Online Research - 3

For the next step on this project, I did more thorough online research. This included diving deeper into some commercial drill writers' websites and their associated materials, reading beginner boards on Pyware's forum, and researching publications like School Band and Orchestra. Here are some takeaways, questions, and observations from my online sources:

School Band and Orchestra: Techniques of Marching Band Show Design Review and Interview

• This article is an interview with the author of a book on this topic, so I'll try to get my hands on a copy of this resource for further research.
• The author emphasizes the niche nature of this activity: the best drill writers have a varied marching experience themselves, have a music education background, and experiences both learning and teaching drill. I'm lucky enough to have this set of characteristics, so this is reassuring to hear!
• The author recommends using a poster board-sized scaled football field and a set of beaded strings to physically experiment with forms and make shapes. This is an interesting method, and one I'm excited to try out some time!
• Similarly to my other sources, this author highlights the necessity of score study and a flow chart of events.
• Transitions between key forms are usually more important than the forms themselves, and they make up the actual meat and activity of the show. For this reason, this is where the author sees the most mistakes in young drill writers. 
• Similarly to an idea I had during the last article, this author mentions the importance of variety in guard staging. It's easy to fall in the trap of leaving the guard outside/behind/in front of the band for extended periods of time to avoid difficult transitions, but it makes for lacking/one dimensional drill and a lesser experience for the students. 

WWBW Custom Marching Program 101

• This article is a more goal-oriented, student-oriented approach to show design. These are generally aligned with my educational philosophies.
• While drill writing is often a very individual process, this article recommends starting everything with a staff meeting so multiple heads can work on tackling the same creative task. I also tend to be more creative when working with others, so this is definitely a step I'd start with.
• Related to the perspective of this article, it mentions how drill design should come from a staff discussion about the current strengths and weaknesses of the program, and what skills will be focused on that season.
• There is also considerable discussion on the importance of staging. Keeping instruments and parts in specific strategic places on the field during important parts of the arrangements can make or break a show. I have personally experienced drill with poor staging, and I can see how important this aspect is.
  • This may be another area that would be good to address with the whole staff in a subsequent meeting.
  • Staging of the color guard is another important decision that needs to include the color guard director so that the students' strengths can be showcased best. 

JJ Visual Design - Beginner's Guide to Drill Writing Part 1

• There are more audiences for a beginner's guide than I originally thought. The author points out that while he's mainly writing people like me who want to learn to write drill, some of these are also useful skills for band directors who don't write their own drill but may need to make edits, photographers of marching bands or other school groups on football fields, and other members of marching band staff. 
• The author points out needing a lot of information before you begin. He has a great all-encompassing list that I will include in my final product.
• Marking up the score before beginning to write anything seems to be a great way to develop familiarity with the music before accidentally writing something that doesn't fit in the big picture.
• I'm not sure I like the formatting of this author's production sheet, but the creation of a production sheet or map is crucial to creating an effective product that develops naturally over the course of the show.
• The author recommends saving all files twice: in their original format and in whatever format is needed for compatibility with other programs.

JJ Visual Design - Beginner's Guide to Drill Writing Part 2

• The author uses one template file no matter what program or piece he's arranging for to save time. It seems that Pyware can be a rather finicky program and that changing settings on it can be difficult. 
  • These templates are available for free on this website! Should I be able to get my hands on a copy of Pyware for my laptop, I'll make sure to look at these.
• This writer uses a color coding system for labeling dots, and I'm not sure how effective this is for the final products. Since drill sheets and packets are usually printed in black and white, you would have to go back and manually change colors at the end. 
• The author stresses the importance of developing a file naming procedure and learning keyboard shortcuts. I have run into file naming issues with some of my arrangements in the past, so I can understand the importance here. Overall, this is a system I need to better develop to be more organized. 
• On a related note, the author has a whole system for saving and backing up his work in several places. Since this is a program confined to running on one computer and not integrated into cloud services like so many of the things I'm used to working with, having a saving routine is crucial.
• Overall, this entry is largely about Pyware setup to begin writing a show. Getting a solid start will be important and save headaches later on. 

Pyware User Forum: New to Drill Writing

• This forum did not include much information itself; rather, it gave recommendations for further research
• Some of the above sites and one of the book sources I've identified were echoed as good resources here
• There was also a link to a set of instructional videos for using Pyware 3D version 7. While the current version has some changes and additions, the main operations are unchanged, so these videos may provide useful if I get a chance to work with Pyware.