Perfect weather conditions with pleasant temperatures (22C) and low humidity were the backdrop to the much anticipated team from Sweden who had made their debut in 2005. Many people, myself included, were sure that Martin Hildeberg’s debut display that year would win a Jupiter award but, to the consternation and disappointment of many, they were not rewarded. Poor weather conditions that time did contribute to some problems so the clear skies this time around were a welcome sight, save for the very weak winds.
As soon as the countdown had finished, the display started dramatically to Dancing Queen, by Abba. It quickly became apparent that we would be in for an excellent display as the detail and accuracy of the choreography in those first few minutes were palpable. The synchronization wasn’t just good, it also felt right. Modern computerized firing equipment makes it straightforward to synchronize a display to a great deal of accuracy, but for a display to look good, there is much more to it and it takes a musical ear to know what to synchronize to and to give the correct appearance. Too many times we see shows that are synchronized but that the synchronization just feels wrong. It was a pleasure to behold that Martin had got it just right.
The audience really appreciated the mix of effects and the way the fireworks danced along with the music, causing them to cheer wildly as the first song ended and also causing me to shout out a few WOWs along the way. Brilliant mines and comets from Ricasa with their superlative colours also helped too!
As the music continued, flame effects were thrown into the mix and a seamless use of ramps 3 and 5 together with short duration gerbs were used alongside tourbillons which perfectly fitted the type of music used. In fact, throughout the display, the marriage of music to pyrotechnic effects was done with great care and attention. Whilst it could be said there was some repetitiveness in the use of flame effects, their colours were always appropriate for their place in the display and entirely suitable for the effect produced. I certainly appreciated the many different colours, and types, of flame effects used – some short duration flashes, some longer duration and others still with higher and brighter flames.
Some people have commented that they didn’t find the display to be too colourful, and it’s certainly true that the very weak wind conditions contributed to the accumulation for smoke which did detract from the vivid colours that were used. I found, though, that the display was very colourful, with all sorts of interesting pastel colours as well as deeply saturated primary colours, again from the superlative Ricasa brand that is renowned for its quality.
Once again this week, despite the presence of ramp 5, nautical effects were used effectively with flares, dancing fountains as well as shells, including some with go-getters – something we’ve not seen in the nautical department before. Granted the largest nautical shells were not quite as large as those used by FSC last week, they were still effective.
Martin had hinted that there would be a surprise in the display and there certainly was. During the YMCA song by Village People, the letters Y M C A were spelled out four times using short duration gerbs. The audience were astounded by this simple, but very effective, piece of choreography.
The soundtrack was very well edited with just the right type of transitions between songs – either seamless or sometimes with a pause, to allow pyrotechnic effects from the previous song to complete so as to not step on the opening effects of the next song. This was well done in general but there were a couple of places where I felt the transition was just a tad too long, though this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the music. Like everyone else that I could see around me, I was certainly not sitting still in my seat! Martin had most definitely achieved his aim of getting the audience involved in the display. One other strong point of the soundtrack was the positioning of the more tranquil pieces. These were very well executed and gave the audience time to recover before the dance party continued! I had been concerned that an all-dance theme could make it difficult to achieve an appropriate emotional journey, but my fears were allayed in how these pieces were used.
One part of the display that I particularly looked forward to was the Sandstorm segment, as I had seen this performed by GFF at some stadium shows posted on YouTube. I was definitely rewarded for my anticipation with dramatic use of short duration flame/flash effects that danced across the pyrotechnic stage set before us on Lac des Dauphins. Once again, not only was the timing good, it just felt right and also created the right amount of anticipation for the following pyrotechnic effects. I had wondered if this piece would form the faux finale, but it did not.
The final piece of music formed both the faux and real finales with a very well controlled build up, calm period and then crescendo to the real finale, which was dazzling and very well executed. The capacity audience jumped to their feet at the end of the display and cheered and whistled their approval for a most entertaining display.
With only one competitor left to perform this year, there can be no doubt that GFF must be justly rewarded with a Jupiter this time around. The display was masterful with a very high level of complexity – I would argue that it was the most complex display of the season so far and had the most powerful demonstration of the synchronization between a well-crafted soundtrack and a very well chosen portfolio of high-quality fireworks.