Well, what a year this was in terms of the fireworks, especially with the memorable frightful and consecutive risks of terrible weather. Spain, France and Germany were pretty much precipitation free, but it looks like we've got the risk for Panzera's performance. More on this later. I would also like to point out that we were treated with quite a variety of displays as well where we saw some classic-style approaches to some very neat attempts at creativity and transitions. Each show delivered a very unique display that was easily enforced by either tradition, artistry or a strong thematic framework that revolved around many aspects of whatever theme was used. We have witnessed a wide range of performances, including very complex, emotional, dramatic, exciting/mesmerizing, transitional, creative and artistic premises. Thanks to this, we have now experienced a variety of displays that have all been most appealing in their own unique manner, but now it is our job to judge them accordingly.
First, I would personally like to congratulate all the participants for giving it their absolute best on their night of presentation. You've all did such a wonderful job with your displays and in entertaining the faithful Montreal audience for the 2007 season. We must also take into consideration that we've had many close calls with the weather, especially during the English and American displays. Thankfully, the weather smiled upon all of our entrants and they all were spared the calamity that may have been otherwise possible.
Here are my personal and adjusted rankings of each show. Though some of the scorings have been changed, they have not altered to the point where they changed my views on each respective display (with one exception). I've included the strengths and weaknesses outlined in my reports and condensed them here briefly. I will then provide a final personalized prediction followed by a jury prediction and other miscellaneous aspects worthy of being acknowledged.
1. Spain (Pirotecnia Igual)-Possibly the coolest weather conditions this season were present for this display making it sometimes uncomfortable, especially with the brisk winds. The Spanish team made a strong opening for the 2007 fireworks season and had some very good sequencing at many points. The show also offered some interesting colors and effects to go along with the overall design, but the thematic approach of "Pure Jazz" may have been a little too general and less distinctive that didn't leave much room for good Spanish-style intensity. The music choice was not a personal favorite and didn't bring in the thrill that I'm commonly used to in an Igual display. Though a more Spanish-based theme would have worked much better along with some increasingly diverse product, the music choice still served to be efficient with the approach involved, especially with the variations in rhythm and pace observed. The finale was much less than expected and the faux finale was too redundant with the kamuros, but still a decent finish nevertheless.
-Overall: 8/10
2. England (Pains Fireworks)-Thunderstorm vs. fireworks? Severe weather associated with the hottest and most humid weather this season of all fireworks nights threatened to spoil this display and the heavy thunderstorm in the area for about 2 and 1/2 hours really caused a lot of commotion among many spectators. Thankfully the storm just grazed the region as it moved off towards the East with lightning distinctively seen in the distance at the beginning of the show. This was a powerful, creative and much defined performance by the English team, and their story that went along with the designated theme was most successful with the "Day and Night" establishment. The use of the ring to demonstrate the sun and the blue moon was very effective and I personally loved how the show was organized in separating the diurnal part and subsequently giving way to the more nocturnal piece through a gradual story of orbital transition. Some excellent creativity demonstrated, but I didn't find the use of the ring too original, although its use was certainly unique. The show was also highly integral and well built around the theme making it very enjoyable. Synchronization was very well done and had some excellent transitions in pace. The series of effects were also on par with the general premises involved. The color variety could have been a little more distinctive, but the music choice was well prepared and nicely chosen. The finale was pretty good since it was broken up, but it would have honestly been better if all combined in one. Nevertheless, I've been standing firmly with the English performance since after their show concluded and I do believe that there is a good chance for this competitor to hit either the gold or silver.
-Overall: 9.5/10
3. Mexico (Lux Pirotecnia, S.A. de C.V.)-Showers and thundershowers threatened to ruin this display as well, though this was because of a warm front. This was a very decent and quite exciting show at times, but it lacked vibrancy in some sense, particularly in establishing a strong theme. The show had some strong points, especially with pace and music connection, although there were points where synchronization was noticeably off. Color choices were in good variety, but again perhaps a little too concentrated at many points. While the theme was very general, there was little to support it in the display; in fact, I couldn't pinpoint much connection at all, therefore led the show to be somewhat disorganized. With some dazzling effects, the show also had a very nice finisher, so that's an additional plus.
-Overall: 7.5/10
4. China (Pyromagic Productions Ltd.)-Once again, the possibility of showers and thunderstorms were in the forecast for this display. The Chinese team provided some very diverse effects and possibly the highest range of shells we've seen in a long time. The performance was more artistic than anything else in defining the theme, which really helped out in its creativity approach. I was quite appreciative of the Great Wall of China and many of the other low level effects used. The quality of the show was simply extravagant and I personally thought that the theme was quite fitting. However, the main dilemma with this show was most predominantly with redundancy. Though the shells and effects were usually diverse, they were used surprisingly to an excessive level. The colors weren't as rich as I had hoped and many of them were simply too concentrated, even amongst the effects. Finally, I would have appreciated to see at least one last appearance of the Great Wall in the penultimate piece. Finally, the finale was too short and lacked the proper vehemence to give a lasting impression. Despite all this, I do believe that this display is in contention for a prize.
-Overall: 8.5/10
5. U.S.A (Pyro Spectaculars by Souza)-Another very close call with the weather where persistent rains and earlier thunderstorms made an appearance. With the rains seen at 9:00, we were again spared at 10 by a miracle. This was the most exciting and loudest overall performance seen this season and a lot of it felt like a series of faux finales. While the color choice was fantastic, I thought that the patriotic colors were a little too common, but thankfully they were spread out. I personally loved the music choice (possibly my favorite selection this year) and the tribute to Elvis Presley attempt, though this was somewhat too simplistic. The show really showed off its power and I was excited all the way through. In addition, to me, most of it lacked creativity and missed out on a somewhat effective transitional scheme compared to other displays we've seen. The finale was surprisingly weak compared to the rest of the performance and possibly the most disappointing since expectations were most high. Furthermore, it did not match the soundtrack selected for this final piece. Another display quite possible in getting hold of a prize.
-Overall: 9.1/10
6. Canada (Fireworks Spectaculars Canada)-Once more, ominous clouds, showers and heavy thunderstorms threatened to ruin this display as well. Lightning also later made an appearance a few times in the distance, but again we were spared the possible onslaught. Besides the small delay with the weather, the Canadian team also experienced a nearly 25 minute delay. When the show finally did start, we were treated with a powerful and inspiring opening. A lot of interesting sequences were present, especially with the low level effects. with a small reminder of the Canadian display we witnessed in 2003, we saw some perfectly synchronized pieces while there was excellent use of the sky from the left to right and bottom to top respectively and not really losing momentum; a very balanced and equally ubiquitous display. The show also offered some of the most enjoyable sequences I've witnessed this year, especially at low level. It was additionally divided into a tranquil first half followed by a latter more robust part to the show, which proved to be more active than even the U.S at times. The show had some excellent contrasts in both color and pace, while being very creative in its entirety. However, there wasn't a strong connection in enforcing the theme and a lot of the effects, particularly the Olympic flame bowl situated on ramp 4, was not used as much as I had hoped. The waterfall also seemed to have some trouble lighting on one end. Finally, the narration was not really tenacious with the display. Nevertheless, we were treated with the best finale of the season to terminate the performance. Another possible winner, but I suspect that the delay may still have some influence, including the little activity that was witnessed before the main delay itself.
-Overall: 9.2/10
7. France (Féérie)-After consecutive threats of adverse weather, we were finally experiencing more perfect Summer conditions for this performance. Féérie really put on an impressive performance with their theme and the general design of their show. The theme permitted potentially some very efficient transitions to dictate conflicting emotions, and I thought it was probably one of the most intriguing choices of approaches this season. While the show had some spectacular effects and low level sequencing to go along with some fairly good synchronization, a lot of the segments were quite similar in firing scheme, which did not really take advantage of both the effective transitions and dramatic differences in pace that I was looking for. The color choices weren't totally rich, but were still appropriate for this kind of approach. The music choice was not as impressive as I had hoped, but there were at least some good selections. The theme was well chosen, but the idea had been done before and therefore was not totally original, but I personally thought that the attempt was certainly original compared to the Australian performance seen in 2003.
I personally loved the heart structure placed on ramp 4 and the rose structure seen at the beginning among other effects. The finale was average and could have certainly been a whole lot better. I wouldn't rule out the chance of this team getting on the podium.
-Overall: 8.2/10
8. Germany (IP)-The second hottest evening was present for the German team with some of the most perfect weather conditions. This was also a very exciting and, as expected, powerful Italian-like display in its entirety. This performance had personally the best sequencing and synchronization I've seen this season, though the music choice was not in excellent variation as it could have been. However, the theme was not totally definitive and was too descriptive to the point where it became vaguely represented in the display itself. The show however had a lot of nostalgia to it and had a very unusual feeling, so to speak. The synchronization really proliferated in this display and sincerely played an important role in giving way to its success. I personally found the show to be very hyper as well, most notably with the infamous shell of shells and multi-breakers. The xylophone segment was also one of the most memorable in this show. The finale didn’t really get to the point in the very end of it, but I still rank it 2nd best. It's curious on how this display will be judged, but I personally have the German performance in Jupiter standards.
-Overall: 8.8/10
Trav’s personal prediction and choice:
1st: England
2nd: Canada
3rd: USA
My jury predictions:
1st: England
2nd: USA
3rd: Canada (I suspect that France, *Germany, China or even Spain are also close)
Most exciting overall displays:
1. USA
2. Germany
3. Canada
Personal best music choice:
1. England
2. USA
3. Canada
Strongest thematic connection:
1. England
2. USA
3. China
Best sequencing attempts:
1. Germany
2. Canada
3. Spain
Top finishers:
1. Canada
2. Germany
3. Mexico
It is to my belief that England will claim the Gold Jupiter merely because the display was so well organized and concocted. The story behind the display also made it seemingly more interesting as we were taken on a subtle trip through the diurnal parts of a typical solar day, indirectly representing a more natural and galactic point of view of the “Day and Night” aspect. Synchronization was also nearly flawless and most enjoyable with the display, but I was most enamored by the use of the ring in showing off both the blue moon and sun.
Canada had some excellent sequencing, used a wide portion of sky from left to right, and had some particularly distinctive transitions with color and pace, but the thematic framework was not as strongly shown as I had expected, especially with the various effects shown. The U.S had a great performance and a great theme along with an enjoyable selection of Elvis’ greatest hits, but it had a weak finale and some moderate redundancy and lacking creativity. Germany also lacked creativity, though had some of the most unusual sequencing and such exquisite synchronization (and holds an advantage being the last entrant). France had a good thematic connection and, similarly to Canada, was also very balanced from left to right and bottom to top, but the show lacked vibrancy and was quite repetitive in firing scheme, which made it difficult to point out the highly anticipated emotional transitions at times. China was possibly the most artistic and traditional performance and had a great theme to work with to support that. This display also had the widest range of shells and effects (most notably the Great Wall) that I have seen in some time, but simply suffered from redundancy in the usage of many of the shells.
It’s relatively hard to say and there’s bound to be disappointment with the results, but a lot of factors are at work here and I strongly believe that a good thematic enforcement is a prime key aspect to the success of any given display. I personally don’t mind if Canada makes it to first place since they are my #2 preference altogether. Again, I’d like to congratulate all the participants of this season for making such a strong effort. Most of these firms are quite old, but it was a great pleasure to see such a remarkable return. Though I was busy with the weather (and still am for today) this season, I’ve honestly never seen such luck from the weather for consecutively 5 times; from England through to Canada. Hopefully things will again be alright for tonight’s closing show and that we may be able to enjoy the celebration dedicated to La Ronde’s 40th birthday as well as the for the 40th anniversary for Expo 67.
I’m quite anxious about tonight, but it’s a shame that the competition had to end so quickly. This marks 18 years of my attendance at the competition.
Trav.
