Interviews - 8

Today, I conducted two of my interviews for this project with wind conducting AI Ben Alaniz and Prof. Eric Smedley. I chose these individuals to get a mix of perspectives on the topic at hand. Dr. Smedley arranges music and writes drill for at least one Marching Hundred halftime show each season, and has had some experiences writing for other high school and college bands. As the assistant director of the Marching Hundred, he also works with the finished products of drill writing in our rehearsals. On the other hand, Ben does not have the breadth or depth of experience with drill design that Dr. Smedley does. As a high school director, Ben ordered and worked with drill that worked well, and drill that didn't. Here at IU, he has just written his first full halftime show for the Marching Hundred, and I was interested in his experiences learning and writing for the Hundred. Below are some takeaways from each interview:

Interview with Ben Alaniz

• Based on his experiences directing in Texas, nearly everyone hires drill writing out. Even smaller schools with limited funding hire drill writers and show production companies.
• Per Ben's recommendation, don't write drill for your own school. It's a time consuming process that's typically paid for, but paying yourself is clearly a conflict of interests.
• During the orientation with a drill writer, make sure to cover topics like strengths of the program, specific unique identifiers to the group/school/community, and a healthy balance between abstraction and easily grasped concepts.
• When writing for a new school, always ask for videos of previous performances and specific things to avoid. 
• The only time he's fired a drill writer was due to a communication issue. Always set communication and due date expectations in a contract before the writing starts.
• When looking for inspiration, look at previous performances and try to identify common threads and things that may be missing. For the Hundred, a common thread was popular music, but women composers were missing.
• Choosing music that the students can get behind, appreciate, and connect to can make or break a show.
• Most production companies will handle obtaining rights, but always double-check this and get a copy of permissions for you to keep.
• Writing for a new school is similar to a director transition: don't change anything too drastically the first year; use previous productions as guides.
• Working within constraints can be super frustrating, and can limit creative outlet, but requires an ingenuity that is useful as a drill writer.
• If you can't explain your show in one sentence to a non-musician, it's too complex or abstract. This hit me and I expect it will stick with me. I've seen plenty of super abstracted shows that ended up confusing me, as a marching musician, so I can imagine how quickly they will lose an audience of parents and community members.
• Gear towards doing something simpler really, really well instead of doing something difficult at a mediocre level. If you have to ask yourself if it's too hard, it probably is.

Dr. Smedley

• At his first job out of undergrad, the percussion director was also the drill writer. This avoided a conflict of interests discussed above, and meant the staff got to work closely on the drill. I almost had a similar opportunity as a brass staff member of a high school band in Pittsburgh this summer, so it's exciting to see this as a realistic possibility.
• His favorite competitive show was Civil War-themed, and included band members battling each other, dying on field, and being replaced by headstone props. However, the actual drill for this show was rather simple and easy to clean to a high level of accuracy. This reinforces one of the sentiments Ben left me with towards the end of our interview.
• When I asked what were some hallmarks of inexperienced drill writers to avoid, he primarily addressed areas of disconnect with the music and the visual design. Just like I've read in several texts, staging instruments effectively is important. He also pointed out the necessity to match physical demand with musical demand. If a section has to play a fast technical passage, asking them to execute a difficult maneuver is not a good idea.
  • On a similar note, these can also be important indicators to check when hiring out drill. When evaluating drill for your band, always ask for an animation to watch while you watch a score to check for these two ideas.
• Dr. Smedley further underscored the concept that the movement is what makes up the show much more than just the sets. 
• Technique for visual inspiration: video yourself conducting the piece, and rewatch to look for areas of hard or soft motion, contrary ideas, and even shape ideas based on gestures.
• While most competitive drill is asymmetrical, forms can be symmetrical around other places than the 50 yard line. This is an interesting idea that I'll definitely want to explore.
• Having clear and firm due dates for all members of staff involved in production is a must. If arrangements get behind, drill will be behind, and choreography, prop design, guard work, and several other areas can be impacted by one person's overage.
• Fun Fact: Hundred camp is scheduled the way it is so the directors have time to write drill during our extended breaks during the day so nobody has to stay up late into the night writing.
• Save all of your work to add to a portfolio! This is how drill writers are hired. This website could be a good starting place for this to become something bigger if I'd like.
• Dr. Smedley echoed Ben's ideas that doing simpler drill at a higher level is the way to go. He said he has never met a judge who has disliked the simplicity of a show. Instead, they often lament programs that bite off more than they can chew.