Montréal International Fireworks Competition Reports

On The Road Again

Designed by John Werner and Cindy Vermuelen, Galaxis firing with 77 modules / 5390 cues

Vulcan’s display was the most anticipated of the 2015 season and so our eyes were even more closely watching the local weather forecasts and radar maps. Since John and Cindy revealed this would be their most complex display ever (but, interestingly, only the fourth the two had worked on together and only the 5th performed by Vulcan), it was clear that any weather issues could have an impact on their setup.

The display-day forecast of heavy rain with thunderstorms, then clearing, then potentially more storms was a worry at the back of everyone’s mind. However, come Saturday, the weather gods appeared to cooperate and early morning light rain cleared up to leave a dry day. Despite this, though, a large crew could be spotted working on ramps 2 and 3 as late as 5pm on the evening of the display. This, of course, was cause for concern, since time pressures are the antithesis of an accurate setup. It was clear the setup was huge and, overcoming my dislike of heights, I rode on the large Ferris Wheel to better observe the ramps and found them to be packed to the gills!

Vulcan Setup

As can be seen in the photo, every possible space was used and they had included the much talked about “lollipops” and some other devices that they had also used in their 2013 debut display. Speaking of 2013, I can understand the pressure on their team not to repeat that and so the atmosphere at La Ronde was particularly tense at showtime as the winds had diminished to essentially zero and the display did not start at 10:00pm. I presume the reason for the late start was the fact that some pre-recorded segments of announcements were late to be played, but this added to the feeling of tense anticipation for the start of the display.

After the countdown, nothing, just the soundtrack. The initial fear that there were problems rose to the surface, but, actually, their sound track was cleverly referring to their 2013 problems. The sound of a radio being tuned, then, the right frequency was found, and the display burst dramatically to life.

There was a palpable sense of relief! Within a couple of minutes, it was obvious this was going to be an exceptional display. The quality of the products was excellent and the firing patterns used was interesting with extremely precise choreography throughout.

A lot of what makes a good display for me is how entertaining and surprising it is. I’ve seen every firing angle and position used over the years, so there really can be no serious surprises. Yet, Vulcan surprised and delighted me and made me laugh out loud! During the “Low Rider” segment, simple gerbs attached to flexible rods burst to life – but these were silver gerbs that burned red. They milled around in a bizarre way, as if they were a bunch of guys who didn’t know how to dance, but were trying to anyway with the music. I laughed so hard! Other nice touches were, again, pyrotechnically simple. The entire front of ramp 3 filled with criss-crossing dazzling silver fountains. So simple, but stunning! Wheels firing across ramp three as the sound of a car starting in the sound track. Brilliantly coloured microstar gerbs, coloured strobes (though I learned these were coloured via lenses – but no matter, the idea worked really well). The famous “bounce comets” from their 2013 display. All these things and more! Amazing mines of crazy silver bees that hovered in front of ramp 3 and seemed to hang there defying gravity.

The shells that we could see were great – fantasic pattern shells with heart-shaped pistils. Brilliant strobes, other shells with semi-circular rainbow patterns mixed with comets. Dazzling flash shells and the anticipated “sweeper” shells, where rings of stars rotated in a colour sequence (with the same in cakes). Whistles of all types, both in shells and from cakes.

The weather was not kind. The “Smoke on the Water” segment contained a bitter truth as the smoke started to obscure the shells by about the half way point of the display, but most of the low-level material stayed visible and always with vibrant colours. Sometimes enough smoke cleared that we could see the high shells, but, sadly, not always. I did see on video from another vantage point later on some really good farfalles – very unusual for an Asian manufacturer. Speaking of that segment, I really liked the “double synchronization” of the launch of one-shots / mines and then their secondary effect forming another perfect timing in the music (such as walls of crackle). Even though individual one-shots are not of great calibre, they were cleverly combined to give the effect of large mines.

The finale was great – loud and long lasting – in fact, a double finale as the two last songs were used as finales. Deafening whistles, Vulcan’s famous “hammer” cakes of salutes, big shells bursting above – even if we couldn’t always see them, we could hear them and knew they were “right”.

A few negative points. Some of the music edits were a tad coarse, but maybe that was the intent due to the way the soundtrack was constructed. Sometimes the shell firing sequences were a little bit mundane and there was some repetition of effects. A bit more of a complex interplay between the low and high level effects could have been used I believe as this give a complex display a feeling of being a bit simple sometimes.

At the end of the display, the audience reacted with great enthusiasm and gave Team Vulcan a well-deserved standing ovation (as did all of us in the Salon des Artificiers afterwards). I don’t know how the judges will take into account the weather conditions – but I know that I was greatly entertained and thoroughly enjoyed this excellent display. I will be astounded if it’s not on the podium and am sure will be talked about for years to come.

Armageddon

Designed by Kelly Guille, soundtrack edited by Sean Proctor, FireOne firing with 80 32-cue modules / ~2300 cues

Archangel were lucky enough to have perfect weather during both their setup and the display itself. However, there were some tense moments immediately before the display was due to launch as people could be seen running across ramp 2 – then a light came on in the control room under ramp 4. This usually means there is a technical problem and, indeed, the display did start several minutes late. I was expecting a dramatic start, given the title of the theme, but the display began slowly, exacerbating the fear that there were technical issues.

These fears turned out to be unfounded for the large part, once the display got going. There were a couple of occasions where a track would begin with black sky for what seemed like to be too long, but it seems there were no technical problems except for the 10″ shell that was supposed to start the show (as I was told afterwards).

It was apparent quite early on in the display that the design was very interesting and involved all of the space provided, with some unique firing patterns – particularly the barrage of mid-sized shells left and right, with quite a few volleys of these being fired. The shells also formed arc patterns across the sky at different levels and gave a feeling of both chaos and complexity at the same time. There were some interesting one-shot sequences, but it was the shells that dominated the display.

The soundtrack was interesting, but I tried not to listen to the lyrics too much as they were pretty dark in the most part. The fireworks did compliment the soundtrack very well, save for some “magic carpet” cakes of nautical flares that ended up in loud mines/salutes or shells. Kelly told me afterwards that this had been a surprise for them, but it was too late to change anything. In any case, these did not detract too much.

There was a reasonable diversity of product, but I found there was too much repetition of dim charcoal effects. Quite a few of the firing patterns of the one-shots were also somewhat repetitive, too. However, the pace of the display reflected the music very well with some great intense scenes and others of quiet serenity (save for the recalcitrant nautical cakes). Speaking of nauticals, great use was made of the lake with nauticals of all types: flares, mines, shells, water-ballet fountains (which also turned to comets), salutes and truly chest-thumping massive 5″ shells in the finale.

The finale was truly excellent and lasted a very long time. With multi-break shells of salutes and the tremendous nauticals, it was really outstanding.

All in all, this was an excellent display, especially as Archangel are debutantes. At this point in the competition, this is definitely a podium contender, though I would rate England slightly higher due to a more complex design and a bit less repetition. Archangel definitely have the finale to beat, though!

Pyro Rock-n-roll

Designed by Michele Parente, PyroDigiT firing with 420 modules / ~5000 cues

The debutante Italian team were fortunate enough to have perfect weather throughout their time in Montreal, both for the setup and on the night of the display itself. A warm summer evening with moderate breezes presented ideal conditions, though the winds were a little bit in the general direction of the audience, they did not cause any undue problems.

Competing in Montreal for the first time is always a daunting task. The firing site is large and complex and time can be lost to trying to make too elaborate display. During the interview, we had been informed that all five firing ramps would be used, so I was a bit surprised to see that no pontoons (ramp 5) were set up when I arrived on Saturday evening. I wondered if the team had been over ambitious and had run out of time, particular as there were pyrotechnicians still visible on ramp 3 as late as 8:45pm – never usually a good sign. I asked some of the organizers about this and they assured me that everything had been completed by mid-afternoon so I half expected ramp 5 to be towed into place at the last minute, though this never happened.

The display itself began rather modestly and I did wonder if this would be indicative of the overall display. Often times, we observe the opposite. A display will begin in grand style but, after 10 minutes or so, runs out of oomph and ends in an anti-climax. I hoped that we would see the opposite case. Synchronization was extremely good with tight use of one-shots, though, after a few songs, it became apparent that the firing patterns used would be repeated throughout the display. Many effects were repeated over and over, as well, which was a shame as individually, they were well done.

There were some tense moments when, at least three times, we had black sky for more than 5 seconds during a track, with the longest being around 18 seconds. I then wondered if these empty sections had been originally designed for the missing ramp 5. I started to become encouraged during the Stairway to Heaven segment. This began quietly, but built to an excellent mini-finale, leaving me to hope that this was a promise of things to come! This segment was one of the few that used more than about 40 seconds of a song and was really well done. The soundtrack, in general, was very well put together with absolutely superb audio editing!

Quality of material used was pretty good in general, with some nice traditional Italian multi-break shells, though I thought there would have been more of these. Some very nice multi-colour changing shells as well, but not quite as many “effects” shells as I thought – though the ones we saw were good. The finale built to a good climax, but the final part was disappointingly short as it didn’t feel as long as the mini-finale in Stairway to Heaven had felt, though it was good and loud. A rock-n-roll theme needs a big display as this is the nature of the music – this is exactly what Pyrotecnico did for their Gold-jupiter winning display in 2008, overloading my camera at the end of their finale.

After the display, I discovered the ramp 5 material had been placed on ramp 3. I think this was unfortunate, as some of the one-shots were of fairly small calibre and would have looked better closer to the audience. The “360″ that had been talked about during the interview was not present and I didn’t see anything on ramp 4. To be honest, I think many of the one-shots would have been just as effective had they been fired from candles and I would have liked to see some faster effects that I know the PyrodigiT firing system is capable of. I was reminded of Italian compatriot Morsani’s first participation in Montreal – a solid show but not quite at the podium level – remembering that when Morsani returned for their second appearance in Montreal, they deservedly won the Gold Jupiter.

Vive la Différence

Designed by Andy Wiggins, FireOne firing with 175 firing modules and ~5000 cues.

Debutante Jubilee Fireworks were graced with perfect weather for both their setup and opening display in the first competing entry in the 31st Edition of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition. Opening the competition is a daunting task for any team and competing for the first time makes it even more of a challenge.

Designer Andy Wiggins had been in Montreal previously, and I’m sure this helped him understand how to use the site. After only a couple of minutes, it was obvious we were witnessing a display that is worthy of a place on the podium. This feeling is rare when it happens, but I’m confident that it’s correct.

All aspects of the site were well used, except for nautical effects, but, for once, they weren’t really missed in this very artistic and creative display. The quality of the materials used was very high, with excellent colours and effects. The Hamex manufactured Vaccalluzzo shells were very good indeed.

I enjoyed the contrasts between tableux that featured a lot of one-shots and those that didn’t. Sometimes, too many one-shots can become mechanical and repetitive, but this was not the case in the Jubilee display. Memorable, of course, was the Uptown Funk segment where 1500 cues were used. Synchronization was just flawless and the choice of effects used, from flash, starmine comets, microstar coloured gerbs in red and blue etc. was just amazing. The ground salutes on ramp five shocked everyone and caused a big WOW from me!

I was impressed by the clever scripting of one-shots in the “Love Me Like You Do” segment, where red stars were fired left and right across ramp three such that a large rising heart shape was formed! Above this, pattern shells of red hearts turning to crackle were the perfect compliment! This was all the more impressive given that Andy told me during the interview no visualization software was used!

The audience were enthusiastic throughout the display and definitely enjoyed the soundtrack, as did I. There some very interesting fast effects used in the “Holding On”, segment, perfectly complimenting the manic-ness of the music.

I had been skeptical about the choice of finale music, Earth Song by Michael Jackson, but I thought it was really well done. Starting out with gold and charcoal effects, it built until each half of the display area was its own colour and then sequencing into a broad rainbow of colours, very appropriate for the times.

There were a few small negative aspects to the display. It was clear there were a couple of modules not working on ramp 3, though these didn’t really have much impact. A few flame effects on ramp 5 appeared to fire at the wrong time – maybe because of ignition by sparks? There were also a couple of spots where the wrong effects were in place or a position seemed to be wired backwards. These were all very minor, though, and the overall feeling of the display was excellent.

The soundtrack, with the theme of complements throughout, was particularly enjoyable and l thought the choice of effects used worked very well without any feeling of repetitiousness. Andy told me he intended to use all of the display area and this was most definitely achieved.

The Jubilee team received a well deserved standing ovation from the capacity audience as well as a very warm reception in the Salon des Artificiers after the display. As I’m apt to say, this is the one to beat this year and, at the moment, must be a strong contender for a podium position.

A wet and windy Canada Day holiday gave way to a cool and breezy evening, with winds coming directly at the audience. As this display was not in competition, it’s not really fair to review it in the same way as the competing displays.

I was surprised that the promised 102mm artillery cannons did not make an appearance – apparently this was due to a confusion about when they would be fired – they were actually shot at 4:30 in the afternoon, which makes some sense as the audience would be able to see them.

During the interview we were told the display would be simple and classic, and that’s exactly what we got. It’s a bit unusual to have only five positions on ramp 3, but it worked out OK. It never felt like a small show and the sky was always well filled with some good quality products. The design was a bit repetitious, and it was a shame no nauticals were used, given the theme (Canada does have a navy, after all), but the display was cleanly fired and enjoyed by the audience, though small in number due to the weather. The soundtrack was enjoyable and very well played by the orchestra of the Royal 22^nd Regiment, though whoever put it together is probably not too familiar with how to edit appropriately for a pyromusical. That said, all the pieces were very enjoyable and represented a good range of rhythm and intensity.

Much better weather is promised for the start of the competition proper, with incumbent Jubilee Fireworks shooting for England this coming Saturday.

Strictly Pyro

Designed by Robert and Fotunato Foti. FireOne firing with 4500 cues.

As the competition-proper came to an end in seemingly no time at all, another perfect evening greeted the Australian team, appearing in Montreal for their fifth time. A large audience was present to witness the mastery of the skies by the antipodean pyrotechnicians who had brought a vast arsenal of their own-brand products with them.

The display began very strongly, with great sequences of fans of mines across ramp 3 and barrages of large shells above. Synchronization was flawless throughout the display and the sequencing used, particularly in the Moulin Rouge segments was superb and “snappy”. The quality of the shells used was also very good, the colours were very vivid, particularly the blues and bright “sea blue” used. As to be expected, strobe effects were superlative, being a signature feature of chief formulist Sam (Salvatore) Foti. We had strobes in many forms and colours – the waterfall strobes were dazzling and I really enjoyed the blue shells with contrasting coloured strobe pistils, as well as the large colour-tipped kamuros with gold strobe pistils. Foti’s “ghost shells” were also very well done.

Many parts of the display were very powerful, the large hard-breaking shells giving several mini-finale feelings throughout the display. There were some nautical effects used – the carpet of nautical fountains was the most extensive I’ve ever seen – the lake being completely covered, even on the audience side of ramp 5. Unfortunately, there were no nautical shells used though. I looked carefully for the koala shells that had been mentioned in the interview but I was not sure I had spotted them – I did see, though, several colourful birds. There were also quite a few different kinds of crackle effects used – some the more common pale gold ones but there were also bright white crackles used – both in 180 degree mines and in shells – these had a different auditory effect compared to the more usual crackle.

One outstanding section had flight after flight of silver whistling girandolas that rose straight up into the air, to great cheers from the audience. A total of 160 of these were used and were very well received by the audience. Low-level effects on ramps 3 and 5 were very good, with beautiful star mine comets with really vivid colours in the stars. Some “laser comets” were also used, but as these were on ramp 3, they were not quite as exciting as what we’d seen used by Royal/FSC on ramp 5. Despite there being no special structures, the firing area was used well in all dimensions, though there were some small intermittent problems on ramp 3 with a position or two disappearing and reappearing. I also noticed that sometimes only two out of three positions firing 6″ shells on ramp 1 were firing, giving an asymmetrical appearance from time to time. We also had some peonies firing during a falling leaves segment and vice versa – probably two cues switched on one module.

The finale was excellent, starting with an all-crackling theme, leaving me to wonder if it would be just crackle but it expanded into more than that with massive volleys of salutes and bright silver shells, bringing the display to a conclusion to very loud cheers from the packed audience! Afterwards, in the salon des artificiers, the Foti team received a very enthusiastic reception!

All in all, an excellent display that is a certain Jupiter winner. The quality of the colours was very high and is a tribute to Sam Foti’s formulas, particularly the strobes and crackle. I enjoyed the range of music used in the soundtrack and believe this is the best display I’ve seen from Team Foti in Montreal. There was some repetition of effects during the display and some of the one-shots / mines had timings that were slightly off from others on the same cues, leading to a slightly less than clean look. The complexity of the display was just a notch below Royal/FSC so I believe that, now we’ve seen all the competitors, Foti should receive the silver Jupiter.

Freedom – Homage to Nelson Mandela

Designed by Dominic Brezac, soundtrack engineered by Martin Lascelles; FireOne firing with a large number of cues

Despite a day that started out with thunder and heavy rains, high heat and humidity, the clouds parted at 3pm and left a perfect evening for the fireworks with low humidity and a steady breeze in a favourable direction. Once again, a large audience were present to witness Brezac’s fourth show in Montreal.

After a gentle start, the display built into a complex design with excellent synchronization and a very rhythmic feel. I liked how the sequencing of the one-shots was used to compliment the rhythm of the music rather than always accent it. We would have a series of notes in the music, then the one-shots would act as a counterpoint to this and be shot at the same rate, but without there being any notes in the soundtrack. This technique was used several times throughout the display.

Creating "18"

The theme, an homage to Nelson Mandela, is not something that is necessarily straightforward to tell in a pyromusical context, but Brezac’s well-chosen soundtrack was effective – with a good mix of audio clips from Mandela’s life. The difficult dark period of his captivity was well represented in the aggressive (and rhythmic) fireworks used.

The design of the display made very good use of the space, especially the width of the sky. We had several episodes where one type of shell would be fired at the extreme left and right and a different kind would fill in the middle area. The range of products used was good, though maybe a bit too many kinds of horsetails. That said, I particularly enjoyed the rainbow coloured horsetails that were used on top of rainbow fans of mines below (this time in the correct colour order). The colours throughout the display were rich and vivid, particularly the “magic carpet” nautical flares used.

The lake was often used, with a good selection of effects such as nautical fountains and the many different colours of “magic carpet” bengals and some silver kamuro shells in the finale – the only issue with these is that they were significantly dimmer than the main shells of the finale. For the first time this year, we saw flights of rockets.

The products used always complemented the music – with some really nice double-ended tourbillon mines that really danced with the African music that was playing. The same thing with the types of shells used, with many really nice studatas. There was a bit of repetition, but still a good variety.

There were a few structures on ramp 3 which were used to give the effect of doors closing, representing Mandela’s imprisonment. Photoflash effects were also used for emphasis at various parts of the display. One effect that took everyone by surprise was the projection of the number “18″ into the sky using red stars – representing Mandela’s birthday (he was born on July 18th, 1918). Unfortunately, this effect only appeared once!

Number Eight

A few small criticisms must be made. The setup on ramp 3 was a little bit hap-hazard as some microstar gerbs appeared to be installed upside down and parts of ramp 3 stopped firing from time to time during the display. There also appeared to be some shells of lines of stars suspended from parachutes – something which is not allowed in the competition. That said, we saw a similar effect used by Lacroix-Ruggieri in 2002 in their penultimate segment and that appeared to have been determined to be OK as they won the Gold Jupiter that year. One other criticism was that the dynamic range of the display was, at times, just a bit too much as the lowest level parts were just too low, with single comet or gerb shots – causing me to occasionally wonder if there was a problem on ramp 3 (which there was at other times).

All in all, a very enjoyable and creative display on an extremely unusual subject! I greatly enjoyed the soundtrack. Definitely stands an excellent chance of a podium position, though I think the few mistakes here and there would preclude the Gold.

Thanks to Fred Bastién for the photographs of the setup for the number “18″

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Fright Night

Designed by Mike Cartolano, produced by Matt Peterson; soundtrack produced by Jon Gesse. PyroDigital firing with around 5500 cues

Competing for the third time in Montreal, Melrose gave the audience a card with a summary of their display, similar to what they had done in 2009 for their Reel Love display, which garnered the Bronze Jupiter.

Fright Night

Unusually, the display began at around 21:58, the earliest I remember in all the time I’ve been attending the competition, except for HongKong in 2009 which began five minutes early due to an approaching storm.

It began with deep red flares, creating an atmospheric effect as shells of bright white photoflash burst above with the same along the front of ramp 3. Brilliant red strobing horsetails burst above as the familiar music of Michael Jackson’s Thriller began, to cheers from the audience. Bright shells of palm-core red peonies were followed by farfalle shells with red meteor comet candles below as this strong introduction lead into a scary cackling laughter which preceded the introductory narration, by a really appropriately voiced actor who managed to sound like Victor Price in both English and French as photoflashes and strobing nautical flares added to the atmosphere.

The display used very high quality products throughout with some interesting effects. I particularly liked a simple addition to traditional “smiley face” shells in that they had rings of crossettes. As the orientation of the face is random, sometimes it is only seen edge-on, so the addition of the ring of crossettes ensured the shells were always interesting. Lots of great repetition shells, shells of bright-coloured crossing-stars and other multi-effects were greatly appreciated. However, I did find there was some repetition of effects, particularly palm-cored peonies (though in various colours) and shells of gold comets with twinkling comet pistils.

The low-level effects were good, with some very broad fans of brilliant colour mines and runs of starmine comets and other one-shots. However, I found the design patterns used to be a little bit repetitive. During the “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, ramp 5 was used to provide some interesting note-synchronized designs using purple micro-star gerbs as well as mines of green and purple on ramps 3 and 5. There was a rainbow effect produced during the Wizard of Oz medley, though the colours were not quite in the correct order!

The soundtrack was very well put together, with familiar pieces that the audience really appreciated. I did find, though, a couple of times where the fireworks ended before the final bar of the music. There were some humourous sections, where the lyric talked of purple monsters, we had purple “jellyfish” shells in the sky! However, despite the theme title “Fright Night” I didn’t find any scary moments, though the fireball effects and photoflashes were certainly atmostpheric.

The Bat Out of Hell segment provided a great pre-finale and the finale itself, set to another version of Thriller, was really well done. It was very well structured and built in grandeur and intensity with huge salutes, massive mines of dense silvery gold comets and fantastic runs of mine clusters across ramp 3, bringing the display to a thundering close! The audience jumped to their feet and gave the Melrose team a standing ovation!

This was a very good display, with an excellent range of high-quality products and a very popular and well put-together sound track. The design was good, but was a bit less complex than other competitors this year and I believe this will preclude Melrose from the Gold Jupiter position. We have had some really excellent displays this year and still have two strong contenders so it’s really difficult to make any kind of accurate prediction just yet!

Legends of Fire

Designed by Yanick Roy and Brad Dezotell, soundtrack production be Serge Péloquin; PyroDigital and FireOne Ultra firing with 5325 cues; ISOBoost signal conditioners and PyroStudios wireless firing; scripting by ShowDirector with some ShowSim visualization

Somewhat cool and windy conditions, with the wind coming largely towards the audience, was the backdrop for this highly anticipated collaboration between the only Canadian companies to win Gold Jupiters in Montreal. With a large and complex setup, including five arches forming n u n u n shapes across ramp 3 as well as towers on ramp 4, a large set piece and two cranes, this promised to be an action-packed display.

For the first time this year, the display started powerfully immediately after the countdown. Many times, these days, we have an anti-climatic start as flares and a narration seem to have become the preferred way to begin. Not so with Royal+FSC. Within less than a minute we already had the first 12″ shells fired. The audience appreciated this and the introductory narration did not begin until the end of this powerful segment and it was augmented by oneshots firing across ramp 3.

With a seamless soundtrack, the display was organized into four main sections, each representing a different fire legend. A beautifully detailed phoenix setpiece lit up during the Phoenix segment and was augmented by shots of falling leaves that formed a phoenix-like pattern in the sky.

The quality of the material used was very high with very little repetition of effects, though there were a couple of gold scenes that were somewhat similar, despite using different kinds of shells. Very high quality and powerful studatas were used to great effect and the low-level effects were superb. After more than 260 displays fired in the competition, every possible angle has been exploited at some point, but rarely in one display. Royal+FSC managed to use every possible angle, both for low-level effects and shells – the sky being filled horizontally and vertically throughout the display. The angles used included firing towards the audience, as well as bouncing meteor comets across the surface of the lake. From an audience perspective, it was a very three-dimensional display, enhanced by the wind coming towards the audience. At one point, nautical mines were shot which fired comets and stars out of the lake – these completely filled the space right up to the audience!

The five arches had firings on the outer surface of the “n” arches and the inner surface of the “u” arches. The outer-surface firing doesn’t really give much of a different pattern than a 13-angle fan that’s on the ground. The inner surface, though, does give an interesting crossing of the start of the comets – reminscent of the type of fan wafted on a hot day to provide some cooling. All arches had inner-surface firings of gerbs, though the effect was not as dramatic as I had hoped due to the size of the structures. One interesting revelation that occurred to me, though, is that an arc provides more area to mount one-shots on than the corresponding linear footprint along ramp3. A 5m diameter arch gives almost 8m – so about 55% more than just mounting on the ground. Plus the space under the arch can also be used. This is good as it gives a cleaner design as fewer positions on ramp 3 are needed – giving more interesting crossing effects than spreading out the firing positions into a wider area. The effects used on the arches were all of very high quality – with well-matched lengths of effect and, as to be expected with Royal+FSC, very precise angles. I would have liked to see more interplay between the arches as I felt that the fact they were arches was not always apparent. I enjoyed the structures on ramp 4 as they provided some very interesting pattens when used to fire cakes of bunches of strobes and falling leaves.

One particular effect took everyone by surprise and caused many in the audience to shout out their shock – this was the use of very brilliant comets that went from full brightness to completely “off” instantaneously. These were very tightly choreographed with the music and the effect was very dramatic. Apparently these are known as “laser comets” and are actually and indoor pyrotechnics effect – it was certainly very effective!

One very positive aspect of the display was the inability to distinguish just who had designed it – everything was very well integrated and gave a seamless flow from periods of great intensity to much more serene moments. The soundtrack was very well edited and the narrative sections did not interrupt the flow. The finale was very well done and I had a hunch it had been designed by Brad as it was similar in structure to his finale from his 2010 Gold Jupiter winning display. The final barrage of massive 6″ nautical shells, coupled with the crisp volleys of salutes just threw the audience over the edge. I actually got wet from all the water thrown into the air! As the display came to a close, the audience rose to their feet cheering, giving the team a well-deserved standing ovation!

This was certainly an excellent display from team Royal+FSC and must be a contender for a Jupiter. In a normal year, it would be a certainty for a Gold Jupiter – but this special year we still have three strong contenders remaining. Despite the large size and complexity of the display, at no point did it ever feel cold and robotic and always managed to maintain a more organic feel. The precision of the setup was also notable with only a couple of tiny mistakes that I spotted, the one-shots on ramps three, four and five being essentially perfect! A great credit to all the crew involved. What a competition we have this year!

Once Upon A Time

Designed by Luis Fuentes Piquer, PyroDigital Firing with 490 16-cue modules and 6884 cues

A perfect July evening, with a capacity audience once again, was the backdrop to this much-anticipated return to Montreal by Vincente Caballer. Last performing in the 20th Edition competition ten years ago, we were promised a a return of the grandiose display style that garnered Caballer the Gold Jupiter in 1993 and the Silver in 2000. Technology has moved on considerably since the 1990s, though, and so the display was up-to-date with more than 5,000 one-shots.

The soundtrack, comprised of pieces from several different Spanish composers in various genres, was largely unknown to the Montreal audience, save for the well know En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor, performed by Placido Domingo. However, I certainly felt the music was both evocative and engaging, lending the feel of a real Spanish fiesta to La Ronde and I sensed the audience felt similarly. The transitions between the pieces were well executed and we had a variety of rhythm and pace, leading to the right build up of intensity, but with periods of intensely serene beauty.

Despite the large numbers of one-shots, the pyrotechnic design of the show was deceptively simple. The display area was well utilized in both breadth and height, some of the shells bursting extremely high in the sky. In fact, one small criticism would be that, occasionally, there was too much space used! Synchronization was good, with some well-executed note-synchronized parts – one that stands out in my mind is when sequences of one-shot stars created a “Mount Fuji” effect, but with perfect synchronization with guitar notes – the flights of the stars giving the impression of strings in the sky! Some sequences of fast-shooting horizontal gerbs also were tightly coupled with the music.

The quality of the fireworks themselves was exceptional. Extremely vivid and flamboyant colours, even the willows and kamuro sections of the display were vivid, never being drowned-out by the background light from the city (and large full moon). The range of effects used was good, though I did find there was some repetition of effects (such as the beautiful strobing horsetails – though in different colours). A friend who’s an amateur painter noted that the colour palette used reflected the music extremely well, with the colours transitioning as the music dictated.

The display was definitely reminiscent of some of the grandiose displays of the 1990s. The sound of large volleys of shells being fired increased the anticipation as one wondered what would appear in the sky! The display itself was almost flawlessly fired, with just a few small errors here and there – a testament to the hard work of the team who had had a very busy setup due to the large number of products used.

After a brilliant finale, with the sky and lake full of vibrant colours and noise, the display came to a thunderous close and the team received an ovation from the audience, cheering as the pyrotechnicians waved from the control room. In any ordinary year this would certainly be in with a strong chance of a Jupiter, but we still have four strong contenders to consider. What a treat this 30th Edition is turning out to be!

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Cosmogony, From Darkness to the Big Bang

Designed by Telesforo Morsani, PyroLeda firing using 59 devices with 1238 total cues. ShowSim visualization

Warm and windy weather was the backdrop to the first competitor proper in the special 30th edition of the Montreal International Fireworks competition. Indeed, the winds were a concern as they were close to the limit of 40km/h. Fortunately, the capacity audience were slow in getting to their seats, delaying the start of the display be around six minutes – but these few minutes did allow the winds to diminish somewhat. Despite being directed largely towards the audience, very little debris were received by the crowd.

Reminiscent of their Gold Jupiter-winning 2011 display, it was organized into four sections, with narrations introducing each new part, but done in such a manner as to not interrupt the fireworks. The music was also seamlessly and artistically edited together so there was a continuous flow throughout the display.

The quality of the fireworks was very good, particularly the low-level effects and the studatas, but I found that, sometimes, there was too much mixing of the high-quality Italian shells with less impressive Chinese ones – this might also have been due to the vertical space compression (see below). The nautical shells were also superb, but sometimes were rather asymmetrically deployed across the lake (though perhaps the wind had something to do with this).

At times it appeared that the use of the space was not as great as it could have been, but, in fact, a very wide range of angles and sky positions were used. I think this impression stemmed from the fact that the music was sometimes rather more powerful than the fireworks being used, thus giving the impression the fireworks were less impressive. Vertical space did seem somewhat compressed, but I have a feeling the strong winds blowing towards the audience at high level had a large impact on this.

I enjoyed the soundtrack, but I found it less connected to the theme than was the case with Morsani’s 2011 “Angels and Demons” display. The music was very epic and, at times, there was not quite enough relationship between the soundtrack and the fireworks. All that said, it was very well edited and did bring the display to a dramatic climax, with a thunderous finale that brought everyone to their feet to cheer the Italian team!

The bar in the 2014 competition has certainly been set very high and the Morsani team received a very enthusiast ovation from the audience and also back at the salon des artificiers after the show. There is a lot at stake this year so it’s impossible to make any predictions yet. In an “ordinary” year, this display would most certainly be a contender for a Jupiter!

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Dreamcatcher

Designed by Georg Alef, Galaxis firing with a large number of cues. Soundtrack designed by Georg Alef and Sebastian Hässy

As winners of the special Platinum Jupiter at the 20th edition of the competition in 2004, the return of Weco has been eagerly awaited by audiences in Montreal. Georg Alef has been spotted at the firing ramps nearly every year since then so it was always known that he would return to Montreal, at some point, to shoot a display.

What a display it was! As was described in the interview, there were many special effects setup, with Georg and his wife Brigitte acting as shadow puppets at key moments in the display, by way of telling the story as they were illuminated by red bengals with their shadows cast onto a large screen floating on the lake at the left side of the display area.

Great use was made of nautical flares throughout the display as well as other special effects, including a lightning simulator made of “shock tube” strands woven into the railings in front of the audience. Shock tube contains a mixture of a high explosive and aluminium powder and transmits a minute detonation wave, the aluminium causing a flash of light. It is quite often used as a lightning effect for indoor pyro, and this is only the second time I recall seeing at used at La Ronde – the first time by Kimbolton fireworks, though it was position in the lake at that time.

Shocktube strands

The effect was fired during a thunderstorm scene, but, unfortunately, was not very visible except to the audience members in the very front row. It might have been more effective if it had been installed above the heads of the audience, but it wasn’t obvious how this could be done safely.

Other special effects include large fireball mines (and shells) that used a filling of flash powder and finely powdered cork. The heat could be felt very strongly in the audience, even though the effects were on ramp three. Unfortunately, some of the set pieces and wheels also felt the heat, causing some of them to ignite prematurely. Georg has often been heard to say that Montreal is a laboratory for pyrotechnicians to try new things and he is to be commended for doing so in this display.

Ramp five was used throughout, with some great scary face effects illuminated by bright bengals. A helium balloon, carrying a large white bengal, also ascended into the sky. I was concerned it might drift away to somewhere it might cause a problem, but it stayed tethered for quite a long time before being inevitably burst by sparks from the exploding shells.

Ramp 5, sun, balloons and 360 one-shots on a crane

The display itself was very theatrical, which is very much an Alef hallmark. Synchronization was flawless throughout (save for the heat-induced wheels and a couple of heart set pieces) but it was not clinical and cold. The design of the display was such that there was a warmth to it with elements of surprise. All of the pyrotechnic material was of a very high quality and it was a pleasure to see Benito Pagano’s stunning farfalle shells again! Rising effects were also seen on the large-calibre Yung Feng shells.

We had moments of great intensity and gentle beauty, with large numbers of falling leaf shells as well as flights of many types of girandolas. The narration, with shadow performance to match, was really well integrated into the display with some humourous and risqué moments. The use of shells of serpents during the “adult dream” section in which the shadow performance included an intimate dance scene was particulary poignant given another common term for such shells!

The musical theme was particularly well done with exquisite sound mixing and Günter Hässy’s original compositions used in the finale worked well. The famed sun came to life and was done in a different way than other “sun” effects used in Montreal. The only criticism of the finale was that the charcoal comet shells were just a bit too dim and the intensity of this close was rather less than in other parts of the display. I always find the Montreal site a difficult one to fully exploit dim effects, due to the omnipresent city lights in the background.

All told, an excellent display and one of the best opening displays I’ve witnessed in Montreal. Had it been competing, it would most certainly have been a contender for a Jupiter. Georg Alef is to be congratulated for presenting this very dear story in a pyromusical form.

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Jukebox Memories

Designed by Andrea Scarpato, PyroDigiT firing using 495 devices with 8727 cues. Firing system design by Filippo and Franceso Losi with PyroDigiT 2-D visualization

The Italian team, competing for the first time in Montreal withe their record-breaking highly anticipated display, were fortunate to have perfect weather for their setup as well as the evening of the display with light wind, pleasantly warm temperatures and low humidity once again making conditions ideal for both spectators and photographers alike.

It is hard to know where to start with this report. First of all, a record-breaking 8727 cues were used together with 10,084 pyrotechnic devices (where each shot of a candle counts as a device). This is a lot of product, but not a record breaker in itself. It is, however, definitely a record number of one-shot devices, with a count of about 7900 – the previous record being last year’s Atlas show with between 5000 and 6000.

The display design fairly straightforward with 21 positions on ramp 3 (10 of these on top of 3m posts) together with five pontoons for ramp 5 and two special “wheels”. Each “wheel” was composed of 20-slices of 30 one-shots, mounted on a crane 40m in the air. Next to these, two arcs of one-shot racks as well. Though these devices are not wheels in the pyrotechnic sense (as they don’t rotate), I will use the term “wheel” for this report. The PyroDigiT modular rack/firing module system allowed each position on ramps 3, 4 and 5 to be setup such that it could fire at pretty much any angle from almost horizontal to vertical. In the case of the 10 3m high posts, only horizontal firings were used. As well as all of these modular racks, there were some Roman candles and cakes used as well, together with flares and fountains (the latter being in groups arranged in arcs on ramp 5). Five firing positions were used for shells on ramp 2 and the usual five positions on ramp 1.

It was with this arsenal of equipment that enabled the team to fill the sky from top to bottom and from the extreme left to the extreme right, thus making excellent use of the site. Some of shells on ramps 1 and 2 were fired at angles enabling this sky-filling pattern. Shortly after the display began, the two wheels fired shots in a 360^o pattern and rapid runs of shots flew across ramps 3 and 5. It was very quickly evident at the great precision of the timing of the shots and the great rapidity in which they could be fired. Good interplay was made between the low level effects and the shells above, though occasionally a bit more support would have been appreciated as there were a few times when only volleys of three shells were being fired. The low-level effects, though, more than made up for this with incredible sequences. Particularly memorable was the Hey Jude segment. This started out slowly with just flares and then fountains on ramp 5, but started to build. At its climax, fantastic opening fans of crackling gold comets started from two positions close to the centre and then expanded left and right across ramp 5, as huge volleys of silver rain shells filled the sky. As the drums rolled towards the end of the song, rapidly rotating shots fired from the two wheels, supported by the one shots in front. At that point in the display, I knew that this would almost certainly be a Gold Jupiter winner.

And so it continued for the rest of the display with fabulous sequences across the lower ramps, supported by good quality shells above. A bit disappointing that there were few traditional Italian effects shells, but the products used were excellent. The one-shots, of course, were just amazing. Interesting effects, vivid colours and perfectly equal amplitude. One problem with doing display with a lot of one-shots is that the display looks “untidy” if they don’t all rise to the same height or travel to the same distance. Not the case here – all were very equally matched and made for exquisite patterns in the sky.

The display setup was almost perfect. I didn’t notice any errors in the shells fired, and only a handful of setup errors in the one shots (a few comets in one module were reversed in angle and I think that one position may have had a few shots of the wrong colour). Given that there were almost 8000 shots, this is very impressive. Even more impressive is that everything fired – I didn’t notice any single failure of any device to shoot – this was remarkable and noted by many pyrotechnicians afterwards. Also very impressive was the flawless synchronization. This was particularly noticeable in the Frankie Goes to Hollywood Relax song, where dazzling bright photoflash was impeccably synchronized to the beats of the music. The short flash really makes this hard and it was done to perfection. For other one-shots, there are a range of possibilities as to when to synchronize to the music and, whilst consistent, I didn’t always agree with all of them.

The soundtrack was very good, but I found the narrative segments introducing each decade of music a little bit redundant and an interference with the soundtrack, given the feeling that it was choppily edited, whereas this was not the case and it was very well put together. Overall, I think there were too many up-tempo songs and I would have appreciated a few more calm and slower pieces to give a chance to catch a breath from the frenetic pace, as many pieces ended in a similar manner to Hey Jude.

No use was made of the lake as there were no nautical devices used, but the horizontal firing one-shots from the 3m poles filled this hole as they shot across the surface of the lake and towards the audience.

The finale was outstanding, building to a huge crescendo and ending with massive barrages of chest-thumping salute and fantastic sequences of arcs of gold comets and salutes below, traversing ramp 3 – reminiscent of the Pyrotechnico finale in 2008.

The team received the largest standing ovation I’ve seen in several years as the capacity audience jumped to their feet and cheered about the 33 1/2 minute display came to an end. The enthusiasm continued in the Salon des Artificiers afterwards with some people exclaiming that they would not want to compete in Montreal if Pyroemotions/PyroDigiT were on the same schedule!

I am sure this display will win the Gold Jupiter!

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The Four Seasons

Designed by Michael Bohonos, PyroDigital firing with 235 16-cue  modules as well as an extra 17 16-cue MagicFire modules, PyroStudios wireless system on ramp 5 and ISO-boost signal conditioning ~3200 cues with ShowDirector scripting.

The Canadian team were fortunate to have perfect weather for their setup as well as the evening of the display with light wind, pleasantly warm temperatures and low humidity making conditions ideal for both spectators and photographers alike.

The display began with music from Disney and featured glittering horsetails. This short introductory segment set the scene for viewing the four seasons from the eyes of children and Michael’s own daughter provided the narrative episodes in French. Beginning with Spring, the display proper began very colourfully, representing the reawakening of the natural world at this time of year. Fountain setpieces on ramp 3 represented flowers and these lead into a segment which featured a very special effect: barrages of MagicFire-equipped colourful skymines formed perfect rainbows in the sky for a total of three times, exactly on-cue with the music. The Spring segment closed out with a theme of bright yellow magnesium spider shells and the same in comet fans below, representing the sunshine in
Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves. This was well done, though I was a bit surprised by a departure to purple shells here, before a return to yellow.

Leading from Spring to Summer another narrative segment with Michael’s daughter and then waving comet shells to represent Surfin’ USA by the Beach Boys. I found that a few more low-level effects beyond some glittering comets might have been more effective here – for example, a run of angled blue mines could have represented a crashing wave (recalling Grupo Luso in 2002 where I first saw this effect used). The Splish Splash segment was particularly well done with comets skipping across the lake and some great nautical barrages. The highlight of the entire display, though, was Thunderstruck by AC/DC. This was a very powerful segment with fantastic barrages of shells and salutes, and perfectly timed concussion mortars at all the appropriate moments. The dazzling photoflash one-shots were simply stunning too – some people mentioned they were too bright! To my mind, this would have been the perfect finale piece.

The start of Autumn saw set pieces light up in the shape of a red maple leaf and green oak leaf as well as a white goose. Great comet angles and fantastic falling leaf shells were really well done here. Bright blue nautical flares and a huge Niagara Falls were also greatly appreciated by the audience. Some really creative firing angles were used too – with thick gold comets reflecting perfectly across the still Lac des Dauphins during the November Rain piece. On negative point, though, was the use of bright white falling strobe cakes with much dimmer charcoal shells above – these being virtually invisible due to the bright white below.

The Winter season also began with strobes to the iconic Gilles Vigneault song, Mon Pays. Then a return to photoflash in the next song, but this time in dazzling green. Very wide firing patterns were used, especially for the horsetail shells and comet runs below. The finale was mainly of coconut peony shells in red and green with massive fans of salute cakes below, bringing the display to a close to a standing ovation from the audience.

This was an excellent display from the Canadian team, with very good use of the space of the site, both horizontally and vertically. Definitely a much stronger performance than their 2008 debut. Unfortunately, there were a few errors in the setup with the wrong shells in the wrong place a couple of times and some incorrect angles on some of the comets. There was a bit of repetition in the effects used, but the display was pretty diverse and the dazzling photo-flash one-shots were outstanding, as was the use of concussion mortars in Thunderstruck. I would have liked to see some more exciting use of one-shots, particularly in this piece where a faster pace would have been more effective than the patterns used, but these are minor criticisms. Same for using dim charcoal shells with bright effects below. To be honest, I don’t see the value in using large calibre (up to 12″ in this case) charcoal shells at the Montreal site as there is too much background light for these to be fully appreciated. The sound track was well done and effectively represented the theme. At the moment, a strong contender for a Jupiter, along with Croatia and Spain, followed closely behind by England and the USA. Both the Spanish and the Croatian displays were very “clean” in their firing do the Canadians may lose a couple of points here.

Artificial Intelligence

Designed by Nikola Koeltic and Damir Belanic. PyroDigit firing with 60 modules of 14 cues and 15 modules of 90 cues.

One of the coldest evenings ever to grace the competition, clear skies and low humidity were the flip side of the unseasonal conditions. With it being the first week of the Quebec construction holiday, large crowds filled the stands despite it being a midweek night.

After the initial countdown, the audience held their collective breaths in trepidation as a narration started, but with no supporting fireworks. Then it became clear that the narrative was introducing the AI that was to run the show … and then it did various “system tests” of the sound, the flame projects and then the firing system, followed by another countdown, after which, the audience breathed a sigh of relief and the display started.

And what a display it was! Very precise angles, superb synchronization and excellent quality product. Great use was made of the site, though the shell patterns were more straight-up than angled, probably because of the use of large calibre shells and studatas. In fact, there were more studatas in this show than the rest of the competition so far this year.

The first half of the display featured longer versions of songs, which were all extremely well executed ranging from serene moments to very intense sky-filling periods. The flame effects were from three projectors that could spew flames from both sides at three angles as well as vertically. We haven’t seen this type of projector used in Montreal before, but we have had flames before. Fortunately, they didn’t over-use them, but, on ramp 3, they were rather far from the audience. Given that only nautical cakes were used, I think the flames could have been put on ramp 5 and would have been much more dramatic.

There were many interesting firing patterns used, one that sticks in my mind was the formation of three pyro “wigwams” due to the way the comets and stars overlapped. Great use was made of all of ramp 3 and the timing was very accurate. I did have the feeling that there was rather a dearth of colour and that a lot of gold and brocade effects were used, but I’m not convinced this is accurate, as there were many periods of colour, but it just seemed gold/brocade predominated, leading to a bit of a feeling of repetitiousness.

The soundtrack was very enjoyable, but it wasn’t absolutely clear how it linked into the theme, though the small narrative segments did help tie everything together, and the audience enjoyed the part where the “computer” was testing to make sure there was enough safety distance to fire a 12″ shell. Speaking of which, there were many large shells used and this compensated for the firing angles, especially as the use of ramp 3 below the shells was broad.

I was a bit disappointed about the nauticals used – really all we got were some “magic carpet” flare effects, though these were very broadly covering the lake. The finale built powerfully to a climax, but ended in a small anti-climax as the “computer” announced the show had been successfully executed and was to shut down. Many people wondered if there would be a final finale at that point as the music also continued.

Despite these small criticisms, this was a really excellent display and was very enjoyable. A fantastic debut from the Croatian team, even more remarkable given their tender age and no experience of seeing a prior show live in Montreal (which partly explains the countdown duplication in the opening narration). I believe this display will make it to the podium, though there are two strong contenders left and one prior challenger for a prize.