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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