5 Conversations Your Visual Designer and Guard Coordinator Should Have Before Writing Drill

This post is a supplemental to our Design Details Live Stream video from Visual Week Part 1. We had an INCREDIBLE conversation about this stage of planning in the context of a real show. Today, we are going to put some of those guard conversations into a list form so you and your guard coordinator can have successful upfront conversations that set you both up for sustained success.

Whether you are a drill writer/visual designer, band director, or guard director/coordinator, these conversation topics are starting points to help maximize the drill writing process and end up with the best product for your students. Having a plan for each movement is essential before the drill is written. 

These conversations could happen all at one time, over the course of the design process, or a combination of both. These conversations are a way to help make as many people happy with the final product as possible! 

1. Expected Moments
   • It’s always nice to think that the design team and the drill writer have the same ideas when it comes to using the music, but it’s ALWAYS the better choice to make sure you are all on the same page. Below are some “expected moments” you should discuss before the drill writing process begins.
     • Stand Stills
     • Solos
     • Special Characters (like Dorothy character in an Oz show or a Romeo and Juliet character set)
2. Guard Size/Skill/Specialty
   • The drill writer obviously needs to know the overall size of the guard, but it’s also important that they know numbers for the rifle or sabre lines. Some schools have a “weapon” line and those students perform both rifle and sabre, and some schools have different sets of students on the rifle and sabre-lines.  
3. Equipment Wants/Needs/Preferences   
   • Have a conversation about what equipment is being spun in each movement and when/where the equipment transitions need to take place. 
4. Props
   • By the time you are setting up drill writing, most of the decisions regarding props have already taken place. If it hasn’t happened already, make sure there is a conversation about who moves them (if they move) or if there are moments of interaction planned with the props. 
5. Sketches
   • Hopefully at some point the drill writer has sketched out some sort of storyboard before they actually dive into the writing process. It can be helpful to have a conversation around this story-board because it can be used to clear up any final misaligned expectations BEFORE the drill is written and not after.

These are not the ONLY conversations that take place at this point in the planning process, but they are a starting point to help the drill writer provide the best content possible for the program. 

If you have questions or comments, please share them below!