What is Demand? And How Should a Visual Designer Deal With It?

Before launching into a short discussion of this topic, I feel it important to define a few things. This takes me back to my old Central States Judges Association days. That was when I would sit in meetings listening to folks go on and on arguing over the definition of individual words/phrases contained on a judging sheet. Riveting! Okay, here are the key terms and definitions I will be using in this entry.

Demand: The Physical, Mental, and Musical Difficulty Level of the Production being performed by individuals.

Density: The number of Exposures to error presented to an individual over a certain length of time. Number of Exposures/Time

Exposure: Everything an individual performer is asked to do during the Production. Every note, every movement of body/equipment, and every step. Actually, just standing there is Exposure.

Now, when discussing Demand, it usually leads us to competition/scoring, etc. But, even the Friday Night Only High School Marching Band will have Demand in it’s Production based on the number of Exposures or Density.

Most judging sheets reward Demand even if they don’t actually use the word. Take a look at this excerpt taken from the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association Ensemble Ballot:

Evaluate the ability of the designer to create a seamless process in combining the visual and musical program. Reward the overall skill of the performers through their achievement, which measures the ability to perform their responsibilities not only of the visual but also of the visual in combination with their music responsibilities. Evaluate WHAT is being performed and HOW it is being performed. The construction and content of a program, in combination with the performance level which is being demonstrated, will determine the achievement level.

Demand is included in the What.

Most would call the What + the How Derived Achievement.

Now, a group can have the absolute best most amazing show written for them both musically and visualy and not have a quality product. If the How isn’t happening, it just won’t be effective.

Here is the list of things the Visual Designer must consider about Demand.

1. The Visual Vocabulary of the ensemble. This is a Physical consideration. What is the Visual Basics Program like?

2. Density. How often is a performer asked to perform a skill during the Production?

3. How many unique skills does the Production require of the performer? (Set count could go here as well)

4. Simultaneous Responsibilities. Playing music while moving. Layering of moving/music and body movement. Using the Triad; moving, body, and equipment.

5. Length of Production. Mental and Physical Fatigue.

WILD CARDS

The Inherent Demand of the music book. When the music book is Dense, the visual book may not need to be and vice versa.

The performance goals of the director/organization.

Gauge the experience level of the ensemble by element. Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion, and Color Guard. Different elements will have different experience/skill levels within the same organization. Is the group younger? Or older?

Amount of rehearsal time. It’s all about the reps, Baby!

Size and experience level of the Educational Staff. How much attention will the performers receive from the staff during the season?

How committed overall is the entire organization to the pursuit of excellence?

Now it’s always fun to have a client say, “Write whatever you want!” It’s also a little scary. As a designer, you have to learn as much about the group as possible before writing a single set of design. Here is a list of guidelines for the Visual Designer Writing for a Less Experienced Ensemble.

Keep it on the Grid as much as possible. Whole number intervals, 2, 3, 4 for Winds and Percussion. 6, 8, 12, 16 for Color Guard.

Avoid having changes in interval between every set. Establish an interval and stay with it for a few phrases until there is an obvious change in the music that signals a change in density/texture of form needs to occur.

Avoid using LOTS of straight lines. Curves are actually EASIER to clean. Just think about Diagonals….This is another form of Exposure.

Avoid forms that intersect both HASH MARKS. Did you know that High School Hash Marks aren’t really 28 steps apart?

Give the ensemble breaks where they can stand and play. Don’t move everyone all the time. When they play, let them stand and then move them during their rests. This will give the illusion of constant movement without the Demand. It will also keep the overall Set Count lower. think about the Volume of material to be learned in the Production.

Keep the Drumline centrally located to avoid timing challenges.

Keep step sizes between 6 and 8 to 5. Use 6 to 5 to get velocity combined with contrary motion to accelerate.

Only move the Color Guard and Drumline when you absolutely have to. Let the Color Guard concentrate on equipment/body work as much as possible.

Avoid the outside of the tempi spectrum. <80 and >144. Rather than marching the quarter note at 60, march the eighth note at 120 (double time). Rather than marching the quarter note at 180, march the half note at 90 (half time).

I love to hear from readers. Let me know what you think in the comments below.—DB