Before this blog was started I would e-mail a good friend my Review of various DCI events - both the shows on the field and the event itself. Last night I attended - with son #2 (trumpet player, 7th grader) and about 4 dozen others - The Countdown, DCI's cinema review/preview. The corps were pre-recorded, the order pre-set, and so the deal this time is the event itself.The Countdown, featuring the fans' Top 5 of the previous three years, was in many senses a chance to see and hear what few of us saw live and most of us saw on the small screen in edited format. We sat with great anticipation - 6 great corps, wide screen, fabulous sound - a great way to watch drum corps!
Ugh. I called my good friend, who attended in another theater. "Was your sound bad?" "Yeah." "Ugh." So here we are with a chance to get people, including newbies (the guy behind me invited a date who has never seen drum corps) and high school band students, to really experience drum corps in a way only a live show can exceed, and ... the sound was just bad. A buzz. Front speakers only. So bad, even the picture didn't seem as crisp.
I take notes to expand my reviews. Rather than do that, here they are raw: "Bluecoats - Sounds flat." "Blue Devils - This is the movies, so why do we get analog TV technology?" "Cadets - No surrounding sound. " "Phantom Regiment - I get better sound in my car." Cavaliers - {No comment on sound; was mesmerized by design and my son observing something about the contras that I have never ever noticed! Check out their aussies ...} "Carolina Crown - 5.1 audio? Really?"
That last comment goes what Reliable Rondo. said about the (blu-ray?) DVD DCI is marketing "with Dolby 5.1!" If DVD buyers get Dolby 5.1, why didn't those of us in the theater?!
While my biggest disappointment is that there were no band kids in the audience (son #1 is with his band in Florida), when the sound in a professional theater is worse than what I heard at the "From the 50 Yard Line" screening, maybe that is a good thing.
Well, and something else. DCI ... so politically correct with itself ... in a show supposedly featuring the best of the best, the excitement of excitement, the event to sell tickets, ends with the Anaheim Kingsmen alumni corps, a throwback that means nothing to new fans. (Yeah, they have a role in the world, but not in the theater. I'll have to write about this later.)
It was not, as Carolina Crown's staff noted in describing the concept behind their 2008 show*, a powerful ending. The past few weeks have been fabulous experiences for me. It's a good thing that tomorrow I go see Blast! again. The Countdown was not the Fine' of a fine April.
* It's not on their website, but the open secret is what I think is setting up to be a Triple Crown topper they are calling Fine'. I - cannot - wait!
2 comments:
Wow. OK, so I was kind of on a mission after seeing Countdown last night, ready to gripe to anyone who would listen about our audio problems.
I am not an audiophile, but I think our sound quality was pretty good. The gripe we had -- pretty decent turnout in the Memphis, TN theater -- was that the audio trailed the video by probably a full second. Talk about messing with the General Effect.
But at least our audio quality was good; I couldn't decide whether to close my ears or my eyes; wanted a good experience one way or the other. Anyway... since no one else I have read has mentioned our problem -- maybe the issues were not with DCI but with the venues.
I went last night, and I was shocked to see there was no 5.1 audio mix. I've never even seen anything in a theatre where there was absolutely no sound from the side speakers, so it was an odd experience overall. Seemed cheap. Our video was pretty terrible- especially during the tight shots where they would zoom in then cross fade to a wide shot- it was very grainy.
I noticed Rondinaro talking about the DVD and mentioning the 5.1 soundtrack as well, and thought- what the heck?!! I paid $10 to basically see it bigger- I watched all the performances on youtube earlier in the day with better sound than the million dollar all digial theatre. (ugh)
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