Dedication doesn’t always come easily, but in the world of musicians, it does. Dedication goes hand in hand with passion. Passion is needed to make beautiful music. The world of drum corps is exactly that way. Drum corps is similar to marching band but woodwind instruments are not included, passion and dedication is required to be a part of an organization like this. Three months of the summer is given up to this art, twelve hour days and never ending nights on a bus. If something isn’t easy then why do it? There is something coming out of all the hard work, friends, love and a common passion of performing. In Caroline Andrews’ short writing assignment, “Passion in the arts”, she used visual elements to portray this. The fifth visual picture developed this meaning specifically. Using a portrait view, a low camera angle, and warm colors and lighting, passion is displayed precisely. 

In Andrews’ short writing assignment, she is trying to get the message across that the good things in life are worth working for. In the fifth slide of the assignment, members of the drum and bugle corps are shown entering the field before their performance. The members are seen in a profile point of view. Seeing the performers’ profiles gives a feeling of confidence and passion in them. There is a drive and a wanting to show the talents that they have worked so passionately to acquire. The members are all looking and facing the same direction. No one is looking around, yet there is a huge crowd eagerly waiting for the musicians to take the field. Because they aren’t looking directly at the camera they are demanding the reader’s attention with their heads and chests up. The members are lined up with their fists clinched, but not because they are angry or going to fight, but to add uniformity. There also isn’t a distinction of gender from member to member. The corps is one. Everyone is dressed exactly the same. No one is made or wants to stand out. By having no one look at the camera, the corps stands out together. They want to stand out together because they worked for this performance together. They put in the long hours and the dedication. The field is where all the passion and hard work pays off. The passion doesn’t have to be seen in their eyes but in their body language, the performance, and the show on the field. Someone with passion isn’t going to hold themselves with confidence and pride, but these kids do. 

The angle of the photo was taken at the same level as the performers, not looking down on them or looking up on them. The viewers are seeing the stadium from the eyes of the corps members. There are always two sides to every story and these performers are about to tell one, a story of passion. Whether that is what the literal show they perform is or not, it doesn’t matter. Most people, in general, see things as the viewer and not the doer. Having the picture be at this angle shows the view point the average person doesn’t really think about. Because the sold-out stadium is in the background it lets the audience feel the emotions that the corps is feeling when they see the spectators: nervous, excited, and passionate. Going in front of a crowd this big not only shows confidence in themselves but in each other. They poured their hearts into a show to go perform in front of those hundreds and hundreds of people, without passion they would be the ones in the stands instead of on the field. 

As the sun was setting the picture was taken, the rays of the sun are reaching out from behind the press box. There are stadium lights in the distance showing that it is only going to get darker from here. Having the sun setting in the picture allows for a feeling of reflection. The day is coming to a close, all the hard work that was or wasn’t done in the day is ending, the final product is near. In the eyes of the members, it is this performance. This performance is about to show all the work and dedication that they have put in. With the light shining this way is lets the reader feel this sense of passion that they do. The target audience is anywhere from a middle schooler to a grown adult. Anyone is able to feel this passion and Andrews definitely wanted them to. There is also cloud covering parts of the sun only allowing for some of the sun’s rays to meet the eye. Having only parts of the sun shining through lets you focus on the performers rather than the brightness of the sun. The beauty of the performers is shown with the different moods the sky portrays. The colors of the sky are blue, purple and pink adding a rich and warm feeling to the photo. Passion isn’t something that someone partially has, with the rich tones there is no question there is color and there is no question there is passion.

Passion isn’t something easily come by, passion is used to drive hard work. Passion is connected with the selfish nature of human beings. Passion is there because humans want something for themselves. In the case of this slide of Andrews’ assignment, performing is the corps member’s passion. In this photo profile view, camera angle, and when the picture was taken shapes the feelings one gets while observing the visual element. The members desire to put on a good show and entertain people with their love and joy of this art. Passion in humans’ hearts not only helps these members put on a meaningful performance but is the reason why, in some cases, humans act the way we do.
