Dreaming in Montreal
Designed by Duyeon Yoon; PyroDigital Firing with 350 FM-16 modules and ~4500 cues
For their company’s fourth participation in Montreal, the Korean team were blessed with perfect weather for their five day setup as well as for the evening of the display, though the wind direction did cause some smoke accumulation for the audience at La Ronde, though it was never thick enough to obscure the view. The audience were eagerly anticipating the effects that would be produced from the tallest crane ever used during a competition – an impressive 72m high (which compares with the 60m of the Grande Roue).
72m Crane vs 60m Grand Roue
After a slow start due to narration, the display kicked off into high gear with very impressive sequences of one-shots along ramp 3. The design was interesting, especially with the use of the ramp 5 pontoons where we saw line rockets as well as interesting patterns of horizontally fired mines. On ramp 3, we also had fans of one-shots aimed at the audience – similar to how Dragon Fireworks, from The Philippines, had done last year with slice cakes.
The 4m poles along ramp 3 were put to good use with gerbs that fired patterns in squares and crosses as well as being used for coloured bengals. The audience were surprised by the nautical cakes which filled the lake completely – to within a few metres of the front row of the audience.
The shells used were very high quality and it was good to see some segmented “ghost shells” as well as other interesting effects. I particularly liked the large smiley faces which transformed into huge red hearts – something I’ve not seen before. Synchronization to the music was excellent and the transitions between songs were done well, though a few times I found the periods of dark sky were just a bit too long, leading me to think there might be a technical problem.
And now the crane! With the circles of one shots being so high in the air, the comets could fire around the full 360o without touching the ground – giving a perfect circle. We saw interesting three-bladed spinning fans of shots as well as spirals and other patterns. All were exceedingly well done, but it was a pity there couldn’t have been more. The supporting effects from ramp 3 and shells above allowed enough space to fully appreciate the patterns. There was also a large “Niagara Falls” suspended from the crane – more in the shape of a Mt Fuji than the actual falls and it all fired perfectly – though was pretty smoky (especially as the wind was towards the audience). While it was firing, the top half of the one-shot slices on the crane also fired above giving an interesting effect.
Another interesting effect was the use of a remote-controlled plane of some kind that was lit up with white LEDs to look like a large bird. This flew around over the lake and then, after a few loops, golden gerbs started to fire. Somehow these must have unbalanced the vehicle and it plunged into the lake, though the pyrotechnics continued to fire leading many in the audience around me to assume this was the intended effect.
The finale was excellent and powerful and there were quite a few powerful moments throughout the display, but I found in a couple of places there could have been a bit more dynamic range and, at times, I felt the display was weaker than the music dictated and there were some periods of darkness that lasted just a bit too long. A few technical problems on the right hand side of ramp 3 also didn’t help. At the end of the display, the audience rose to their feet and gave the team a well deserved standing ovation! It was certainly a very creative and entertaining display, but I suspect will come up against some stiff competition later on this season.
Hanwha Team
