Hi guys,

Post your reviews of Pyromagic's performance here.

Edit: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WARNING FOR LAVAL AT 8:43 p.m. Please take precaution! Tornado warning has just been ended for Laval.

Trav.

Despite the weather, a great performance from Team Pyromagic productions.

The video is uploading as I write this ... and I'm heading to bed, still somewhat soggy from the downpours.

Paul.

Even if I got drenched due to my decision to put my jacket over my camera to keep taking pictures despite the rain, I enjoyed China's display very much.

I think that this firm is a serious Gold Jupiter contender. This was pure chinese pyrotechnic magic.

I posted my review and my pictures on my website (in French).

Simon, thanks for posting the link to your website - it's interesting to read your critiques of the shows so far this year and your evaluations!

You're right, it was a very good performance by Pyromagic productions - for anyone looking at the video, there are a few places where the rain distorted the image somewhat- I did my best to hold the umbrella and wipe the lens from time to time under quite difficult conditions - also you should be able to see quite a few flashes of lightning directly behind the fireworks - it certainly added an extra thrill to the display!

Paul.

Seems like not so many forum members saw last night's display. I just uploaded photos from Bob - they came out pretty well considering the heavy rain. Also, the video clearly shows the letter projections that were mentioned in the interview and press release.

Report to follow soon.

Paul.

I am not so sure that the letters were a success. If you had read the press release or had read this page, you would have been knew about them. For the person who just came to watch a show, they probably didn't get it. It is tough to pull off those gags and I don't think this one worked. The extended ramps that ran perpendicular to ramp 3 were very cool. Wish they would have done more mine walks up and down but great effect.

All in all a good show considering the weather. The Team did a great job.

Ah well, the crazy thunderstorm definitely affected my mood, so I hope it won't influence my rankings too much. Why such as an amazing thunderstorm had to happen on fireworks night? I was way too distracted to fully enjoy it! And I think the one we had at La Ronde wasn't as good as the one in north Montreal!

Despite the messy weather, I thought this was a very fine display. Sorry, but I just had difficulty understanding the theme, even though Tyler tried to explain it to me at the last minute. lol I get that it involves a room where there's special decoration and harmony. lol I had never heard of Feng shui before, anyway!

This display obviously felt very Chinese, filled with a lot of details, like the one they did in 2003. I really liked the diverse type of shells and the various special effects they used. It almost never felt repetitive!

The special feature (the platform) on the lake was really kewl! It was very nicely used, and added something special to the display.

The only downside for me is the connection between the theme and the display. I didn't get the difference between each segments (fire, water, etc). It made me wonder how the fireworks represented fire or wood, for example. About the special wording effect, no one noticed them, expect one person. lol I guess it was happening too fast. I just saw them on Paul's video. Pretty kewl, but I was expecting something more extraordinary!

Synchronization was pretty good, and the music went smoothly with the fireworks. The finale was good, but not any better than what we've seen so far. None of this year's finales were exactly great or super exciting (maybe with the exception of Panzera).

So, aside the theme, I think the display alone was one of the best so far!

Very difficult to rank, and I'm afraid my mood might have played a role.

My rankings so far - rated from La Ronde:

1. England
2. China
3. Spain
4. Australia

En effet, certains ont-ils été foudroyés par la tempête? En dépit de la mention "peut être reporté au lendemain", c'est bien la bonne vieille directive "présenté beau temps, mauvais temps" qui a prévalu hier soir. La scène était surréaliste, avec tous ces éclairs qui ont scisaillé le ciel pendant toute la durée du spectacle. La scène était magnifique, aussi, une nouvelle dimension s'ajoutait au spectacle son et lumière auquel nous sommes habitués. La pyrotechnie qui défie les éléments de la nature. Une première: le feu a débuté en avance sur l'heure prévue, de cinq minutes, afin de pouvoir terminer la performance avant une détérioration des conditions météorologiques. Les organisateurs avaient de bonnes informations météo: environ cinq minutes après la fin du feu, le vent a gagné en intensité.

Pyromagic s'est certainement démarquée par un spectacle particulièrement original et surprenant. D'abord, on a relegué la musique traditionnelle généralement entendue dans les feux chinois pour une bande sonore un peu plus moderne. Ensuite, l'usage de mines en forme de lettres a permis d'écrire avec une remarquable clarté les cinq thèmes du feu: métal, eau, feu, bois et terre. On pouvait même distinguer les deux traits sur le I de bois. Ce procédé est nettement plus efficace que les bombes aériennes dessinant diverses formes (de telles bombes étaient nombreuses, par ailleurs, illustrant les symboles de l'homme et de la femme, notamment). Enfin, 49 postes de tir particuliers répartis sur la rampe 3 (7 postes) et sur 42 plates-formes bien allignées, créant une grille 7 X 7 d'où sont apparues des fusées éclairantes multicolores, des fontaines et de nombreuses mines tirées suivant des séquences rapides dans le sens de la largeur ou de la profondeur, de la rampe 3 vers les spectateurs. Pour ce dispositif particulier qui a créé des images saisissantes, et considérant par ailleurs la constance et la densité de la performance, j'accorde une note parfaite (10/10) au critère de la conception technique.

Comme en 2007, un usage intensif de la rampe 4, également, d'où ont émané plusieurs pièces pyrotechniques, en bouquet ou en séquences suivant le périmètre de cette plarte-forme circulaire. J'ai noté la présence de bombes particulières, qui produisaient un effet de saturne, mais dont les points de l'anneau éclataient ensuite en pistilles blanches.

La synchronisation a été excellente. Sur l'avant-dernier tableau, les séquences de mines tirées en diagonales sur les rampes 3 et 5 étaient particulièrement réussies.

Pièces pyrotechniques: 9,0
Conception pyromusicale: 9,5
Conception technique: 10,0
Bande sonore: 9,0
Synchronisation: 9,0
Total: 46,5 (93,0%)



1. Pyromagic (Hong Kong)
2. Pirotécnia Igual (Espagne)
3. Pains Fireworks (Angleterre)
4. Foti International Fireworks (Australie)

Hello everyone,

Thunderstorm vs. Fireworks?

Unfortunately, with the very severe weather over here in the West Island Saturday evening, I was unable to attend this display. What you folks witnessed in La Ronde was nothing compared to what had happened in parts of the West Island, the South Shore, parts of Laval, Mirabel, and, as Enkil mentioned, Montreal-North. A powerful line of severe multi-cell thunderstorms raced through much of the island, altogether lasting for a good two hours. Marble-sized hail was reported, many roads were flooded from the vicious pelting rains and the lightning was very intense and, at times, frequent - at one point, a powerful bolt of lightning with a strong electromagnetic pulse struck within 500 meters (one of the loudest thunder crashes I've ever heard from a strike) of my residence and sparked a fire in the property of a nearby home. The downbursts of wind from the first storm were clocked at 85 km/h or more, which, I believe, prompted the isolated power outages all about. Environment Canada also dispatched a team to investigate the damage done in parts of the Mirabel area and they have recently confirmed that a tornado did in fact touchdown from the first thunderstorm that rolled through that evening. Funnel clouds were also spotted hovering over parts of Laval, which is what prompted the advisory in that area.

All that said, the weather did follow closely to what was forecasted: risk of convective showers or thunderstorms (some severe) into the evening and winds coming out from the South to SSW, while humidity levels were moderate to high and temperatures remained around 19 C. The first line of heavy storms erupted not long after lunch time, while those with the cold front in the latter part of the afternoon cleared out when I expected them to: 11:30 - 12 a.m. The sun that appeared later in the afternoon was enough to cause the thunderstorms to fire up explosively in the way they did (they developed in no more than 20 minutes in the late afternoon-early evening). Fred, that is correct: although the wind direction followed closely to what I had expected (smoke moving off mostly to the right), the wind speeds were much lower than anticipated (6-8 km/h) at 10 p.m., and that is for one main reason. When there are thunderstorms occurring close to a given area, they often disrupt the main wind flow patterns and can even alter their direction briefly depending on how close they are to your position. Notice also that at 9 and 11:30 p.m the winds were closer to the expected 20 km/h mark. It was only around 9:30 to about 10:35 that the winds diminished, which tended to happen in conjunction with the arrival of the storms.
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Alright, no more weather rant (apologies if I overdid it) - it's just that it was an exceptional night and experience for many of us. Moving on to my thoughts about the Chinese display. First, thank you, Paul, for the wonderful video - you did fantastic camera work despite the weather conditions, and it was really nice that you captured some spider lightning from time to time! I saw some spectacular ones (though dangerously close) here as well!

This was a fantastic, traditional and artistic display that incorporated a fabulous design in many respects. Synchronization was excellent, and I found the team made it so creative and dazzling compared to the other displays that we've seen - in some ways, some of the sequencing along low level was quite enjoyable in that it was often reminiscent of what Portugal did last year in their display. The mines, in particular, were right on cue with the music, and I personally loved the colorful flares when they had emerged in rows along the bottom at one point. There was never really a loss of balance in this display, and I found the activity at mid to high level was nicely supported by the lower level effects. The colors were really nice and were in a fair mixture throughout. The product quality was simply magnificent, especially the farfalles, and the variety of mines and candles that were employed. The music choice was appropriate and I thought the fireworks went well with each and every one of them - I actually enjoyed a couple of the tracks quite a bit. However, there were some points where I felt that the fireworks weren't doing too much justice with regards to some of the more hyped music. A couple of moments, in my mind, felt a touch redundant in terms of firing patterns, but these were relatively minor anyway.

This was, so far, one of the better displays in terms of organization and fluidity, namely in the way the show was segmented in dedicating 5 parts to representing each of the elements - I thought that was nicely done since it kept the show in perspective, including the parts illustrating both man and women. That said, the transitions were apparent in both rhythm and pace and, ideally, clearly distinguished the more serene parts from that of the hyped. However, the lettering attempts used in the display to briefly introduce the elements, to me, didn't really stand out as much as I was was expecting them to (perhaps because I was waiting for something a little more extraordinary in terms of their appearance, I guess), and it was hard to distinguish some of the letters - the only ones that I could really more and less see were the letters S, A and the I. Due to this, it was a little difficult to know what element was being represented at whatever time, that is, only until the announcer mentioned what was expected during some parts.

As Enkil also mentioned, I, too, had a little bit of trouble grasping the theme of the display in relation to the fireworks, mainly in how the man and woman parts of the show connected to the 5 elements - I simply didn't understand that too well. Also, despite how the show was concocted, I also couldn't quite establish that fundamental relationship between the elements themselves and how they were illustrated through the fireworks. Although I can see what was being attempted with the theme, the connection between the critical components that encompassed the thematic premise left me a little bewildered. The theme isn't exactly original, but the way the components of it are brought together was totally authentic, even though it may have been difficult for me to understand some things.

The effects were quite fascinating, particularly in what was going on at low level. Despite the early start, the show began in a very dazzling way, with many shells of strobes lighting up the sky. There were many effects seen in this display, including shells of hearts, shells of stobes, bow shells and go-getters, dazzling farfalles (quite popular this year, it would seem), mines, mines of swirls and screaming serpents, shells of stars, salutes, shells of salute-terminating stars as well as a number of unusual patterns that I couldn't quite make out (I think a few of the shells exploded into an arrow through a heart, not sure). Finally, there were many colorful flares sometimes seen along the bottom.

The finale was pretty nice, but could have been just a little more vehement towards the end (I know, it takes an exceptional finale to impress me lol). I did, though, really enjoy the constant screaming serpents at low level while everything was being fired at higher altitudes - screaming serpents always make things so epic and stunning, especially if they're a part of a finale. Still, it was a really nice finish to an overall enjoyable and beautifully crafted performance.

Aside from the theme, a truly successful display from the Chinese team, and I wouldn't be surprised if they secure a spot on that podium this year. Like many others stated, especially for me, the lightning really added to the display - took me back to Italy 1994. For me, at this point in time, I think it's a battle between England and China. However, remember that there are 4 participants that have yet to compete.
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It is fortunate that the weather was not so severe near Ile St-Helene, or else, given the severity of the conditions relatively closeby, the display would have easily become another Canada 1995 (the entire evening really reminded me of that night lol). The winds were also a saving grace for this show. Following the display, I found it kind of funny that one of the announcers on Rhythme FM said that this was the first display to have lightning occurring during the fireworks, either in the distance or overhead! They have obviously forgotten Italy 1994, Canada 1995, USA 2002 and, more recently, England 2007.

Though I was not able to catch this display, I am, as always, very grateful for Paul's video. Thanks to that, I was able to see the display, and from La Ronde's perspective! A big thank you, Paul! Just before the display had started, I just turned on Rhythme FM right on time (not knowing that the show would start off early) and listened to the music and tried to envision the display. At the same time, I was watching over La Ronde by keeping a track of radar imagery, and I could clearly see the rains and their intensity throughout in the area for a good period of time before, during, and after the display. Indeed, that was certainly one night to remember in the history of this competition. I should probably add China 2009 to the list. lol

BTW, the forked lightning that captivated everyone periodically during the display is commonly referred to as "spider lightning" or "anvil crawlers". It's a common favorite lightning type , especially in the way it splits the sky - we saw some massive ones over here. Though I didn't attend, at least I was still able to catch Mother Nature's incredible fireworks.

Trav.

I am really glad to see that Pyromagic's display was so well received by those who have already posted their reviews. I was concerned that there were two major obstacles facing Hong Kong in regard to audience appreciation. The first factor was, of course, the weather. Considering my vantage point on Saturday, - section 301, 3 rows from the Lac des Dauphins - there were umbrellas obscuring the entire right-hand side of the display at times. I didn't notice the special lettering effect because of it - though others missed it due to it not being as obvious as we'd all thought. The other obstacle facing Pyromagic was one of their own creation - a sophisticated theme that could largely go over the heads of some people.

I found this to be an overall fantastic display. From beginning to end I did not notice a dull moment. Variety of product was impressive and the quality was, well, pretty good in my opinion. Synchronization was very well done with a variety of 'beat' and 'mood' synchronization that kept things interesting. The pacing was superb with the music driving the progression without being overpresent. I found this particular achievement to be especially impressive. Like in a good film, the music influences the mood of the viewer without calling attention to itself. I thought that Pyromagic's soundtrack worked in the same manner. Using more obscure tracks certainly helps in this regard as the 30 minute presentation holds together without being too segmented based on music alone - contrast that with the 2009 Australia display last week by Foti which is easier to break down into the "Magical Mystery Segment;" "Quen Segments;" "Twinkle Twinkle/Wish Upon a Star Segemnts" etc. Hong Kong put on what felt like a continuous 30 minute display vs. Australia's series of tableaus.

Now, about the theme. As Enkil mentioned, prior to the display I tried to explain to him some of the basic principles behind the Feng Shui concept. I gave him an example of an application of it (like on a living room) which probably threw him off a bit since what Pyromagic presented was much less an explanation or an overview of Feng Shui but a fireworks display influenced by the basic concept. It was about building Qi - energy or "chi" - while exploring and representing the five elements of Feng Shui. The five elements each have a balance of yin (female) and yang (male) - explaining the presence of the male a female symbols. While much of the imagery went over my head I felt as though the display had a definite flow and that everything was united in a way - the finale helped to confirm this feeling. I did notice the sperm and egg symbolism that Paul alluded to in his interview with Pyromagic - I thought it was really beautiful. Was it a rain or tear drop in the corner of my eye?

All in all I find that Pyromagic put on an outstanding display and deserve to be serious contenders for the Gold Jupiter based on what we have witnessed thus far.

Enjoy the sun this week!
Tyler

P.S. sorry to hear that you missed the display Trav. If it happens again don't hesitate to call - I could have given you a ride there and back.

It's the time again to put up a review. It was probably tough to take a video with that kind of weather.. Compliments to paul for all the hard work taking these videos The display started very well, first thing i thought was that the show will be a really great one. I'm sure the 49 platforms looked really good live specially when seen from the top.

The synchronization was really great. The 49 platforms really did add something to the display but maybe i was expecting a litte bit too much. I thought that they could have used it a lot better. My favorite uses of the platforms were somwere at the latter part of the show with the comets to falling leaves and the running purple mines. I also expected a bit too much with the letters, i thought that they could have been a lot better if there were a bit less stars in each of the shells but it was a very good try.

For each of the segment i thought that they could have chosen better colors and songs. For example, in the water part i thought that they could have used more blues and the song could have been more watery. My favorite segment would be the butterfly lovers part. I thought that that segment had one of the better sequencing and the choices of effects for that part was pretty well done. The products were also nice as expected from pyromagic. There were a lot of nice colors and the far falles were good. I think that there was no nautical effects used but the platforms replaced them pretty well.

The weather looks like it almost took control of the display. Some of the fans were not symetrical and some other little mistakes. Maybe with a better weather the display could have been executed better. This is because i think what they have intended to show was much better. At times i thought that the crowd cheered more for the lightnings in the background than the display itself (well, this was also a perfect combination ). The competition so far is already hard to evaluate. All the shows has been really well done and most or all of them were almost flawless. So far this is my rankings:

1. Pirotecnia Igual (Spain)
2. Pyromagic (China)
3. Pains Fireworks (England) and Foti Fireworks (Australia)- Can't make up my mind.

I'm really looking forward to the next show, by Jupiter. I've seen some of their shows on videos and they're all very well made.

Vander

Hi Tyler,

Thank you, as always, for the gesture. I should have thought about calling you earlier, especially since I knew about the threat of potentially severe weather in the late afternoon-early evening. The problem was that we were to leave later than normal because of earlier plans. By the time we were ready to depart (around 8:45 p.m.), the severe thunderstorms hit us hard. The roadways rapidly became hazardous for us to travel and exiting the West Island quickly became virtually impossible, especially because of the winds and lashing rains.

Thank you, Tyler, for being so thoughtful. If there are any future barriers, I will be sure to let you know.

Trav.

And here's my review... Mylene et Artifice

Salut les gars

Oh la la....quelle soirée ...je maudis le temps. J'ai vu de belles choses dans ce ciel complètement dément mais je n'ose pas trop me prononcer car j'ai regardé le feu très loin à l'abri...au début du pont...sans musique..maudite batteries..
Merci de ta description Fred...Pyromagic nous ont habitués à de beaux passages originauxet de magnifiques formes multiples dans le ciel. Je suis en beau joual vert de ne pas avoir pu vraiment apprécier tout cà convenablement.
Samedi ..fête de famille oblige..je ne verrai pas ce feu . Je serai à la Ronde pour voir la prestation de Royal .

Bonne soirée

Roger

My report is finally up - sorry for the delay. I think Pyromagic are strong contenders for a Jupiter - at least at this stage of the competition. Still some very strong performances to come I feel.

Paul.

I agree Paul. Quebec is coming up

Pat

Anyone have links to public video that shows the 'letter projections' from the Pyromagic show?

Hi paramount,

Here is footage that I came across on YouTube:

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EClxxoLEsHU

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaeU0r9LIcs&list=UUGZhZGToQqF9z-0b38Wey 0w&index=21

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP57n6cLCZs&list=UUGZhZGToQqF9z-0b38Wey 0w&index=20

Part 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IxRj9JXVvg

Edit: It is difficult to discern the letter projections, mostly due to the weather conditions at the time.

Trav.

It was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks Trav.
I remember the show and the weather, at first I didn't make out the letters but figured out midway in that they were spelling things out. I also remember being amazed how well things went considering the weather that night, they sure pulled it out.

Any chance we see Pyromagic back again sometime soon?

Any chance we see Pyromagic back again sometime soon?

I am not too sure, but I am predicting them to return this year, should Hong Kong/China be amongst competing countries for 2013.

Trav.