Omigod, I'm nearly peeing myself in excitement here. I want this DVD so bad I can taste it!
Okay, here goes. The single most important element of any concert DVD is the audio. It has to be mixed in 5.1 for starters (and preferably in DTS), and shouldn't be mixed in such a way as to place the listener in the middle of the music. Leave that for studio surround mixes. The live music should be mainly in the front three speakers, with a little bit of echo/reverb in the surrounds. The audience should be heard in the surround channels, not in the front three, and shouldn't be mixed to be too loud. Let the focus be on the music.
As was reported in the review of this DVD, it's difficult to make a concert look good in both the live venue AND for the cameras. Therefore, video is of secondary importance. Still important though. And it should be anamorphic widescreen. I mean, why not? While I can understand the lead singer being on camera a little more than the other band members, I like to see all band members fairly represented on camera. And keep the extreme closeups of the band members to a minimum. I don't want the camera to be so close that I can see a recently popped pimple or gross stuff up someone's nose.
The extras are the next most important thing. Interviews with the band members should not come between songs; leave that for the end, or rather, leave that as a separate extra. Interviews regarding the current tour, the current album, how the sound or musical direction have changed, how certain songs evolved -- stuff like that. Behind the scenes footage is good too. I love seeing what a band is up to in the hour or so leading up to a gig. Other much valued extras would include music videos of the songs from the album that's being toured; stills from the tour programme; a bio of the band and of each band member; a link to an exclusive web page to stream or download exclusive multimedia content. I saw one concert DVD that had interviews with fans -- that's okay, but really not that important. Pages with printed lyrics are okay, but most people who buy a concert DVD are already familiar with the band/album, so it's not really necessary. Maybe a multi-angle feature for selected songs (or even all of them). Leave out the running commentary, though. Too often those lapse into silence while the band simply listen to the gig with the occasional "Hey! I forgot about that bit. That was cool!" popping in. It's generally worthless.
To those who are curious about what Marillion albums to start with, I'd recommend Marbles first. It's widely considered the best of the bunch, although that might be because fans are excited about the newest music released. After Marbles, check out Brave (listen to it in one whole go if you can) and Afraid of Sunlight. To hear Marillion fronted by their old singer Fish, check out Clutching at Straws and Misplaced Childhood (MC in one go if possible, a la Brave). Yeah, I think that's their top five. Although I'll give Season's End an honourable mention.
O please o please o please pick me as one of the winners! I'll be the happiest Marillion fan in the world if I could just get my hands on one of these DVDs! (By the way, is it the single- or double-disc version?) No matter; I'm so juiced about this, I'll happily take anything!
cheers,
supervij
