The month of September welcomes two beloved, highly anticipated seasons…

Fall and the National Football League!

 

As excited as our Pyware Team is that the NFL is back, we are overjoyed that the only two marching bands in the NFL use Pyware 3D to design their performances for prime time.

It is difficult to imagine celebrating football season, on any level, without marching band and the exhilarating performances that liven up stadiums. The harmonious relationship between football and marching band is undeniable — football provides a platform for bands to display their talent, and bands bring another level of entertainment and energy to football and its fans. We have witnessed some magnificent marching bands on the football fields of high schools, colleges, universities, and the NFL. Although we hope to see the NFL produce more bands in the future, our Pyware team is honored to work with the two bands that are representing teams in the league — the Baltimore Marching Ravens and the Washington Commanders Marching Band.

 

The Baltimore Marching Ravens were founded in 1947; they are a sizeable marching band, consisting of approximately 150 performers with diverse levels of marching experience. As large as the band is, they only have one night a week to rehearse. Pyware 3D furnishes drill designers with the most advanced features to write for ensembles of any size or style, but to also display drill to performers in an ultramodern way. Our team takes requests for custom props, equipment, and uniforms in our Real View Asset Store. We were able to work with the Marching Ravens designers, Corey Hamrick and Shawn Westover, to take their requests and deliver renderings of the band’s field and uniforms.

“The rendering of our field and uniforms are so helpful when we send out video samples of the drill to the membership. The band absolutely loved seeing the mid-field logo and end zones, plus the uniforms were such a nice touch!” Corey Hamrick said.

 

 

“We utilize Pyware to give our members all the tools to prepare ahead of time.  BMR uses coordinate sheets for every member as their main source for learning drill on the field, but we also make available drill charts and 3D videos with audio so they can review what is happening visually and musically,” Shawn Westover added.

 

The band is currently running our latest version of Pyware 3D, Version 11. Our development team has implemented several new editing features within V11 to bolster creativity. The program also has an enhanced running environment for a more vivid display of the drill, and has increased in speed.

 

“I have had an amazing experience while with the band. We are using version 11 and I am very happy with the updated interface.  During the creative process the updated undo features make it much easier to formulate good ideas,” Corey explained. “And when you get to see your drill performed in front of over 70,000 fans, you get a great sense of joy and accomplishment.”

 

The other NFL marching band, the Washington Commanders Marching Band, also has a long, rich history dating back to 1937. The band recently came back from a hiatus after the program underwent a re-brand. Following the band’s return, Lindsey Schueller was asked to take on the role of drill writer.

“My experience with the Commanders Marching Band and the entire guest experience and entertainment department has been fantastic. The band and staff are all great to work with and be around, and I really appreciate being able to attend rehearsals where we are putting everything together,” Lindsey Schueller said.

 

 

In addition to having limited rehearsal time, Lindsey also does not live in Washington D.C so making the most out of rehearsal time is of the utmost importance. The partnership our team has with Ultimate Drill Book allows bands with restricted in-person time a way to maximize their practice time.

“The coordination between Pyware and UDB has been very beneficial for myself and the band. I don’t live in DC, so my in-person time is limited. Being able to sync the music with the drill and instantly update over to UDB has allowed the band to make the most of their rehearsal time. Then when I am at rehearsal, I feel confident they know the show, and we can work on coordinating all the different elements together,” she continued.

 

 

The band is off to an exciting start to the season exhibiting their new brand, as they have already performed a coordinated halftime performance with the Command Force dancers, Beat Ya Feet dancers, Hype Squad, and the new mascot Major Tuddy.

 

 

Our team hopes to see more NFL marching bands develop in the near future!

Lindsey agreed, “I know many NFL teams have drumlines associated with them. I think it would be fantastic to see more marching bands grow out of that. The sights and sounds of a marching band are often associated with football anyway and could be a unique take on the marching activity.”

 

Again, we are honored to work with the only two marching bands in the National Football League and look forward to this season’s performances from these talented groups on the national stage.