For a fourth consecutive time, a fireworks day was graced with dry weather this year. The Hungarian display met with a temperature of 23 C, moderate humidity and light WNW wind fields. Although enjoyable conditions, this also created a situation where the La Ronde audience would more likely observe periods of haze induced by accumulations of smoke focused especially at its central to left-hand sections, similar to what was observed over the course of the Mexican show.
The display itself was quite enjoyable, and it brought with it some very engaging and interactive moments throughout numerous segments. The colors often were vibrant and would often endure for an extended period before drowning into the night. In addition, the interplay of colors often was dazzling and really brought out some of the signature components of the employed soundtrack. This was especially the case from our vantage point because the smoke did not affect our viewing significantly, much like during the Mexican show.
At the very beginning of the performance, it became quickly apparent that this display would produce exemplary note-tight sequences as the low-level flares quickly raced from left to right and back during the narrated countdown. Indeed, as the display unfolded, we were treated to many fascinating sequences along low-level, when gerbs, mines and flares would delightfully dash across at interesting angles and speeds along the firing site, or astonish the audience when suddenly popping up at a critical portion of a given soundtrack. The “Do-Re-Mi” segment that had appeared shortly after the opening piece of the display was very well executed, although the smoke did affect the clarity of some letters as they emerged, as well as the richness of other mid-altitude effects. The “Summer of ‘69” was particularly well done in the sense that it carried with it much passion and elaboration that mixed incredibly well with the ever so graceful drooping shells and horsetails that had been present. Between these effects existed some large-calibre shells that showed off a magnificent hue of mauve at their centers! To a similar extent, the finale, though I was hoping for a stronger finish, in its entirety was well structured and flowed correctly from beginning to end. Still, I would say that my personal favorite segment of the display was that of “Algeria”, as it appeared both symbolically strong and commanded a distinct sense of emotion coming out of the previous segment.
Undoubtedly, for the reasons mentions above, the display was well executed. That said, one important aspect that was lacking, for me, was the conceptual design of the show, as the thematic representation was not always obvious. The theme had a conceptually complex nature, and so I was previously envisioning more of a journey-like attempt that would visually guide the audience through the evolutionary components surrounding this kind of theme. If such an approach would be been taken, then some (brief) narration could help to articulate the direction that the designers intend to send the display at various points. To that end, I was more so hoping to see an approach similar to Italy 2013, where we were structurally taken through a decadal trip or sorts that showcased the manner in which music evolved over time. In this display, I felt some degree of connection with several relevant soundtracks, but at the same time, there would also sometimes be interspersion with selections that seemed completely random and, at times, placed the display’s purpose out of context.
On the technical side, there were also some unusual moments of tranquility at the commencing of several segments. One notable instance was at the opening of “Fly, Fly”, when there was a somewhat prolonged period of silence as the music made itself known. This briefly produced a sunken feeling that there might have been some form of technical issue, but we were, thankfully, re-assured that this was not the case when the pyrotechnics came to life as they should. During those quiet openings (and closings, in some cases), I was envisioning that the void could have been filled with an arrangement of flares of some sort spreading ubiquitously along low-level, or perhaps some one-shot mines as a choice effect to depict the beating sound of the drums. In terms of closing a segment, there were moments of cliff-hangers. At the end of “Algeria” and “Summer of ‘69”, for example, the display, in my mind, faded much too quickly as the music could still faintly be heard for a decent period of time. Overall, this fairly often impacted the quality of the transitions.
In other cases, I felt like the display would have benefited from a wider scope of firing to really make an effective use of the available firing space. At times, this was achieved, but the firing style would quickly regress into a more constricted appearance along the center when it otherwise would have been more beneficial to maintain a larger width at some points. I would have further liked to see more use made of the two towers to potentially create an even more immersive delivery.
Overall, this was an impressive first display by the Hungarian team. Many segments were fluid and kept pace with the soundtrack, often cleverly bringing the songs to life in an elaborate manner. Although the theme felt out of place at times, the show held up a strong degree of organization altogether, and the music was generally enjoyable. There was also a clever interaction of effects while sustaining a symmetrical appearance from top to bottom and left to right. Upper-level affects were rarely unsupported by lower-level firing and vice versa, so this definitely gave the display a ‘complete’ feel with respect to visual appeal. The product quality was also quite apparent, with frequently strong color richness and symmetry that appeared across the arguably wide range of effects used, and it was further manifested through the endurance of the effects after being fired.
Definitely a strong contender, though there are still four (4) competitors remaining!
Trav.
