Color Guard
(in progress)
Instagram @leighcolorguard
What is Color Guard?
Color guard is what a lot of what people might know as 'flag twirlers', but it is much more than that in this day and age. Color guard is a performing arts activity that combines music, dance, and spinning into visual story-telling. The usual equipment includes: flag, rifle, and sabre. Other equipment may be used in addition along with props during a show depending on the theme for that specific season.
Two main types of color guard are marching band color guard and winter guard. During the summer and fall seasons, marching band season occurs where the guard participates in half time shows during football games, parades, and competitions alongside the band.
In the winter/spring time guards compete independently and indoors on a gym floor covered by a vinyl tarp.
Every season, there is a different show theme making each one unique. The combination of music selection, uniform design, floor tarp, props, and synchronized movements visually brings the show’s theme to life.
The Design Process (to be continued...)
Typically marching band season prep starts the year prior with the band director in deciding the overall show concept. Towards the end of the school year heading into the summer months, the rest of the staff is involved in ironing out the details as far as props and uniforms go. A significant number of staff members are necessary for a successful fall season.
My role as the Color Guard Caption Head during fall season includes designing and deciding the drill, uniforms, flag silks, and help with prop incorporation. The drill is one of the largest parts of designing the marching show for the guard. Every performer has their spot on the field that continuously moves throughout the show. Each individual dot needs to flow and be achieveable for the performer. Depending on the budget, custom uniforms may be designed or bought pre-made, including shoes. Hair and makeup is also chosen by me. The flag silks we have been using are also designed by me, with the help of imagery found online as the blueprint. Props are picked out by the band director, but I have the luxury of deciding how the guard will interact with them throughout the show.
The Ringmaster 2024
On average, high school marching band shows encompass four movements or four parts to the show. This past fall, the show was circus themed. The four parts were 1. The Greatest Show on Earth! 2. Self Doubt 3. Featured Acts! and 4. The Main Event!
Movement 1 was all about welcoming the audience to the greatest show on earth! It resembled fun, energetic, cheery, and strong. So, the flag silk needed to illustrate this. The other guard staff and myself decided on a circus ticket as the main image. Since the color pallet for this show included black, gold, and red, the outskirts of the ticket resemble the well-known striped pattern that is usually printed on circus tents. The colors in this case were more gold and red, with customized black lettering.
Thanks to SyncedUp Designs, just by sending them the images I'd like to use and describing my vision of how the silk should be designed, they are able to bring it to life and provide us with the finished product.
The first two images are what the guard staff and I found initially. We basically wanted to combine the two and customize the lettering. After explaining this to SyncedUp, the final product is the third image on the bottom.