really well. They may have my favorite ballad of the year too. Still don't think we've seen Keller at their peak yet this season, but I have a feeling we will tomorrow!

Lake Travis: I love the dynamic contrast of the music in this show. Those kids know how to have you on the edge of your seat listening to some beautiful soft playing, but then they can smack you in the face with some huge sounds. 

Wylie: Those are some BIG sounds! The multiple tonguing from the brass in the closer is sick - they are playing snot out of that music book. A great performance!

Bridgeland: I'm a sucker for any show that uses music from RENT. I loved seeing the energy and excitement from the band on the field, and their directors on the sideline! I know there's tons of proud parents and teachers cheering them on right now.

Frenship: Let's go color guard! Some beautiful flag work in the ballad. The brass sounds great in the closer - I hope the students had as much fun performing this show as I did watching it!

Stephen F. Austin: Super fun show. I hadn't seen this one all the way through yet, and it was thoroughly entertaining! Really enjoyed all of the musical selections.

Three blocks to go; it's going to be so difficult to pick just 14 bands from this lineup. The judges definitely have their work cut out for them!

[MikeKyu]

Speaking of the judges, who is on the panel for this contest? 

[Dallas Hobbs]

I’ve noticed that UIL state announcements have changed over the years. Past years it was “the next band in conference 6A is the abc band from xyz, TX. Directors for the band are lmnop. Drum Majors for the band are qrs. Etc etc”

 

Last year it was similar only they didn’t announce the directors and they said the drum majors names after the show musical selections. 
 

this year it’s similar to BOA. I’ll admit it’s weird hearing “the UIL is proud to present”🤣

[Dallas Hobbs]

9 minutes ago, TXTrumpetGuy said:

One thing Flomo is going to do is hide musicians inside a big prop, and they never disappoint!

Omg I just realized they did a “bassoon box” thing again! Similar to 2014. And yes I was giddy about both because I played bassoon in high school 👀🤣

[TXTrumpetGuy]

Just now, Dallas Hobbs said:

Omg I just realized they did a “bassoon box” thing again! Similar to 2014. And yes I was giddy about both because I played bassoon in high school 👀🤣

It's a nice touch every year - I believe there was also a choir that emerged from an egg in the closer at one point a few years ago as well...