Hello everyone,

Please post your reviews or brief thoughts/comments of the Italian display here.

Trav.

Trav,

you didn't see the display? Perfect weather, lots of salutes, great music, lots to like.

My review will be posted tomorrow.

Paul.

What a nice night this was, and what a display - a typical Italian performance, and it was great to see that Soldi had much better luck this time around. The weather tonight really turned out in the way I thought it would (namely with the clearing trend in the afternoon onwards), and though the winds were in fact light (I was intimidated by the calm air flow present from 8:15 to 9:25 p.m), they picked up to standards (9 km/h) that were just enough to blow the smoke away sufficiently towards the Northwest (SE winds) despite the left hand side of the display (our left) becoming a little drowned out by the smoke during the last ten minutes of the display - nothing too serious, nonetheless. Folks on Notre-Dame stationed Northwest of the firing site likely were receiving the smoke. The cloud of smoke itself building during the course of the last 10 minutes and after the display was gigantic towards the North, mainly due to the humidity and the vehemence exploited by the final several minutes of the display.

The display by Pirotecnia Soldi was thoroughly enjoyed and well organized from beginning to end and from segment to segment. It was a pleasure watching all of the dazzling colors and effects, including the intriguing sequences of nautical shells bursting loudly during two or three appearances. There was almost always a nice sense of balance between the left and right of the display and from top to bottom. I particularly loved the shell of shells and multi breakers while the heart shells, the "@" shells, star shells, red photoflashes and girandolas are always crowd-pleasers, as were the multitude of salutes fired throughout the show (some quite deafening). The farfalles were stunning, as expected. Something was also briefly lit on ramp 4 not long after the beginning, but I was unable to discern what it was at the time.

At times, however, I was under the impression that some of the segments were a little simplistic in firing scheme relative to the music, and though synchronization was excellent (especially with the low level effects), there were points where I felt that a little more could have been occurring to support some of the selected soundtrack. The theme appeared somewhat general in representation during the display, and thus perhaps took away something in the way of the creativity aspect. The music choice was certainly appropriate (along with some enjoyable tracks) in corresponding to the theme - some of the selections, though, were somewhat similar in delivery, but the firing, as well as the use of effects during those segments where similar tracks were present were not redundant - in fact, the display was hardly repetitive.

All that said, this was a well delivered performance that was nicely choreographed and possessed a good diversity of stunning lower and upper level effects. There were additionally some interesting color mixes, particularly in combination with the shell of shells. One captivating effect was the shells that scattered in a distinctive fashion (a little angular) upon exploding (it's difficult to describe it). Product quality was superb (notably the richness in some of the colors). The overall design of the display was good, especially in the way it transitioned from one segment to the next in rhythm and pace - the changes in emotion were certainly felt in that regard.

This was a fabulous display, especially in it being so powerful (my kind of fireworks display) during many segments and particularly the conclusion, which was well enjoyed. A lot of the salutes that exploded at mid level were awesome as they simulated, in my mind, frequent lightning, which I enjoyed immensely. The finale came with good crescendo, length, color, loudness and balance between all levels of the sky - certainly one of the better finales in the last five years. My left ear was actually a little deafened by the end of the finale due to some of the piercing sounds of the crackling salutes - brings back some good memories.

I had a wonderful night under beautiful weather, as Paul mentioned. What a great way to start the 2010 edition of the Montreal fireworks competition. However, I'm still kicking myself in forgetting to bring my camera tonight - a little more frustrating for me as I'm one with the reputation of having a good memory. I would be very grateful in someone later sharing the video of the finale.

Indeed, Paul, I was present in the anticipated large crowd of Notre-Dame and De Lorimier.

A return of more Summer-like weather on the way this coming week.

Trav.

Hello everybody,

Soldi did manage to suprise me tonight, I was impressed. It was a sucessful display with alot of good selections of shells, music and they we're given great weather on top of that. It went pretty dark at around 9pm, considering it is almost summer. Very nice display, the opening went very well. Alot of nice shells bursted a few seconds during the first segment. The thing I loved the most was that they used alot of multi-breaks and shells of shells including my favorite, studata lambi's. I noticed those shell of shells we're extremley noisy from being fired. I think alot of lift charge was added, but it really added to all that noise. What else to add, well the entire display was good. I noticed one song that had numerous shells of salutes, La Traviata, it was used in the movie Pretty Woman (the opera scene; pun intended )
Here is the link to the song: http://bit.ly/aG1xjL

The finale, what to say about that. It was quite powerful, but was lacking something, more shells. Over course I'm thinking overboard but I still find it wasn't good enough for a finale. It really was loud and noisy, but not enough shells. Volleys of salutes erupted for almost half a minute, which was similar to a Panzera type of finale, except that Panzera uses alot more shells in their finale's. Quite a pleasant display to start off this competition, but I am guaranteed, Italy won't win a Jupiter.

if you guys wish to see the finale in full HD (very good quality), here is a video I took: http://bit.ly/9udguK

Pat

Hey all,

I fully agree with what Trav wrote about the quality of the shells. However, the colors could have been a bit brighter. I found that some of the pastel colors used were a bit too faded (but that may be me being a bit too picky). But I also agree with Pat that it may not win any awards. Synch was good but some moments were unevenly paced in the high level shells department. Can't really complain about the low level effects ... well a bit more complexity would have been icing on the cake But the music selection was top notch, loved all songs. The theme was indeed generic though.

At least the finale was pure Italian fun. I had a smile on my face while it was going on. But the effect that really got to me was not the firework effects, but the lifting off of those shell-of-shells. My god some of them when taking off were louder then large salutes bursting lol.

A from me on this show

Dan

Pat,

Thank you very much for posting your video of the finale - I appreciate it.

It went pretty dark at around 9pm, considering it is almost summer.

As we are nearing the Summer solstice, these are the longest days of the year - for the next little while, the rays of the sunset can still be seen on the horizon as late as 9:30-9:35 p.m when you look West.

Dan,

My god some of them when taking off were louder then large salutes bursting lol.

I felt the same thing, but I must say that I do so love that launching thump associated with the shell of shells!

Yes, I agree that some of the colors did fade out a little faster than others, but, at the same time, there were those that were a little more vibrant in richness, namely the green and red stars. Still, when it comes to actual color richness, Argentina 2009 comes to mind first hand.

And indeed, though synchronization was overall excellent, higher sections of the sky were a little more slack in pace than what was seen near lower level, which was practically flawless.

Glad to hear that you, too, enjoyed the Italian display.

Trav.

Smoke,

No problem, I actually took a video of the entire display, however some are 2 minutes long which aren't worth uploading. But the finale I did take a 3 minute video of which I wanted to post.

Dan,

My god some of them when taking off were louder then large salutes bursting lol.

I mentioned that. Hehe. It was quite a powerful display full of those shells. I think there was alot of lift charge in those shells to make alot of noise. I was actually at the Promenade Bellrive Park. I recommend anyone who wants to hear maximum noise, to watch a display there. The noise was incredible over there. Probably because it's really close to La Ronde. I hope you enjoyed it Paul. Kujos to Soldi!

Pat

sounds like soldi had a good luck this year can't wait to see the video

Vander

That was a nice season opening !

Soldi had a very nice variety of products with vibrant colors. Their show was entertaining and had numerous surprising moments, but I feel that the soundtrack mix was not up to par for the International des Feux (sloppy transitions with fade-outs, etc.)

I also felt that the mood was relatively similar throughout the show, as there was not enough contrast between upbeat and sad sequences.

All in all, I gave them 84% (but a perfect score for the Pièces pyrotechniques criteria, as their selection of products was indeed awesome, with effects rarely seen in Montreal).

You may read my evaluation and check my pictures (including shots of the firing ramps) on my website.

STL

P.S. Thumbs up to Bob Burch for his ND filter tip; it helped a lot to keep the exposition correct (I used a polarizer instead of a ND filter, though, but it helped nonetheless).

Bob Burch has also kindly put up a full video of the display here: http://www.burchcom.com/2010/index.html

Paul.

For once, Pirotecnica Soldi didn't experience any (obvious from the public's point of view) major problem and the weather couldn't be better for a display, unless considering as such the change to the initial schedule, which has some rationale since the first entrant seldom reach the podium. But whatever Soldi's position on the schedule, I don't believe that "Opera" would have allowed the Italian contestant to win a Jupiter.

I really appreciated the wide range of pyrotechnic effects displayed, especially all the pyrotechnic devices launched on the lake. Being a fan of nautical shells, I was delighted with a couple of great barrages. Also, I enjoyed some sequences of gerbs whose shape quickly changed with the music, a pattern successfully performed in 2006 and which may appear to me as a Soldi's signature. The richness of colour was sometimes obvious, with various shades of blue and green. A barrage of kamuros (though these shells didn't appear to be of large size, but I'm not sure), and numerous shells of shells were great. To my eyes, the finale appeared massive, loud, and well-done with the Italian flag made of several barrages of mines along the lake. I'm always surprised to see that some viewers' are never satisfied with finales, always dreaming of past ones which are maybe embellished as time goes.

Despite all these strengths, I think it wasn't more than a "good" display according to the Montreal standards. The main weakness was the low complexity of the artistic and technical designs, with a primitive storyline (not sure that the story thing matters so much for most people, though) and pretty basic patterns of pyrotechnic effects. In previous interviews with Paul and/or Mylène, a Soldi's pyrotechnician explained that a fifth ramp was not going to be used in order to launch several nautical pieces. Previous displays have showed that the former doesn't prevent the latter. Otherwise, while the synchronization was generally great, the pace of the fireworks haven't followed the music during some segments.

Since I have graded so many papers and exams in the past months, I don't carefully assess each display according to all criteria this year. I will roughly rank them with these criteria in mind. So far, Pirotecnica Soldi is my number one... but should change soon! To be more precise, I think that the Italian show was slightly below the average of displays performed in Montreal for the reasons I explained above.

It was nonetheless a very enjoyable one and the (light) crowd at La Ronde obviously liked it. A few words about the official ceremony which was held before the display. On opening nights, it is usually longer and starts sooner. It was not the case this year. La Ronde new president (Philippe Bélec) and the competition director (Martyne Gagnon) were the only ones to be introduced to the audience by the host Michel Lacroix and to speak to the audience. No officials from Montreal, provincial or federal governments were there. The Italian consul was among the audience but was not invited to deliver a speech, as it is usually the case. This is unfortunate because such speeches add to the prestige of the event. However, I was happy to not see a singer being interviewed by Michel Lacroix: they seldom have noteworthy things to say about the fireworks. Furthermore, Michel Lacroix announced that a contestant will be rewarded by an Environmental prize this year again, which has not been announced in previous press releases.

Fred

It was nonetheless a very enjoyable one and the (light) crowd at La Ronde obviously liked it. A few words about the official ceremony which was held before the display. On opening nights, it is usually longer and starts sooner. It was not the case this year. La Ronde new president (Philippe Bélec) and the competition director (Martyne Gagnon) were the only ones to be introduced to the audience by the host Michel Lacroix and to speak to the audience. No officials from Montreal, provincial or federal governments were there. The Italian consul was among the audience but was not invited to deliver a speech, as it is usually the case. This is unfortunate because such speeches add to the prestige of the event. However, I was happy to not see a singer being interviewed by Michel Lacroix: they seldom have noteworthy things to say about the fireworks. Furthermore, Michel Lacroix announced that a contestant will be rewarded by an Environmental prize this year again, which has not been announced in previous press releases.

Speaking of the ceremony, it appears that the Michael Jackson display depleted La Ronde's surplus stock, as only titanium salutes were fired instead of the more elaborated bouquet that is usually launched after the national anthem rendition.

I hope that there was some surplus this week, because a bouquet of comets and shells sure beats salutes for that kind of thing.

Have anyone seen the "In 5 minutes" page in the Journal de Montréal on June 12th ? I think that was one of the sloppiest jobs that I've ever seen : they were talking about the pyrotechnic displays in La Ronde, but the page was ridden with errors (the aforementioned salutes were referred to as "Cannon Shots" and pyrotechnic effects really had cryptic names, like someone google-translated an english glossary). Maybe these were real effect names, but I've done my homework and read from a lot of french sources for my Pyrotechnic Glossary and I've never seen these names.

What did they put for the effect names? Seems that it's not possible to read the article online without a subscription.

As for the ceremony, it was the tradition for most of the 26 years of the competition to only fire titanium salutes - firing more than that is a very recent change. Though there was a bouquet fired when Philippe Bélec announced the competition was open. Disappointing that the lap of honour around the lake for the pyrotechnicians has been dropped, presumably because of cost and/or the difficulty to access the place where the boat used to start from due to the new Ednor ride.

Paul.

What did they put for the effect names? Seems that it's not possible to read the article online without a subscription.


Unfortunately, I did not keep the journal. I'll ask someone who might still have it to give it to me so I can scan and display it in all its "glory".

If I remember correctly, they called cakes "compacts" (I've seen gâteau, bombardo, etc. but "compact" ?). Well, let's hope that I'll be able to retrieve a copy of the article.

Maybe it's just me, though.

Edit : I'll be able to get it next saturday, so I'll keep you posted.

The irony is that Soldi didn't use any cakes in the traditional sense - though one could argue they did have some bombardo boards (an assemblage of one-shot tubes - these are almost cakes, but not quite).

Paul.