I find myself quite sadly saying yet again that the Montreal fireworks competition is very soon coming to a close, and it is already time for us to make our personal predictions as to which of this year's participants will be on the podium this coming Friday (August 3rd). As such, please use this thread to post your jury predictions and personal choices for the Jupiter winners of 2012. As always, some justification would be interesting to go along with your choices, but, of course, it is certainly not compulsory.

Trav.

It is quite difficult to believe all 8 entry's have presented their displays in such a short time. Many have given us a different perspective and thought on which we enjoyed more. Another 10 months of dry leaves, cold gusts of wind, snow, and pure boredom will emerge for all us enthusiasts who closely follow the competition, apparently, winter does not seem to be any concern for Vander...

I look forward to next years entry. Benito Pagano of Ipon (finally rebuilt from the ground up), has become a very close friend and we talk quite often about the upcoming displays he has planned including one in Manila in 2013, let's hope he takes part of in next years line up!

My jupiter predictions for the 2012 season:

1. Portugal
2. Italy
3. USA

Friday evening, Panzera will give the crowd a grand finale. Let us hope this closing display will beat last years! If no reviews are posted regarding the Panzera display, I wish you all a great remainder of the summer season and keep your fingers crossed for some great firms to participate next year!

Best regards to all the members,
Pat

That was definitely the most competitive season yet ever since i took part in the forums! I think that the last time montreal had a season like this was in 2005. Hopefully next season will be as good or even better! The high number of new entrants this season paid off!

My final standings for this year are as follows when looked at the grading system that i use which gives 10 points for each elements of the show.

1. Italy (97%)
2. Portugal (95%)
3. USA (94%)
4. Greece (91%)
5. Canada (90.4%)
6. Japan (88%)
7. France (84%)
8. Switzerland (79%)

My rankings stay the same for my personal rankings and my jury predictions!

Vander

1. Portugal
2. U.S.A.
3. Italy

The competitive part of the 28th Montreal International Fireworks Competition is now over. As we wait for the closing show, it's time to point out our preferences, to make our predictions, and to make an overall assessment regarding the 2012 season.

First of all, the organizers once again did a great job to gather all these competitors and to setup amazing and very different displays. With five teams who competed in Montreal for the very first time (while designer Patrick Brault was very familiar with the competition), the 2012 vintage promised to be one of novelty. It was a privilege to admire the beautiful home-made shells produced by Aoki and Vaccalluzzo, to follow the remote-controlled pyroplane (or helicopter) brought by Sugyp, the innovative concept prepared by Nanos, and the well-designed sequences of Sirius. While the weather was cooperative on fireworks nights, the crews often had to work in warm and humid conditions. The calendar, different because major construction works on the Jacques-Cartier bridge, was good for me, but had a negative impact on the attendance: although the audience was very large for the first shows (on Saturdays), the size of the crowd declined on Tuesdays and, to a lesser extent, on Fridays. I also want to highlight an increasing problem with the seating process, which is disturbing because a growing number of people arrived late in the grandstands or don't find their seats in a reasonable amount of time.

Regarding my personal choices, I already stated in my reviews on this forum that Portuguese and Swiss teams are the best in my opinion. Grupo Luso Pirotécnia continues to push away the limits and makes several efforts to develop innovative ways to perform a pyromusical show, this year with an audacious opening, a great soundtrack added by live performances, and the effects from a set of 8 pendulums. Sugyp brought a major innovation to launch the fireworks which caused many reactions from the audience (the most vocal moment this season), the aerospace theme was nice with the music selection, the biplane setup at the beginning of the show, the launch of the rocket sequence, etc.

It's more complicated for me to identify a third choice. I don't have time to watch again all the videos (partly thanks to our provincial premier who today called an election, thus adding to my workload...), but after reading all the reviews I wrote in this forum following each performance, I select the Canadian team. I didn't enjoy this one as much as others mainly because the music doesn't fit with my personal taste, but when I take a look on less subjective criteria, I believe Sirius' show was slightly better than the others, due to the overall design: complex sequences, a wide range of products which avoid redundancy, great use of the available space including the lake with many nautical effects, a well-done soundtrack and flawless synchronization. Quality of the products was better in the Italian and Japanese displays, the theme more obvious in the French show, but all them suffered a little more on other criteria than the Canadian one.

Fred's personal choices:

1. Grupo Luso Pirotécnia (Portugal)
2. Sugyp (Switzerland)
3. Sirius (Canada)

It's another story to predict what the results are going to be. In contrast with previous years, I feel a great diversity in opinions of many people who watch the shows (including members of this forum) and few consensus. So almost every combinations seem possible. However, my personal choice includes two of the first three entrants, and doesn't include France, Italy or USA which were the last three contestants. Statistics provide evidence that a such output is not very likely, so my jury prediction is different.

Since 1992, the Montreal International Fireworks Competition relies on a popular jury and presents about the same number of contestants, that is, between 7 and 9 (more often 8 or 9). A different sort of jury existed from 1985 to 1991 and the line-up was shorter. There were Bronze, Silver and Gold Jupiter awards each year (but in 2004 with the Platinum Jupiter, nonetheless three finalists were announced). The following statistics are about the three annual winners (or finalists) from 1992 to 2011:

- Only 1 of 20 first in-competition displays (5%) won a Jupiter (Ipon in 1998).
- 13 of 20 last in-competition displays (65%) won a Jupiter.
- 10 of 60 three first contestants (16,7%) won a Jupiter (never more than one within a single year).
- 34 of 60 three last contestants (56,7%) won a Jupiter (we have never seen a podium without any contestant from the ultimate trio).

I do believe that Portuguese and Swiss performances were strong and memorable enough that jury members kept a great souvenir about them until the end of the competition (which occurred within a shorter time lapse than usual), but I also think that at least one of the last three contestants will be on the podium. Generally speaking, narrative-based shows are not really appreciated in Montreal. On the other side, I think the massive display set up by Atlas Pyrovision, combined to the fact there wasn't serious "mistake" in the American show, will bring the USA on the podium.

Fred's jury prediction:

1. Grupo Luso Pirotécnia (Portugal)
2. Atlas Pyrovision (United States)
3. Sugyp (Switzerland)

Fred

It is almost impossible to do a fair prediction since I only base my points of view on the videos. Once more a bunch of thanks to Bob for uploading these - and to Paul and everyone else who makes it possible to follow the competition from a distance

1. ITALY / Vaccaluzzo
Great products, good timing, elegant choreography, clean choice of products displayed in each segment - and an innovative music choice for the finale. I liked the individual pieces of music chosen - but the soundtrack as a whole would have benefitted from a bit more consistency between the pieces of music and less narration (though my limited french skills troubles me).

2. FRANCE / Féérie
I prefer themed shows and this soundtrack had a very good flow. I hope we can expect great things from the 7-year old narrator
Great products (I have a strong love for Zaragozana and Igual ) though a more clean choice of products in the second part could have improved the overall impression.

3. USA / Atlas
Atlas did a good show back in 2003 but this one had a more consistent musical concept.
The first part was the best and the second haft suffered from having used all the "surprises".

This year I find it easy to choose my personal favourite. But placing the rest of the talented teams is quite difficult. It surely has been a great line-up this year! In particular I wish to mention my enthusiasm for:
- Nanos for theis soundtrack and attemt to do a very complex show. If it had worked they might be on my top 3! I really look forward to their next show! The last 4 minutes of their show were amazing
- Sugyp for their innovative use of the helicopter and setpiece of a plane
- Luso for the "pendulums" and live performances
- Aoki for their products. They had a very "clean imaging" way of displaying their shells which was elegant to my taste.

I know that I fall out of the statistics by not having Luso on my top 3. But the choice of music and repetition of effects was not really compensated by the other great elements of their show - in a year where the competition seems to be at a quite high level.

Looking forward to friday

BR,
Lars

Now that I've catched up by seeing the Canadian entry in video (as I was covering the Grands Feux in Sherbrooke that day), I can confidently cast my "vote" although I didn't write all my reports yet.

My own preference would therefore be :

1. Portugal
2. Swiss
3. France

with either Italy or USA to challenge the French team for the third place.

This year truly was exceptional, at least in the technical aspect. We were treated with complex displays, containing a dazzling selection of fireworks effects. Since 2008, the year I started going to La Ronde for each display, I can only think of one season that brought such high-quality performances, and that would be 2009.

Yet, despite these positive aspects, I felt that a lot of contestants went for what I'd call a "conservative" approach (yes, despite live singers and swimmer being brought in some cases). The magical moments that we'll talk about for years to come were quite rare this year, and there's only one that springs to my mind : the helicopter flown during the Swiss' entry.

I think it was the late Giovanni Panzera, quoted from the late George Lamon's website, who said that La Ronde was not the field of shell-shooters (le champ des tireurs de bombes) and that the pyros needed to go the extra mile in order to win.

Now that firing systems allow for extremely precise firing, to the order of 1/1000th of a second in some cases, we see great synchronization very often. This is no longer exceptional, so I strongly believe that the designers should seek to go elsewhere and use the synchronization as a "plot device", that is a way to help the viewers grasp their theme more effectively.

I can relate this line of thought to the winning display in Sherbrooke, shot on Lady Gaga music by Orion. During "Poker Face", comets were fired precisely to the chorus' notes to enhance the link between fireworks and music, like GFF did in 2010, but the effective use of technology came slightly after that, when smiley face shells were shot across the sky to illustrate the "Poker Face".

During "Paparazzi", photoflash one-shots were also synchronized to the camera sounds during the intro.

I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga, but the display was effective because it used synchronization to increase the link between the effects and the music AND went the extra mile to evoke emotions in the audience. I was laughing my a** off during "Poker Face", as this segment was very cliché'd, but fitted perfectly to the eccentric and borderline cliché'd style of the featured singer.

Other exemples of great synchronization is Sweden 2010, like I mentioned previously, because it was taken to the extreme to represent each nuance of the soundtrack (be it a drum beat, an instrumental sequence or the melody line) with only slightly less than 2600 cues. As their thematic premise was music loved by DJs, this kind of synchronization work really was the only way they could go with that, to pay a tribute to the precision of their work at the turntables.

Therefore, although this edition was great, I strongly believe the designers can come up with even more innovative techniques in the years to come. We saw great shells and great synchronization; please bring us truly magical moments to have a well-rounded great display that will get people talking for many years.

Well, for the first time in years, I'm stomped about who's going to be the winner of this year's competition.

Japan: Excellent quality shells but design not complex enough, despite the high amount of cues

Switzerland: Entertaining and refreshing theme, good music, nice synchro. Complexity was above average with ok quality in the shells.

Canada: Unclear theme, forgettable music, but nice shells and decent synchro

Greece: Good music but too many technical problems to be considered for a podium. Would love to see them again though

France: Very good theme due to the music selection, good synchro, decent quality in shells

Portugal: Average theme, music not to my liking, great synchro, surprisingly high amount of repetition in shells. Decent quality in shells.

Italy: Complex theme due to hard to hear explanation; Great music; awesome synchro (blew away the high amount of cues from other countries, precision was spot on); great shell quality, though repetition present per song, but good overall

USA: Interesting theme, good music, interesting synchro (even though a lot of cues were wasted on the back-and-forth z-line technique). Shell quality was ok

My personal choice:
1- Italy
2- Switzerland
3- France/USA

Jury prediction:
1-Portugal
2-USA
3-Italy/France

My choices are very volatile, so expect some changes as the day passes by. This was a truly great year in the competition, so sad that I'll hear the last salutes of the year at 10:30 tomorrow night

Dan

My personal rankings for the 2012 fireworks competition (rated from La Ronde):

1. Portugal (Gold)
2. USA (Bronze)
3. France (Silver)
4. Canada
5. Italy
6. Switzerland
7. Japan
8. Greece

Includes a "Special Innovation" award for the Swiss firm.

Don't forget there's an award for green innovations. I predict Italy for that as they were the only team to mention they only use paper, card, vegetable glue and string in making their products (except, of course, for the chemicals).

Paul.

Yes, that prize was created the year following a sort of public relation nightmare, as La Presse newspaper, urged by La Ronde to provide a minimal coverage of the event (this major newspaper, which covers virtually all cultural events in the area, even the smallest, ignore the fireworks competition since about a decade), responded with a front-page statement that La Ronde fireworks were a risk for public health and not green friendly. It was significant that Martin Roy, at time head of the pr division, presented the prize the year of its introduction.

There's also a prize for the best soudntrack, also decided by the organizers. Last year, the Australian team won that prize, presmably because its live performance. I hypothesize that Luso will win that prize, maybe for the same reason.

Finally, the last prize not awarded by the jury is Telus Prix du public, decided byna volunteer sample of people who give a mark within the 24 hours following each display. I have major methodological concerns regarding a such process, furthermore the jury is already made of people from the public, causing some redundancy. It is more a marketing gammick to please a sponsor IMO. Nonetheless, has anyone monitored the score got by each contestant?

Fred

Although I am still in disbelief that the competition has already come to a close (the years are flying by, as well), let me say that this has most certainly been a very extraordinary, enticing and unique edition of the Montreal fireworks competition, one that will surely be remembered and referred to for the years to come. This year's schedule, however, was a little inconvenient (and confusing for many, which had been predicted since the schedule was first released!) over the course of the latter half of the competition due to the construction activity on the Jacques-Cartier bridge. The schedule had also been devised in such a way that we faced the latest starting date in the history of the competition (the second latest possibly being in 2011). Since the 2012 schedule was first made public at the end of February, many were confident that this would be a competition filled with promise, especially with five recruits (including the first-time appearance of Greece). As the competition has now come to a close, some (including myself) would argue that expectations have been fulfilled, to some extent, while others would state that this year's competition has gone beyond expectations, as we had seen many intriguing, creative and innovative ideas unfold. Perhaps even more characteristic of this year's competition was that every entrant, in my mind, was Jupiter-worthy in their own right. Indeed, we have witnessed eight beautifully crafted performances, each of which brought many unique elements that defined them through the different methods of representation. For example, the pyroplane employed by team Switzerland was a great addition not only to their display, but to the competition, in general, as were Portugal's series of pendulum-like structures. I also very much enjoyed the quality of products exhibited by Portugal, Switzerland, the United States, Japan, and Italy, and the engaging sequences displayed by Portugal, the United States, Italy, Canada and France. These attributes, and more, had drawn a fine line between this year's degree of competitiveness and the last three years, although Canada 2009/2010 and Sweden 2010 still strike me as more memorable displays, as compared to this year's performances and 2011's. Quite signature of this year, however, was the lack of strong thematic connections, and we had seen a fair number of displays showing signs of repetition, as well as anti-climactic openings. Nautical effects were not very prevalent, either, but the use of narration most certainly was! No exceptional finales this season, but Portugal, Switzerland and Italy brought some exciting ones, with Portugal's being my absolute favorite.

With the closing of this year's competition, I would also like to provide my deepest thanks and gratitude firstly to all of our participants of 2012 for kindly sharing with the Montreal audience all of the splendors that their photogenic displays had to offer, as well as for the tireless effort in carefully planning and putting them together to begin with. I would like to extend my thanks to the organizers for their diligence, and for continuing to make this competition possible for yet another year! We must always remember how fortunate we are, here in Montreal, to be able to have the exciting opportunity to indulge in thrilling 30-minute performance on a weekly, bi-weekly, and in even one case this year, a "tri-weekly" basis during the heart of Summer! As always, it amazes me as to just how much work and dedication is involved in consolidating each of these displays, and after recently viewing a documentary on "Pyros", I've come to appreciate this even more! I am also fully aware that this particular Summer was one that brought many challenges, mostly with respect to the above normal temperatures, periodic unsettled conditions, and the elevated frequency of high humidity days, so I do also appreciate the hard-fought battle with the weather. Special thanks to Paul, Mylene and Simon for their hard and faithful work in bringing us excellent insight concerning each display - I am most appreciative of your efforts! A big thanks to Paul for also, once again, keeping this forum alive and updated! Endless thanks to everyone on this forum for their contributions and sharing their passionate thoughts and commentaries concerning each display, and many thanks to our photographers (Bob, Steve and Rachel) for, again, providing us with exquisite and mesmerizing photos of each display. Of course, I thank Bob Burch for sharing with us his full-length videos for yet another year!

I'd also like to provide a few words concerning the weather. This Summer's weather patterns, thus far, adhered closely to the seasonal forecasts released (including my own). However, though there have been similarities in the observed and predicted conditions, some appreciable differences are worth outlining. In my seasonal outlook, I had described that a warm Summer could be in store for much E. Canada, just not as warm as the previous two Summer seasons, including a decline in the number of days reaching 30 Celsius (Celsius hereafter referred to as "C" ). I also stated that we could see above normal thunderstorm activity/severe weather for the late-Sping to Summer period. Indeed, the number of thunderstorm days so far for this period has been high since the month of May across S. Quebec and E. Ontario. The first severe thunderstorm watch issued by Environment Canada even occurred on March 13th (in SW Ontario). The tornado season was much less active towards the end of the Spring across the United States but became very active through much of Canada, notably for the West during the Summer, so far - in fact, the total number of tornadoes that occurred across Saskatchewan for the month of July was greater than that that occurred for the entire United States, mostly attributed to the persistent positioning of the jet stream over Western Canada this Summer. Consequently, Canada, as a whole, has seen well above normal severe weather activity this Spring and so far this Summer.

Though this Summer has been warm, it has become a little warmer than expected. As of the end of July, and since the beginning of May, the days that have attained or surpassed 30 Celsius numbers at 15 for the Montreal area. This compares with the 11 days over the same period of time for 2011, as well as 8 days for 2010. More impressive is how warm July 2012 was. In terms of our maximum monthly average, we have achieved a value of 28 C, tying for the fourth warmest in recorded history. A more representative comparison would be to examine the overall monthly average, taking into account both monthly maximums and minimums. Here, the value of 22.3 C reveals that July 2012 was about 0.7 and 0.8 C "cooler" than July 2010 and July 2011, respectively. Still, this value is 1.3 C warmer than the climatological mean for the month of July (relative to 1971-2000 climatology). Probably an even more impressive statistic is that for the first time since record keeping began, the last three consecutive July months (2012 included) have achieved a monthly maximum average of over 27.5 Celsius for the Montreal area.

As Fred pointed out, all of our participants were treated with mostly good weather conditions (none were inherently "perfect", in the strictest sense) during their displays, but we've seen the extremes. Greece had been influenced by earlier severe weather during the afternoon of July 17th, and both Italy and the United States had uncooperative wind direction. The United States dealt with the threat of convective activity but markedly dodged the severe thunderstorms that affected the Western-most parts of the island that evening. France also met with some light showers before the display (as did Japan during the late-afternoon) and light winds during it. The warmest and most humid nights took place during the Greek and Canadian displays, with late-evening temperatures faithfully remaining at or near 30 C. Conversely, the Portuguese had the coolest and breeziest night, coupled with the lowest humidity levels. All in all, Switzerland had the most ideal weather conditions, though winds were blowing the smoke towards viewers on the bridge just over the river. Every major vantage point received smoke at least once this season.

Below are my summaries of each display, highlighting what I assessed as strong and weak aspects of the shows. Following this, you will find my personal predictions for the jury's decision, as well as my personal choices for the winners. Aferwards, for the fun of it, I have added subsequent sections for various criteria (such as best choice of music, best finales, best sequencing, etc.) and place those participants best suited for each, in accordance with my personal tastes. Note that I've kept the grading evenly weighted for simplicity, so I am using a total out of 50, instead of 45 (synchronization is, therefore, out of 10, not 5).

Participating country: Japan
Company: Aoki Fireworks
Date of presentation: June 30th, 2012

A few isolated convective showers had developed later in the afternoon due to a passing cold front descending from the NW. Late-evening temperatures remained between 25-26 C with moderate humidity and light winds, though, at times, unfavorably blowing smoke towards sections of Notre-Dame street.

This was a very good attempt by the Japanese debutante team! This display featured one of the most (probably the most) enjoyable musical selections of the year. With good choreography, maintained symmetry, and some of the best quality products and color richness, we were truly treated with a wonderful display! The show also took on a more artistic approach and executed some effective transitions in rhythm and pace through the show (though a few transitions were a little abrupt), some of which were fairly emotional. My foremost criticism with this display, however, were the periods of repetition that had occurred through parts of the display, as well as the lack of a strong thematic connection - both of these factors reduced the overall musical representation, which was somewhat disappointing, as the music was so enjoyable through most of the show. Some segments showed similarities to one another due to similar firing schemes, and the intricacies that engendered some of the soundtracks were not as tightly emphasized (some more prominent than others). At times, it similarly appeared that there was mostly a simple interplay between the music and fireworks. The finale was the lightest this year and felt anti-climactic, not just with respect to its appearance, but also because of the nature of the theme. Overall, however, in spite of these negatives, this was most certainly a very good display by Aoki Fireworks, with many enjoyable segments, along with plenty of surprises (especially with the low-level sequences) for a debut performance in Montreal! A possible contender for a Jupiter, but being the opening performance, along with the display not being as memorable as it could have been, it could prove to be difficult for the Japanese team to secure a spot on the podium.

Pyrotechnical pieces: 9.5/10
Pyromusical design: 7.5/10
Technical design: 7/10
Soundtrack: 9.5/10
Synchronization: 8/10

Overall: 41.5/50--->83%

Participating country: Switzerland
Company: Sugyp
Date of presentation: July 7th, 2012

Likely the most ideal weather conditions of the season were present for the Swiss team, with borderline low to moderate humidity and late-evening temperatures around 23-25 C. Winds had been blowing lightly from the NNW, but this meant that the smoke was unfavorably heading to those spectators on the adjacent Jacques-Cartier bridge.

Superbe display by the Swiss debutante! I must say that I had been enthralled by many aspects of this show, largely in terms of innovation and technical design. The theme was very effective and had been divided into three separate sections, outlining the past, present and the potential future in aeronautics. Indeed, the display nicely segued from one section to the other in terms of rhythm and pace, although it was not too clear when exactly the display made the transition from past to present. The colors were simply fabulous and, to me, were the richest of all the participants this year, the mines of bright orange being particularly memorable. Many spectators, including myself, had been transfixed with the appearance of the pyroplane, as it certainly added a great dimension to the display (and to the history of this competition), as well as providing more depth and coherence to the display and accompanied thematic premise. Music choices were fairly enjoyable (though I did not personally care for a few of them) and also were well implemented and arranged for good transitional points, but a selected few were a little vague in their association with the theme. Redundancy was my major criticism with this display, however, as there had been much repetition in firing with respect to the barrages of shells, consequently taking something away from the complexity of the display, as well as leading to both a limited pyrotechnic arsenal and a feeling that some segments resembled each other. Musical representation had also been somewhat less, as a result of this. The finale was probably the second most intense this year, but needed more endurance! All that said, I feel that team Switzerland is a strong contender for a Jupiter this year, largely because of good/decent synchronization, a well-established theme, originality and creativity, great color richness, and mostly enjoyable soundtrack.

Pyrotechnical pieces: 8.5/10
Pyromusical design: 9/10
Technical design: 9.5/10
Soundtrack: 8.5/10
Synchronization: 8.5/10

Overall: 44/50--->88%

Participating country: Canada
Company: Sirius Pyrotechnics
Date of presentation: July 14th, 2012

A distinct stretch of hot and humid weather made an appearance across much of Ontario and Quebec, warm and enduring enough that a formal heat wave was established. The Canadian entrant was a part of this heat wave, including late-evening temperatures of 30 C, with continued high humdity, making this the warmest evening of all fireworks nights. Combined with light WSW winds, however, smoke build-up sometimes became a factor in this display.

The Canadian performance was certainly amongst the most anticipated this season. The debutante company offered some of the best synchronization this season, especially for the first half of the show at low-level. There had also been good representation with respect to the music by using appropriate effects and the right transitions in pace. I personally found the opening of the display to be one of the more exciting attempts, in spite of the serene start, and there had been many points showing off some fabulous sequences at low-level. All that said, I felt that this display, like Italy, had a very weak thematic connection, and the music selection was likely my least favorite this season (and probably since Austria 2008), possibly because they were ineffective in establishing the correct emotional context, inevitably reducing the ability to be drawn into the display. Color richness was good, but the overall variety had been reduced through the second half of the display. Canada unleashed one of the more intense and enduring finales this year, but I would have preferred a more colorful finish! Overall, despite my criticims, I believe that Canada is in contention for a prize, as the show was original in its delivery, had very good synchronization and demonstrated a great diversity of quality products. My criticisms are also mostly related to personal taste in music, so if the judges did like the overall choices, then this could place Canada with even better chances.

Pyrotechnical pieces: 9/10
Pyromusical design: 8.5/10
Technical design: 7/10
Soundtrack: 6.5/10
Synchronization: 9/10

Overall: 40/50--->80%

Participating country: Greece
Company: Nanos Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 17th, 2012

The only display to be most influenced by severe weather. Strong thunderstorms had developed ahead of a sharp cold front passing through S. Quebec during the afternoon hours. By late-afternoon, instability had weakened, but late-evening temperatures remained at about 30 C, along with continued high humidity, making about a tie for the warmest evening conditions of the season. Due to technical problems, however, this show got off to a late start, beginning at about 10:17 p.m.

As we all waited anxiously for the first-time appearance of Greece/Nanos Fireworks, high expectations were undoubtedly in place. Most assuredly, this was a memorable performance, as well as one of the more artistic. The level of technical design was genuine, and, indeed, the theme was very well represented and probably the most inspiring of all competitors. Really, I did feel strong, emotional connections to this display, largely because many of the musical tracks had been so emotionally-commanding (such as Fleur Du Mal, Requiem for a Dream, and the track used for the finale). The diversity of effects was excellent, and the quality of products was certainly high. The nautical shells were also quite memorable. Synchronization was good but could have been a little tighter at some spots. Unfortunately, there were a few technical problems in this display, mostly noticeable just after the narration at the beginning, and then appearing again near the end (with the asymmetric pattern emerging near the center at the surface). Also, the swimmer brought nothing significant to the display. Colors, surprisingly, were very restricted and probably the lowest in diversity of all competitors. The finale had great intensity (but limited endurance) and showed off the richest color variety relative to the rest of the display, and the soundtrack incorporated was particularly effective in representing it. Overall, great display, but with the technical problems shown, at times, during the show, it may difficult for Greece to get onto the podium.

Pyrotechnical pieces: 8.5/10
Pyromusical design: 7.5/10
Technical design: 9/10
Soundtrack: 9.5/10
Synchronization: 8/10

Overall: 42.5/50--->85%

Participating country: France
Company: feerie
Date of presentation: July 21st, 2012

Summer-like weather was the backdrop for this display, although a few brief, isolated showers appeared between the 9:00-9:35 p.m. time frame. However, instability had soon subsided and gave way to partly cloudy skies for the remainder of the evening. Temperatures remained at 25 C during the late-evening hours, coupled with moderate humidity, and winds had been very light (the lightest of all fireworks nights), causing occasional smoke build-up towards the Northern sections of the firing site.

France brought us one of the more creative and artistic displays of the competitors this year while adhering closely to one of the most most complex themes (Extraordinary Journeys of Jules Verne). The French effectively implemented the right transitions in rhythm and pace to evoke various emotions and used relevant soundtrack and pyrotechnics to support the theme. The musical choices were good, with the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song and Requiem for a Dream being particularly memorable. One criticism was that there were a few moments where the musical connection was not clear, and the choice of colors used in this display was more conservative, as compared to other displays this year. Also, a few more active periods would have been appreciated (perhaps some large caliber shells would have assisted here), as well as a greater interplay between effects (though the mines of photoflashes were certainly very mesmerizing), but the artistry shown in this display was certainly fitting for the nature of the theme. Synchronization was good, but it sometimes was a little on the simplistic side. The finale was good, but the latter section was anti-climactic due to it being much less enduring and intense relative to the former piece. Still, a very nice way to bring an enjoyable display to a close, and certainly more than enough for me to say "happy birthday!" to myself, afterwards! Certainly a contender for a Jupiter this year!

Pyrotechnical pieces: 9/10
Pyromusical design: 8.5/10
Technical design: 9/10
Soundtrack: 9/10
Synchronization: 8/10

Overall: 43.5/50--->87%

Participating country: Portugal
Company: Grupo Luso Pirotecnia
Date of presentation: July 24th, 2012

Following an afternoon and evening of severe weather on July 23rd, cooler and much less humid conditions prevailed for the Portuguese display, with late-evening temperatures of 21 C and borderline low to moderate humidity. However, in contrast to France, winds exhibited gusty speeds (from the NNW) for the evening and during the day, making for the windiest and coolest evening conditions of all participants of 2012. As expected, overall speeds had diminished to suitable/safe standards in time for the late-evening. As a result, smoke had been quickly dispersed to the left of the audience at La Ronde (right for those on Notre-Dame).

As expected from the renowned Grupo Luso Pirotecnia's highly-anticipated display, we were treated with quite the performance! Indeed, the display, in several ways, offered much innovation and creativity, along with excellent choreography and a reasonable diversity of high-quality products and effects. Musical choices were appropriate for bringing out the right emotions (the "Diem ex Dei" segment being particularly emotional) The pendulums also most certainly added a new dimension in creativity to the display, and to the competition, as a whole. At first, my fear was that the pendulums would solely be used for the "We Stay Up All Night" segment, but my doubts had been silenced when they were integrated into latter pieces of the show. The fireball effects associated with the pendulums, as well as the sequence of shells, allowed for some particularly enjoyable sequencing. The dichotomous theme was probably the most effective of all participants this year and was certainly more justified as compared to their employed 2008 choice. My main issue with this display, however, was the redundancy that had been seen throughout much of the show, most prominent with the shells of go-getters and horsetails (even though these had been varied in appearance). Consequently, this did taken away some complexity from the display, as well as leading to some repetition in firing patterns, eliminating other potentially creative methods for representation. In addition, most of the first third of the display had been somewhat monotonous in pace and feel, leading to a sense of disproportion. As a result, though this display was very enjoyable, I found Luso's 2008 performance to be more compelling, perhaps because of a more enjoyable and emotional music selection, a larger diversity of product, and more representative/creative pieces. The finale was incredible, with a design similar to what had been seen in the 2008 display! All that said, Portugal has a strong chance to pick up an award.

Pyrotechnical pieces: 9/10
Pyromusical design: 9/10
Technical design: 9/10
Soundtrack: 9/10
Synchronization: 9.5/10

Overall: 45.5/50--->91%

Participating country: Italy
Company: Vaccalluzzo S.R.L.
Date of presentation: July 27th, 2012

Pleasant weather conditions were present for the Italian display, with borderline moderate to high humidity, warm temperatures (about 24 C), and light NE to ENE winds, though wind tendencies unfavorably pushed the smoke to sections of Notre-Dame street, mostly for those near the bridge on the Northern side.

A very enjoyable display by the debutante Italian team (Vaccalluzzo), with a fair diversity of high-quality products (many of which were of the Italian shell of shells and multibreak variety), a suitable range of color, and some of the tightest choreography offered this year, especially with the sequences of mines and comets. Very good choice of effects for musical representation, and the musical selection itself had also been fairly enjoyable. Unfortunately, the music had little significance to the thematic premise, and the essence of the theme, "The Prophet Tales", and its corresponding critical elements, were poorly enforced (not helped with the relatively long periods of ineffective narration). Though the frequent use of the shell of shells and multibreaks were most welcomed, their abundance, similarly to Portugal's go-getter shells and horsetails, somewhat withdrew some of the complexity of the display and contributed to some repetitive firing patterns. As a result, there was sometimes a sense of imbalance, and the a little more use of the lake would have been appreciated. However, this was a very enjoyable performance by Vaccalluzzo that most certainly was a crowd-pleaser, largely because of the many moments of excitement and energy, the beautiful synchronization throughout the display, and one of the strongest finales this year, especially because of the pause between it and the penultimate piece (similar to Spain 2001!). Certainly another contender for a Jupiter!

Pyrotechnical pieces: 9/10
Pyromusical design: 9/10
Technical design: 7/10
Soundtrack: 8.5/10
Synchronization: 9.5/10

Overall: 43/50--->86%

Participating country: United States
Company: Atlas PyroVision Productions
Date of presentation: July 31st, 2012

This was the display that successfully dodged the bullet. Convective showers and isolated thunderstorms were in development ahead of a pre-frontal shortwave trough and cold front. Convection became more pronounced during the afternoon hours through to the early-overnight. Prior to the display, lightning generated from severe thunderstorms also could be seen in the distance, illuminating the skies towards the West Island and subsequently raising fears that there would be some impact around the start of the display. Luckily, because of the track of these storms, the display was spared, and we had only seen periods of showers before and during the display. Unfortunately, likely due to the presence of nearby thunderstorms, the regular wind flow had become distorted prior to the display, eventually taking on Westerly tendencies and pushing the smoke towards the La Ronde audience.Certainly some drama for the final entrant, as well as to appropriately close the month of July!

The infamous Atlas of the United States really presented a captivating (and easily the loudest/most vibrating) display! The show featured some of the most exquisite sequencing this season, including a few points that were a little reminiscent of Sweden 2010. The product quality, to me, was also amongst the highest, and we had seen a fantastic range of pyrotechnics and colors to represent the various tracks. The theme of "Pyro Fantasia" was accordingly illustrated, both by the fireworks and, to some extent, the weather! The music was relevant and all instrumental, which helped to convey an often majestic feel to the display, as well as some effective emotional contrasts (such as from the penultimate piece to the finale), when they were due. I really enjoyed the rapid sequences of one-shot comets and mines (some angled) throughout the display, sometimes supported by large caliber shells, shells of go-getters and intriguing patterned shells (namely the butterflies!). The overall complexity of the show was exemplified through its numerous firing angles, and the symmetry of the display was almost never lost. The only real criticism that I have was that the last 10 minutes of the show felt somewhat less dramatic in transitions, as compared to what had been exploited before hand for the first two thirds, leading to a feeling of imbalance. This also gave the impression of repetition in firing scheme, at times. Synchronization was near-perfect throughout the show, but I felt that there was more of an attempt to demonstrate this at low-level (something that I felt with Sweden 2010, at times), rather than also trying to elaborately show off what could be done at higher altitudes. Also, a couple of the latter segments could have been a little more enforced towards their conclusion with the low-level mines. Other than that, I found the narration at the beginning to last much too long (enduring for about one minute and 25 seconds) for a positively memorable start. The finale was certainly a powerhouse (much like the rest of the show), but it lacked endurance and consistency. Overall, a very successful display from the American team and likely could be on the podium!

Pyrotechnical pieces: 8.5/10
Pyromusical design: 8/10
Technical design: 9/10
Soundtrack: 9/10
Synchronization: 9.5/10

Overall: 44/50--->88%

This has been a very competitive year, and it was showing signs to be so very early on. My personal choice for Portugal is that, in spite of redundancy (and some monotony during the beginning), the show offered a high degree of complexity, great product quality, a well bonded theme, fairly enjoyable musical selections (a few of which were quite emotional), exciting moments, excellent creativity and sequencing, and the best finale of this year. The United States also had very engaging choreography, a tightly-fitted theme, enjoyable music, great transitional points, good diversity of effects and high product quality. The finale was okay, but the show had much power! Being memorable as a final competitor is also very advantageous, although the opening narration was much too long. Italy was also very energetic, along with some great synchronization (especially with the low-level effects and shell of shells/multibreaks) and good product quality. However, the show was sometimes repetitive with firing scheme, and there was virtually no thematic framework.

As for my jury predictions, this is very difficult with a year such as this one. My reasoning for selecting Portugal and the United States amongst my jury predictions is identical to what I had previously stated. Switzerland, in spite of an often repetitive firing scheme (with the shells), had a performance filled with fairly good product quality, some of the richest colors of the competitors this season, a carefully outlined theme (given its complexity), and some great innovative ideas (namely the pyroplane). For me, the show was memorable enough to stand out with the final three strongly delivered performances of the season. Canada, France and Italy could also very well make the bronze (possibly even silver), although Canada's appearance might be more strongly dependent on the judges' taste in music. Apart from the soundtrack, Canada had some great sequences, good transitions, and great musical representation. However, the theme was very weak, and the musical selection had so real connection in relation to it. France stands the next best chance for the bronze, as the display was one of the more balanced of the season, with a well-devised theme, relevant soundtrack, and good synchronization and product quality. The show, however, needed more color richness and active segments, as well as a little more creativity with synchronization. Italy was also very exciting, but I found the theme to be weak, and the narratives did not offer too much to help convey the theme. Still, the musical choices were mostly enjoyable and synchronization was very creative and spot-on.

Therefore, my choices look like this:

Trav’s jury prediction:

1st: Portugal
2nd: Switzerland
3rd: United States (with France and Italy very close behind)

Green innovation award: Italy

Trav’s personal choice:

1st: Italy
2nd: Portugal
3rd: United States

Best choice of music:

1. Japan
2. Greece
3. United States
4. Portugal
5. Italy

Most intriguing effects:

1. Portugal
2. United States
3. France
4. Japan
5. Switzerland

Best quality products:

1. Japan
2. United States
3. Portugal
4. Italy
5. Canada

Highest color richness:

1. Switzerland
2. United States
3. Japan
4. Italy
5. Portugal

Best devised and represented theme:

1. Portugal
2. Switzerland
3. Greece
4. France
5. United States

Best sequences:

1. United States
2. Portugal
3. Italy
4. Canada
5. Greece

Most powerful/energetic displays:

1. Italy
2. United States (most powerful, especially the launch sounds)
3. Switzerland

Best opening segment:

1. Portugal
2. Switzerland
3. Japan

Top finishers:

1. Portugal
2. Switzerland
3. Italy
4. Greece
5. France

All will be revealed this evening.

Trav.

Don't forget to post your soundtrack Jupiter predictions - so far only Trav has done this!

Paul

It's time for my personal predictions. I have a feeling they will be quite different to the jury ones.

My #1 display this year was Vaccalluzzo. Not for the theme or soundtrack, I just enjoyed it more than the others, especially the great timing and brilliant products.
My #2 display this year was Japan. I loved the soundtrack and it was the only display that evoked such an emotional response that I had tears in my eyes
My #3 display this year was Portugal. Even though I was disappointed in many aspects (look much repetition, colours too much on the dim or red end of the spectrum), the pendulums and their effects were unique and this display gave me more WOWs than most of the rest combined

My Soundtrack Jupiter goes to Japan. I didn't know the music, but I loved the overall feel of the soundtrack.

For my Jury prediction:

Gold Jupiter Italy
Silver Jupiter Switzerland
Bronze Jupiter Portugal or USA
Soundtrack Jupiter France

It's very hard to judge this year as the level was consistently high throughout the competition, though, personally, I found there were fewer WOWs than in some other years.

Indeed, tough call this year !!!

Yet, my heart has spoken. See here : Mylene & Artifice

Enjoy tonight's ceremony and show everyone !!!

Mylene.

I've recently just reversed my first and second spots for my "personal choices", as I felt that Italy excited me at many more points than did Portugal.

Really, there's quite a diversity of choices expressed here, as is to be expected for a year like this one! I'd imagine that such a variety is emerging amongst jury members, as well!

Other than that, I am very, very much dreading that feeling of despair at 10:30 p.m. this evening.

Trav.