A Musical Ride
Designed by Rodrigo Oyarzo. FireOne firing with 95 32-cue modules and ~2600 cues
A hot and humid evening for the first competing entry in the 2016 edition was not marred by the forecast thunderstorms. Despite weak winds, there was sufficient breeze to clear the smoke away towards the crowds on the Jacques Cartier bridge.
Competing for the first time, the Chilean company nevertheless had all the resources of the Barcelona-based parent, Pirotecnia Igual, to draw upon. The soundtrack was immediately the stand-out element of the display. Despite many people’s reservations about it being composed of 37 pieces of music, and further complicated by the distribution of these over more than 100 artists, it was extremely well put together.
The display design was clean and uncomplicated with good use made of the space, though it felt a little bit simplistic at times in terms of sequences and angles used. Unfortunately, the 360 degree “wheel” was occasionally obscured by smoke and probably wasn’t high enough off the ground to be fully appreciated. The products used were very good, with vivid colours and interesting effects. However, after about the first ten minutes, we had seen all of the different types of products that would be used in the display, except for nautical shells, which appeared in the final five minutes of the show.
The choreography worked very well with the complex soundtrack and was clearly enjoyed by the audience. Just enough pauses were present in the soundtrack to give appropriate respite for applause. There were a couple of places where it appeared something was in the wrong place, or was missing from ramp 3, but, in general, the display was very fluid and worked well with the rather intense soundtrack!
I would have liked to see a bit more variety of effects, or, rather, less repetition of the same effects in different contexts. I did enjoy the vibrancy of the colours used, especially when there were colour-changes within an effect. When the nautical shells started to make their appearance, they really added to the display and filled the lake with kamuro and then silver comets in the finale. The finale was well executed and built in pace and intensity right until the end, causing the audience to leap to their feet and give the team a standing ovation at the end!
An excellent debut display by the Chileans with a soundtrack that must be a strong contender for the associated Jupiter. The display itself was good, but I feel probably not complex enough to garner top-spot this year. All that said, a very enjoyable evening indeed!