Movies in the Sky
Dark clouds and heavy humidity threatened to spoil the evening for the Swiss newcomers to the competition, but the weather gods smiled and it remained dry throughout the eight segment display. This young company, founded in 1987, has won twelve prizes from sixteen appearances in international competitions in Europe and tonight’s display was their first appearance in North America. This evening’s show was entirely manually fired, using a chronometer rather than a cue track as a timing reference.
Part 1 to the music Don’t cry for me Argentina from the film Evita. The show opened with a fans of silver comet candles with blue ball bombettes above. Then, above these, shells of charcoal comets turning to blue balls. The size of these increase, some of them with blue balls and some with white. Next, a line of crossed blue ball candles with several horizontal wheels with silver sparks behind. Then shells of white comets with blue ball pistils. These increased in size with the colour theme reversing – blue balls and white comet pistils with more and more and finally a really large blue ball and white pistil shell, to whistles of delight from the audience.
Part 2 to the music Beyond Borders from the film Far and Away. This segment opened with a line of green headed comet candles and hissing tourbillons. The number increased so that there were several fans of candles, with larger, apparently double-ended tourbillons so that the air was filled with hissing and whizzing. Above the candles, really nice shells of the doubled-petalled flower-type tourbillons also with shells of lilac stars. There was volley after volley of these followed by a line of ball and comet candles in lilac. Next, a line of green comet candles, where the comets had sparks coming out along the last few feet of their burn. Then the same but in gold. Above these, shells of charcoal comets turning to blue then to red, or to white then red. The size of these increased so that they had pistils and multi-colour changes, the segment ending with three really large ones.
Part 3 to the music Conquest of Paradise from the film 1492. Gold comet and blue ball candle fans opened this segment, followed by silver nautic fountains. Then a fan of candles at the left end of the floating ramp sending comets to the right and the same thing at the right end sending comets left, giving the effect of two curtains. At the same time, bombettes of blue balls were also shot in the same style of left and right fans. After this, groups of five charcoal comet palm-tree shells with rising tails (including a low break with stars hitting the ground). Next, gold comet candles and the same in bombettes above. Above these, shells of gold comets turning to multi-colour changing balls ending in blue. These were followed by the multi-colour changing charcoal comet shells, with nice slow falling stars. Then shells with blue pistils and bright gold comets and then the same but dahlia-style (a few, wide comets forming a star-fish shape) ending in crackle. Next a new type of shell, called a “popping broca” which starts out as a charcoal comet to silver comet shell, and then clusters of small colour stars appear, giving the effect of lots of bunches of flowers appearing. More and more of these were fired, the silver comet part filling the sky with a silver weeping willow effect, to cheers from the audience.
Part 4 to the music Shakespeare in Love from the film of the same name. This began with pink hissing comet candles with bombettes above. Then shells of charcoal comets turning to silver or red above, with some really large ones. Then shells of crossette comets and some multi-breaks as well, with really wide bursts. More shells of crossettes with shells of silver with pistils and the same but in charcoal comets turning to multi-colour changing balls with barrages of salutes thrown in. The segment was brought to a close with a large barrage of really large charcoal comet pistil shells turning to white.
Part 5 to the music Everything I do (I do it for You) from the film Robin Hood. Gold comet candles, with blue, green and red balls as well, opened this segment. Above these, bombettes in green, silver and blue. These were followed by volleys of firefly shells. After these, shells of gold dahlias and gold firefly type shells but with twinkling rather than flashing stars. Then shells with some tourbillons, falling clusters of stars and pistils as well. Next, shells with slow falling ball stars which split into many small stars. On the ground, mines of colour stars with bombettes above. The mines burst slowly so that the stars rose much less fast than is usually the case. Next, large shells of slow falling silver comets, followed by volleys of colour ball stars with slow falling clusters. The segment was brought to a dramatic close with around twenty lines of colour stars on parachutes (which I thought had been banned in the competition). The crowd loved it though with raptuous applause.
Part 6 to the music Once Upon a Time in the West from the film of the same name. This began with a line of bright-headed comet candles, a crown of fountains on the remains of the Mirage multimedia system in the lake and a large number of red nautic flares, filling the lake. The red flares turned into dazzling white strobe pots and then large shells of charcoal comets with pistils were fired above. Then bright gold comet shells with amazing crackling pistils (where the crackle affect appeared only when the pistil was at full size). Then shells of pink stars, also with crackling pistils, then the same but in green, also crackling. Then shells of colour changing stars turning to slow falling weeping willow, the segment being brought to a close as the sky was filled with pale gold weeping willow, with the final shell in the segment a couple of seconds after the music had stopped.
Part 7 to the music What a Feeling from the film Flashdance. White fan comets in groups of five opened this segment, with mines of crackling green stars and then a line a lilac ball candles. Above these, barrages of shaped-burst ring shells. First, single rings, then double concentric rings, double adjacent rings, first in balls, then in comets. Then double rings in different colours, then some with three or more rings. Next, shaped-burst shells in gold comets producing bow-ties. Then more multi-ring shells with triple rings, then a single ring surrounding a five pointed star. Next, some large multi-break silver comet shells, with barrages of salutes, more silver comet multi-breaks followed by silver ball shells. The pace increased until the sky was filled with large slow falling silver weeping willow, the segment coming to a close as the stars fell all the way to the ground, filling the air with silver threads.
Part 8 to the music My Heart will Go On from the film Titanic. This began serenely with fans of hissing gold comet candles. Then gold glitter candles with the same in bombettes above and also gold glitter crossettes. Above this, shells of charcoal comets to colour changing stars. Lots of these were fired, then shells of slow falling white comets with pistils. Next, pale gold glittering crossette candles and shells with pale gold and crackling pistils above. Contrary to most finales, this continued relatively serenely with volley after volley of charcoal comet shells, until the air was filled with weeping willow, then the same but with silver falling threads. The display was brought to a close with two really large weeping silver willow shells, followed (a couple of seconds after the lights had come on) by three really large salutes.
This was a very enjoyable display, with some really great shells. The size of the breaks was very impressive, probably accentuated by the relatively low height bursts used. The finale was interesting in that it differed from the usual formula of make as much noise and light as possible, a technique also used by Weco a couple of years ago, earning them a Jupiter. The synchronization was good for the most part, though there were a couple of occasions where it could have been tighter. I think this display stands a good chance of an award if the Jury agrees that a different formula can work. It is already shaping up to be an exciting competition!