Please post your reviews/commentaries of the Spanish display here!

Trav.

Very nice, creative and enjoyable display by the Spanish team! To be brief, apart from some repetition in firing patterns at high level, there was a large diversity of effects, the theme was mostly apparent, synchronization was very good (and often creative), and the colors were vivid, though the smoke sometimes caused the colors to appear a little drowned from my vantage point. The girandolas and nautical shell sequences were particularly memorable, and musical selection was both relevant and mostly enjoyable. The display was also quite wide. Nice conclusion, although I personally wish that its three main sections were combined into one, and that the pace steadily increased! Still, the finale was a lot of fun, along with many other sections of the display!

Here is a small video compilation of the display that I took from Notre-Dame street. I apologize for the light post interfering to the left - it was difficult finding a place to stand due to the large amount of people present.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF8wLNhO1Mk

Trav.

That was a very good display from the Spanish entrant, the best so far in the competition this year. We have seen many displays on the love theme over the years, but this one was different, especially given the four segments of songs in English (opening with a love-theme medley), Italian, Spanish and French. Flares of some national flags highlighted transitions between these cultural parts of the show. Two set pieces on ramp 4 also illustrated the theme, the first one with a heart for the opening, the second one with AMOUR letters during the penultimate song. And, of course, several heart-shape shells.

The quality of pyrotechnic material was especially high, with almost 100% of home-made products from Zaragozana, according to Paul's interview with the Spanish team. Colours were particularly vivid. Since the wind was very weak, as predicted by Trav, it is fortunate that pyrotechnic devices didn't produce more smoke. I noted three-colours "mushroom shells", a product seen in the British display [I suspect Merlin bought them from Zaragozana], as well as an original type of shells, which first create a ring, followed - one or two seconds later - by two bunches of short comets on each side of the ring. A waterfall across the centre of the firing area appeared during the opening segment. Later, seven-point fountains and rotating devices appeared along the third ramp. A series of salutes bursted along the same ramp during the finale in the same way than a mascleta, though I don't believe it was an actual mascleta. And synchronzisation was absolutely flawless through the show, with countless note-synchronized sequences. From the grandstand, the beauty was augmented by the crescent of the moon in backdrop, a phenomenon happening about once a year (weather permitting).

The most climactic segment, in my opinion, happened close the the mid-point of the show with the famous song Vivo per lei. That segment built up, from serene note-synchronized V-shape red meteor-headed comets and gentle shells of the same effect above, to shells of twinkling stars of different shades of various colours, to final barrages of nautical and aeriel shells. At one moment, I turned my head to look at the audience: people were very engaged in the show, many singing this well-known song, as a sort of communion. At this time, I thought the show was "excellent" and Zaragozana, a serious contender for a podium.

Then, I found the show more repetitive. It is a major challenge to perform a 30-minute show. Doing it almost only with home-made products makes that challenge more heavy as the range of possible effects is obviously smaller. I felt that some were used a bit too often (some sorts of shells, horsetails with various endings, bright low-level photoflashes, etc.), as it is often the case when 100% of the products come from the same manufacturer. They were shooted in similar ways through the show. Zaragozana made the most of the firing area during the first half, but had a more conservative design during the second half. A couple of larger shells would have been interesting too.

While it may be appropriate to have some extensive musical segments (that was the case tonight with Vivo per lei, and has even been the case with a 15-minute Boléro by Panzera in the 1990s!), I think the soundtrack should have been edited to create slightly shorter segments. Given these minor weaknesses, I thought at the end of the show that it was a "very good" one. Zaragozana may be on the podium, but it is not obvious at this point with four other contestants ahead.

My ranking so far:

1. Zaragozana (Spain)
2. Merlin Fireworks (England)
3. Fireworks by Ian Riedle (Australia)
* Vulcan Fireworks (Hong Kong)

Fred

P.S.: For upcoming displays, it would be nice to turn off bright lights from La Spirale, and to turn off those from La Grande Roue in synchronization with the countdown.

I have posted the video of the Spain show here: http://www.burchcom.com/2013/spain.html

For those who want to download your own copy, right click on this link and select "save target as" ... http://www.burchcom.com/2013/2013spain.mp4

The file size is 1.3 GB

Bob

It was a very good display by the Spanish team, but sometimes it felt like they were playing "safe." I'm not sure, maybe it was my mood or the theme. Synchronization was very good and well done, but I have mix feelings about the soundtrack. Very nice build up to the finale, but the very end should been more powerful...

On a side note, I was very happy to see the Monster finally open with the new trains. It now feels more like an American coaster!

My rankings so far:

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

Excellent display by Zaragozana - not the most complex but a straightforward design that was very well executed. I feel that the competition has really started now.

http://montreal-fireworks.com/ReportBlog/?p=754

Paul.

That was a very good show by Zaragozana. The traditional style worked very well with their song choices. I think that this works best for emotional songs like the ones Zaragozana chose. Music really drove Zaragozana's show and as already mentioned the flares signalling the different countries was very interesting to enhance their theme. The fireworks definitely reflected the mood of the music most of the time. Synchronization was very good even though most of their shells were probably chained, the precision of their delay fuses must have been exceptional. It also helped that they produce their own shells, i saw a few interesting effects such as the tall red mines to tourbillions. A lot of sky mines were also used with Zaragozana's intense colors. The dahlias were also very good because of the bright colors. I was hoping that they'll be using more nautical effects. Their finale was pretty lengthy but that last barrage could have been much bigger! The only criticisms that i found was that cross firing happened often at the beginning of the show causing single shot effects firing before they're intended to and i saw a lot of low breaking shells. Other than that, Zaragozana's show is the first show this year to not disappoint. With only a few shows left I won't be surprised if Zaragozana gets a jupiter.

Best Regards,
Vander

Pleasant temperatures were present for the Spanish team, with late-evening temperatures of 23 C and moderate humidity. However, dominant wind speeds were often very slow, sometimes obscuring right-hand (Notre-Dame’s right) sections of the display. However, as Fred pointed out, it is fortunate that most effects did not produce additional amounts of smoke! In addition, moderate moisture present also prevented further smoke build-up.

This was a very enjoyable display presented by the Spanish team and was very much anticipated, given that Spain had not competed in four years. The team offered a good diversity of effects, especially considering that virtually all effects were manufactured by Zaragozana! Indeed, we were treated with a nice selection, including heart shells, “jelly-fish” shells, horsetails, photoflashes of red, and many sequences of large calibre shells! This had also been supported by some engaging low-level sequences, most notably those sequences of angled-gerbs and mine arrangements. The firing angles were interesting in that they served to fill up much of the site from left to right, and this pattern was also often maintained towards higher altitudes. The bright red flares during the opening were also memorable. Colors had also been highly vivid and rich, ultimately showing off the general quality of the products, particularly the mid- to high-level shells (good shell symmetry). The interplay of colors with associated effects was often very effective and sometimes included some traditional Spanish colors. To everyone’s delight, the show also frequently featured the energy and rapid firing patterns so common of a Spanish display, and this had been augmented by the general width and maintained symmetry that was characteristic of the show! In addition, the large nautical shells, especially during the finale, provided a nice dimension to the display! Finally, the display had a mostly strong conceptual design, including a very tight adherence to the theme, and coupled with a relevant musical selection.

There had also been a selected few segments that quickly caught my interest. In particular, during Abre la puerta, the mid-level photoflashes of red, combined with the gerbs and mine sequences at low-level, were very well coordinated, possibly making for the most technically enticing segment of the display. The red photoflashes were most memorable for me, as they were spot-on with the beat during the segment. Another personal favorite segment was “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, as it was very well represented through the pace and choice of effects for the track’s main elements. As a result, synchronization had been often employed in a noticeably creative and enjoyable manner and was shown throughout multiple segments.

While the display was largely exciting, I began to feel a sense of monotony just following the mid-point of the show, and, to some extent, early in it, too. As mentioned in my brief commentary above, this became particularly evident with the firing patterns exhibited by the mid- to high-level shells, as well as the relatively frequent segment conclusions of horsetails/falling leaf-shells. Also, some musical tracks perhaps would have benefited from some editing, as some appeared to be disproportionately enduring relative to others. The finale had the correct level of build-up and color diversity, but I personally found it to be too broken up to have a lasting impression. In addition, the degree of pace was mostly identical throughout. Still, it was a sufficient conclusion to an overall enjoyable display.

At this stage in the competition, the Spanish team is at the top of my personal rank listing, and I do, therefore, believe that the team is in contention for a Jupiter award this year.

Trav.