How a DCI Audio Team Fixes Issues During the Show

[@Bludangel2-4A]

I’m gonna be honest, There comes a point when everyone is so dialed in, that it’s eerily not strange/panic inducing to see the sound guy flagging you down to tell you to use a different mic lol by finals week, as a performer, you’re so dialed in on where you and your fellow marchers bodies are, you can actually detach from what you’re doing and have quite a bit of situational awareness. I distinctly remember my fourth year age out, I was about halfway through the third movement when I noticed a dude housing down some Lucas oil chicken strips in the handicapped section. I remember literally running to my dots thinking “damn I could really go for some chicken strips after this” *breathe dah* “Lucas oil ranch is so good” *nails cover down* Probably the wrong answer, but I always loved those out of body experiences.

[@cerburus4215]

Which year ageout?

[@rumpus2051]

Now THIS is the content I’d love to see more of

[@urfathershady8706]

I seriously appreciate DCI audio crews for how hard they work and how much that work enhances the show. Also I was in the audience for this show! Loved mandies this year

[@demigr0539]

I remember the day after this show at rehearsal JW (the director) told everybody how the mic hadn't worked and they somehow got Charlie's attention to have him come to the front sideline for his solo at the end of the show. Super cool stuff

[@slackers_unite]

Not in DCI, but am part of a band crew for a high school band. We had an issue last year where as we were rolling out backdrops on carts onto the field, huge gusts of winds (ISU) were flipping carts over and pulling vinyls off of the carts. We had sand bags and even had volunteers on the carts. The ability to think clearly, not panic, and adjust with less than 2 minutes before the band was about to play was something that we, the Band Crew (dads), were very proud of. We were able to get the carts and vinyls off the field in time. The band played and made it to finals. In between the bands prelim performance and finals performance, we went back to work and making sure that it wouldn’t happen again. The amount of work that goes into making the show that people see I don’t even think is measurable. From the Band crew who builds props , hauls props, drive equipment and trucks to and from competitions, to the moms who adjust uniforms, to chaperoning, to feeding the band all as volunteers, to the techs to the band directors is one of the best things I have ever been a part of. Oh by the way, the band placed 4th in the ISMBC state championship. Cudos to all of support crew for bands in both HS Marching band and DCI.

[@DesignsByBrodhead]

This is awesome. Really appreciate the voice-over and explanation -- what an incredible job you guys do!

[@TheFarSideOfNj]

Wow! Thanks for sharing. It is really cool to see the back end to all of it. It’s important to know the level of detail and work too. I am willing to bet a lot of the people who complain about mics have no idea the level of quality and effort that goes into the productions. Kudos on a great season :)

[@bickettryan]

It's fascinating, but I don't think this would sway someone who doesn't like mics. It's like if you run into a frustrating software bug - there may be thousands of hours of dev work that fixed countless other bugs, but that doesn't make the bug you experienced any less annoying. Same could be said for going to a DCI show and hearing mic or other mixing issues that pull you out of the experience of enjoying the show.

[@TheFarSideOfNj]

@@bickettryan yeah I dig. I see a lot of people saying mics are lazy or cheating or easy. If they understood the complexity maybe it would sway them? Good point.

[@bickettryan]

@@TheFarSideOfNj I definitely appreciate the added responsibilities for the performers too. the soloist did an awesome job handling it

[@mcribbs]

@@TheFarSideOfNj It would not. Mic's aren't lazy or cheating but IMO they have zero place in DCI. I know it won't happen but I miss the real natural sound.

[@TriopsTrilobite]

especially when you consider every venue is going to have different acoustics

[@Nunyobidne55]

DUDE…..this show…..my favorite opener of the entire season…..LOVE LOVE LOVE it

[@samuelt8602]

awesome to see this kind of stuff. i was there all three nights and noticed that he wasn't on the platform but didnt think much of it-- handled so well

[@DerpOtron9k]

Super cool to see all that on the fly troubleshooting, planning, coordination, and execution

[@seansimmonsmusic]

Incredible job! So cool to see that level of trust and teamwork fixing sudden audio issues in the middle of a show like that. Very impressive. 🔥

[@bradleysampson8230]

Thanks for sharing! Great to see how an experienced team makes everything work!

[@saxman1815]

Very cool breakdown! Thanks for the info. And congrats on a great season! My favorite Mandarins show to date!!

[@SilverTheFlame]

Super cool video! Love seeing flexibility in mid-show recoveries :)

[@jnog_me]

This was awesome! Thank you so much for sharing! Loved the show this year!

[@killedbycrit]

it's so weird to get a video from the audio guy for your high school's marching band in your recommended randomly

[@dylankrell]

Super cool breakdown, thank you for sharing some behind the scenes work! I have a question, how did they signal the soloist at the end, hand signals or did they yell out to him?

[@mikeyca]

You can hear them yell out to him shortly before his ending solo.

[@dylankrell]

@@mikeyca Ohh, I see, thank you!

[@quadripedman]

Really interesting breakdown and great work triaging and mitigating the issue so quickly. I’d be interested in your opinion on having the same age/etc requirements on live audio people as traditional corps performers. Live mixing, electronics, effects, and the like have obviously become such an integral part of shows that it’s never going away (nor should it), and it almost feels like having a professional doing the live mixing is “cheating” in a way by diluting the youth aspect of drum corps. On the other hand, becoming good at this sort of thing takes so much experience that would it even be realistic to expect somebody so young to be able to to deliver the quality of shows that fans have come to expect by now?

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

I really wish one of the top 12 corps could go all-acoustic just for the fun of it.

[@kyoza5069]

I think you could strike a balance here by almost having like an apprenticeship or internship type thing, where up-and-coming audio engineers can get a chance to work with ensembles like this. Of course, you'd still need to know your stuff, but I think it'd be a great way to get more people to want to do live sound for large ensembles (there's a huge shortage of marching arts engineers, actually). Some groups this year definitely had some audio issues, I think having new talent could maybe help in having some creative solutions. I dunno lol, as an audio engineer in training I'd definitely love to have the chance to work with a drum corps for a summer!

[@BluesClues2s]

@@kyoza5069 most world class drum corps have audio internships, just reach out and apply to the ones you like! the reason there's a shortage is because the pay is terrible for the skill and commitment required, so it weeds out most engineers, leaving only the most committed people. Which means everyone you're gonna be working with is only there because they deeply love it

[@TheAbbster79]

really cool, never get to hear from a sound engineer about things like this

[@nathanlewis1918]

Yeah man. Great work! 🙌

[@TubaVisionary]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing

[@stephencardone7549]

If only a trumpet could be heard without microphones. That would be huge for this activity!

[@microsoftedge682]

crossmen 2012 screamer. He played so loud on his part he didn’t even need a microphone

[@jadenwright9714]

Most of these performers could be heard either way. The thing is, this is a very lyrical solo used to set the tone and close the show that wouldn’t have nearly the same effect if he was playing as loud as he could. It’s not because they can’t but more so that the show can be just that much more complex by having a softer lyrical solo

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

@@jadenwright9714I personally would have preferred that solo be non-mic'd, in that case.

[@angelocooper7631]

So Cool!

[@alexalmond6862]

Sick as hell

[@greghahn8337]

Now I'm wondering if the GE judge dinged that as a focus issue on the ending soloist...

[@carlosdiaz5486]

Hell yeah! Since yall are touring the country, are yall using Axients? And out of curiosity, what console?

[@hsbsikua]

10 channels of ULX, you can cram them pretty tight so we didn't really have issues running out of space with so few channels. We were running an Allen and Heath SQ7 for the console

[@jerroddouglas]

Pros.

[@DerpOtron9k]

But what if I'm a one man audio team? 😭

[@Wowplayer998]

How does one get into the world of audio with DCI?

[@BluesClues2s]

apply on the corps websites

[@dcloud3791]

THE NERVES

Maybe they should think about having earpiece for soloist. 😊 Time for rule change.

[@kyoza5069]

Having an in-ear monitor for soloists is actually allowed in the rules I believe, I know Bluecoats has used IEMs in the past (the most notable I can think of is the keytar soloist in '22 iirc) but Bluecoats also has one of the best audio teams in the activity. A lot of the traditional "concert setting" uses for in-ears like click tracks aren't allowed most likely, but I don't think that the uses like cues and communication from the engineers are banned. With the way drum corps is going more corps *need* to be using in-ears for soloists, it would make it a lot more seamless and easier to work with.

[@jaydenheddon7872]

w charlie

[@drumcatnau]

All these years, and stuff still doesn't work. Wired reinforcement should be all that's allowed.

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

Screw wired reinforcement, we should go all-acoustic just like 2003! Note: This comment is half-satirical and half-serious. I love so many shows from the early 2000s, but I also enjoy a number of shows from the mid-2000s as well, which used amplification in very clever ways.

[@drumcatnau]

@@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer I was never bothered by pit instruments getting a boost, but that's because they''re not literally instruments made for outdoor use. I find it absurd personally that any brass ever needs amping. Too many shows we've seen prove it's silly. I'd rather hear them "overplay" than hear what a processed trumpet sounds like over a PA system with crackle and hiss. No thunder goo needed. I think it insults the kids and their enormous talent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

@@drumcatnau I do think something magical was lost when front ensemble amplification was legalized in 2004. By that point, advancements in mallet technology coupled with better technique meant you could truly hear the front ensemble without hearing aids. This was especially true for the Cavaliers. In fact, during the 2003 vote on "should we legalize amplification?" the Cavaliers were the only top 12 corps to vote "no."

[@UbuntuBanksie]

Really interesting! It’s a little cringe of the staff to yell to the soloist during the performance. Does it make sense to give the soloist an IEM if they are that crucial to the show?

[@TheAmazingRaptor]

This wasn’t something they were anticipating. How would they have been able to get their attention otherwise

[@E_Bagels]

God forbid the soloist have a clue of what's going on.

[@Encyclopedist]

The hard work behind the scenes is impressive and the fast-thinking crew and flexible soloist are to be commended, but...