Please post your reviews of the Canadian display here!

Cheers,

Trav.

This was a very nice display from Archangel. The sequences were clean and tidy and there were few firing errors. Some nice product, and for the most part the effects complimented the soundtrack. It was fairly simple in design; not too much emphasis on single ignition sequences and those that were used were repeated a little more than I would have liked - especially as there was nothing overly complex about any of the single ignition/ candle sequences. A very shell-oriented display as expected from a theme titled Armageddon. The nautical effects in Skyfall and Mad World were nice products but unfortunately I felt they were poorly placed within each song - fairly loud effects during the quietest parts of the songs. That being said, the audience was uplifted several times with good use of full-spread product which worked especially well during the finale piece. Will it win? I don't think so. The sequences appeared as they would in a simulated computer program with each song sequence following a somewhat similar design pattern. Technical merit 9/10. Artistry and innovation 5/10 purely because by song 4 I knew what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the display but I didn't get a wow factor. Still UK at the top for me. Certainly way more firing mistakes but I forgave them and some for completely blowing my pyro mind.

I spoke to Kelly about the nauticals - some of the "carpet" ones that were just expected to produce flares also turned out to have shells/mines in them, which was not originally expected. So they ended up being left in the script anyway.

Excellent nauticals in the finale last night - so powerful you could feel the concussions in the audience!

If you want to download the video file, right click on this URL and "save target as"

http://www.burchcom.com/2015/canada.mp4

852 MB

Sorry about the focus problem.

Archangel Fireworks achieved a very good performance for their debut display in the Montreal International Fireworks Competition. I was apprehensive before the show for a couple of reasons. First, I didn’t really know what to expect from this entrant as I had never seen a show from Archangel Fireworks before. However, Paul’s interview made me anxious, when I read that Kelly Guille and Patrick Brault had designed the Zambelli’s (USA) Wizard of Oz show in 2011. Zambelli didn’t exactly make the “show of the year”, according to the reviews posted at the time. Secondly, a series of problems appeared during the pre-show and I was worried about any potential relation with the actual show: some Michel Lacroix’s pre-recording segments were heard at the wrong time (ruining the illusion that he is actually on-site!); at some points, we didn’t hear anything from the speakers located on the right side of the grandstands Silver section; and the start of the show has been delayed until 10:05pm. Fortunately, all these concerns vanished once the show began! (Even the whole set of Ferris Wheel lights was properly turned off following the countdown, a first this year.)

The technical design of the show was excellent, with the most intensive use of nautical products so far this year. This included a large variety of nautical effects : carpets of flares, rotative fountains, salutes, mines and shells. Some of these nautical shells, especially the ultimate barrage, were very powerful. Current video technologies can’t do justice to this as we felt the reverberation on our bodies! I am surprised that some nautical products were launched over a long distance, sometimes from one side of the lake to the other side. It should have been a very interesting show to watch for the off-site audience because a huge number of high-level shells were displayed. The density was very good and consistent through the performance. Fifteen seconds of darkness occured at the mid-point of the first segment and a couple of minor technical problems were apparent (some shells burst close to the ground, and some asymmetric patterns occured), but nothing to detract from a great show.

The pyrotechnic products were interesting. In addition to the aforementioned nautical devices, we saw a wide range of shell-based effects. I particularly admired a type of shells which burst quietly, producing stars moving more slowly that what we are used to see. People I discussed with after the show hadn’t noticed them, so maybe it is just me. These shells were fired during the 2nd segment, on the Ball of Confusion music, and were shot from the fourth ramp (or from a position located just behind on ramp 2). Some barrages of overlapping z-cakes of bright stars also impressed the audience. It was also the case of two massive volleys of whistles fired from cakes (along with nautical shells) on the music of End of the World. However, as it was the case in Zambelli’s show in 2011, the flight of double-ascension girandolas, during the penultimate segment, wasn’t a success (I am not even sure that all of them were double-ascension devices) and it was lost among other effects fired at the same time. I am afraid that the lollipop (which I was able to spot from the Ferris Wheel, thanks to Vander’s specification), on the music of Electric Funeral, did go unnoticed from many people because they were lost in a very dense tableau.

These are problems related to the pyromusical design, which was excellent for most of the show. However, I didn’t really liked the late start of the fireworks at the beginning of some segments; I prefer to get light as soon as the music begins. Furthermore, during the 6th and 9th segments, great nautical carpets (as well as horsetails for the 9th part) complemented serene musics, but all of a sudden, loud nautical mines erupted, a problem commented by Paul in another post, above in this thread.

I would say that the synchronization was good but unequal : more atmospheric in some parts (e.g., on the Electric Funeral segment), more obvious in other parts (e.g., on the musics of Lampshades on Fire and Radioactive).

Finally, I don’t have so much to say regarding the soundtrack. The choice of musics didn’t really fit with my personal tastes, but that is not so important (I would not listen most of the musics heard during the British display, but I found them very entertaining once matched with the pyros). The edition of the soundtrack wasn’t as polished as in other displays, but it didn’t feature any problem.

Overall, I would say a very good performance from Archangel Fireworks which is currently ranked at the 2nd position in my personal ranking. Given the quality of that performance and with three more contestants to come, I wouldn’t claim that is is a contender for a Jupiter at this stage of the competition, it really depends of what is coming up. I have to say, however, that one young woman, who was sat a couple of rows behind me during the show, couldn’t restrain her enthusiasm, screaming and jumping on her seat, reminding me the typical behaviour of winners of brand new cars at The Price is Right!

******
Next show. From discussions I had with several loyal viewers, I would say that Vulcan’s extravaganza is the most anticipated display this year. By popular request, Vulcan has a rare opportunity to perform a show just two years after its first appearance in Montreal. For sure, the way that designer Cindy Cheung and her team humbly dealt with the situation that night, in 2013, is also part of the explanation. At this stage of the competition and on the basis of what I saw two years ago, I would go as far as to write that, inasmuch Vulcan doesn’t experience significant technical problems, the road to the podium is widely open. Good luck!

Fred

That was an ok show from Canada. As expected, they would do a shell show and the quality of the shells were really not that good. I liked some cylinder shells with shell of shells but other than that I didn't see any other shell worth noting. I always enjoy shows that are more technical and have more low level effects which the show lacked. There were cakes throughout the show but as already mentioned, it got repetitive after a while. The song choices wasn't really my type.

Next is Vulcan! Hoping for a very good show from them

Best Regards,
Vander

An excellent display from debutantes Archangel and a podium contender at present, though I rate Jubilee just a tad higher. Archangel have the finale to beat, though

http://montreal-fireworks.com/ReportBlog/?p=1041

Paul.

Somewhat cooler but pleasant conditions (as compared to those temperatures occurring in conjunction with Italy’s display) were present for the Canadian show, along with light NNW winds pushing the smoke towards those spectators on the bridge near the park. Humidity was low, and with strong enough wind speeds, smoke was clearing adequately. The display, however, was delayed until about 10:05 p.m., so the crowd waited anxiously for the display to begin!

I do echo the sentiments expressed above concerning this display. Indeed, it was a mostly enjoyable performance from beginning to end, with the audience being frequently enthralled by a fair range of intriguing sequences featured throughout. With an interesting and complex theme (Armageddon), my expectations had been fairly high, though some doubt existed in my mind prior to the display as to the overall design. I thought the transitions in pace were particularly well done and were seamless and tidy. The colors, notably with the low-level material, were largely vibrant, and most of the effects used were very neat and symmetrical, exemplifying overall good product quality. Particularly stunning were the arrangements of nautical devices, namely the sequences of nautical shells, and the Z-firing patterns below! The firing angles were good, and the nautical shells added a nice amount of depth to the display. Synchronization was quite good and sometimes elaborate along low-level with the mines and candles (such as those mines of gold emerging rapidly from left to right and back just prior to the commencing of the finale). The audience also greatly enjoyed the frequent bursts of shells at high-level (which were quite characteristic of this display) and were often quite enamored with the salutes and cakes in combination with those shells (the noise was quite welcoming!). The silver strobe lights were also a nice touch to the display, especially in the opening. “End of the World” and “Skyfall” were probably the most memorable segments for me. The finale was excellent and was quite lengthy, intense and colorful, comparable to that of England’s (just with a different design). Interestingly, nearly exactly one year prior to this display, La Ronde spectators experienced powerful nautical shells from the Canadian display last year (2014) whose force seemingly uplifted some water from the lake and sprayed nearby spectators! Similarly in this Canadian display, the huge nautical shells during the finale really seemed to have also produced that defined vibration!

While I very much loved the overall active nature of the display, I found myself having a difficult time to take that extra step to “further” immerse myself into it. I strongly believe that this was related to the overall musical selection. While the fireworks-music connection was clearly good, I thought the nature of the songs, while very relevant to the theme, upset my mood somewhat. This feeling was analogous to that I received from Canada 2012’s general musical choice, except in this case, the music was much more tenacious. As a result, I thought that some tracks just didn’t feel so “fireworks-friendly”. This is more of a criticism that relates to personal taste, but it did obviously influenced the atmosphere/setting.

I also thought the pyromusical design was a little limited. As other members already mentioned previously, the show tended to emphasize more detail at higher levels, which led to some monotony with the frequent appearance of shells (as much as I personally love frequent burst of large shells). This did take away some diversity from the display, and I would have personally preferred more attempts at low-level sequencing, as well as more products to perhaps enhance creativity. Consequently, soundtrack representation felt, at times, similar rather than being more distinct. For example, for the more tranquil segments of “Skyfall” and “Nuclear”, each were mostly portrayed similarly with falling effects (horsetails and falling leaves), though perhaps the songs arranged back-to-back amplified this feeling. I am also not sure how well the occasional periods of darkness actually worked during a few songs – it would have probably been a better approach to keep at least some activity during a number of those pauses. I also thought the burst of nautical shells in “Skyfall” (during the arrangement of flares) felt out of place within the context of that particular moment. That said, it was stated above that this was unexpected and was as much of a surprise to the designer as it was to most people! The gold-glittered double-ascension girandolas similarly did not seem to be as effectively employed as they could have been. Given the theme, I would have also liked to see a more energetic opening. Finally, like England, perhaps some music editing (in terms of shortening) would have also been ideal instead of using full-length songs.

All that being said, this was a very good display and is in contention for a Jupiter award, though depending on our last three participants, I suspect that personal taste in music may have some influence in the final results.

Trav.

For those viewers at La Ronde, just out of curiosity, between those nautical shells of the Canadian finale last year (2014) and the Canadian finale this year, which felt more forceful? About the same? I am just asking since I do remember the descriptions for last year's experience!

Trav.

As far as I remember, the reverberation of the nautical shells was stronger in the Archangel's show than in the Royal's one. However, I suspect a largest amount of nautical shells during the very last barrage of Royal. While it may be an illusion made by wind speed and direction, my video shows that nautical shells of Royal completely filled the space and blocked the view, from the grandstands, which was not the case this time.

Fred

I believe the nauticals in Royal's display were 4" and those at the end of the Archangel display were 5" - this would account for the stronger feeling of concussion from the Archangel ones. Of course, things like wind speed, direction and smoothness of the surface of the lake also make a difference here.

Paul.

I definitely found the reverberation in Archangel's show stronger than Royal's.

I thought this was a great show with good pieces, especially the mines that Fred and others are speaking about above.

My main criticism is that the theme wasn't really clear. I thought Skyfall worked with the illusion of fireworks slowly drifting down. Besides that, the music didn't really help tell any "story". Likewise, I much prefer soundtracks that flow from 1 song to another instead of ones where the song ends and another one starts. In this show, whenever a song ended, the sky was empty for too long. There also was a bit too much repetition.

That said, I loved the use of nautical shells. We're privileged to be able to watch these shows with a lake in between us and the ramps. I wish more teams would take advantage of this because it adds some very nice effects.

As I missed England's show, my rankings so far are easily Canada followed by Italy.

As others have definitely said, tonight's show is easily the most anticipated show for me of the summer. I remember sitting in the stands in 2013 watching Vulcan's show. It was the most difficult show to watch at La Ronde. There's a lot of high expectations and hopefully last night's rain didn't damage any products.

Looking forward to tonight!