Country participant: Italy
Company: Pirotecnia Morsani S.R.L.
Date of presentation: June 28th, 2008
Terrible weather conditions and the risk for thunderstorms were the backdrop for the majority of the day. Thankfully that dry slot quickly pushed in following that persistently long period of heavy showers associated with the warm front, leaving us with some partly cloudy skies by 9:00 p.m. along with some dense low cloud in the distance and some of the most stagnant humidity that I have felt so far this season. This debutant Italian team was set to present an extravagant display featuring a popular selection of soundtrack, some of which were from very familiar films. With the weather giving the go-ahead, the firm’s theme, “Curtains of Light” was set to capture the imagination of the audience with a variety of popular Italian effects as well as promising both an exciting display and strong finale.
The display had a fair variety of effects that were employed, including the infamous shell of shells, multi-breakers, salutes, mixed double to triple farfalle shells, kamuro comets and shells, shells of strobes, photoflashes (towards the penultimate piece) small mid level go-getters, shells of meteor comets, salute terminating shells, (red, silver and green), MASSIVELY dispersed overhead shells, shells of serpents, crossettes (I think I saw this at low level at one point) and of course the promised gorgeous candles of silver and gold comets. Let’s also not forget the, at times, well sequenced “dancing” mines from left to right and right to left with some of the great music beat.
Synchronization was fairly good for the most part and, as I mentioned, there were some enamoring sequences with both the candles and mines through many segments of the display, some of which were so nicely done in rhythm and pace that they appeared to be dancing in an elegant way when defining the key notes within a given soundtrack – this was a successful component for the display, in my opinion. The music selection itself was rather appropriate (and already some favorites listed there) for the theme and the effects utilized often made good definition in representing it, which is why I believe so many shells of strobes were used in the first place. The music itself often increased nicely in intensity as much as the fireworks did. This was often witnessed when large fans of varying comets would be assisted by massive barrages of strobes or of a massive shell combination and then terminating with deafening salutes accompanied with well sequenced low level effects.
The colors were rich and in excellent variation, although I noticed the emergence of the patriotic red and green mixing in often. The design of the show was simply surreal and well balanced, though some nautical effects would have made the show complete. Also, perhaps a little less use of the shell of strobes would have been ideal at times, along with attempting to create more convincing transitional points in pace. Again, however, the roman candles were stunning, and the low level sequences were spectacular in their concoction.
The subtlety between the faux and real finales was actually effective. The faux finale itself was convincing. It started off following clusters of strobe shells with repeated sequences of low level shells of orange with angled mines of blue stars. This was then augmented by a couple rounds of rapid firing of shell of shells later accompanied by barrages of mid level shells of comets and brocades (I think) as well as continuous background salutes. The pace increased and then later was assisted by a perfectly noted rapid sequencing of mines from left to right and back, bringing the segment to a close.
The finale was, simply put, amazing, as the press release denoted, especially since vehement endings are often scarce these past years since 2005. Leading up to the finisher, bright red fans of comets flared from below and then were augmented by repeated large shells of delicate white meteor comets at mid level. Following a brief pause came rapid sequences of bright red and yellow/white photoflashes at mid level, creating a simulation of a disco-like sky. Not long after these terminated, bright fans of white to pale meteor comet candles sprung out from low level, assisted immediately by small silver shells of strobes directly above at mid level. Being in perfect crescendo, this pattern was soon left off by more elevated silver intersecting meteor comets, soon to be mixed in with more mid level shells of red stars and sharp whistling comets along with repeated shots of larger shells of light blue stars above and background titanium salutes. This entire intricate pattern went on for a few moments, but then barrages upon barrages of mid to high level comet shells began to emerge so suddenly, catching many people off guard. This was instantaneously supported by low level bursts of green shells and shots of mines of green stars with continued rising silver meteor comets. The entire sky now being lit with this massive low to high level pattern quickly increased in pace, except now there were large chest thumping salutes added to the chaotic sky. Still going, the same massive shells of changing colored stars we’ve seen frequently during the display joined in with its smaller counterparts, while the low level shells and mines transitioned over to red stars. The pace increased yet further with more and more barrages of shells and salutes at mid to high level along with newly multi-colored shells in the middle (my body even more trembling and my ears ringing at this point), until finally the mayhem concluded with HUGE shells of bright gold stars and one large volley of deafening salutes. What a fabulous way to end off an overall beautiful and noisy performance. With smiling faces to roaring echoes of cheers of approval and delight from the much smaller than average audience, it would seem that many have gotten the thrill, excitement and satisfaction they were looking for after so long, including yours truly.
This was a fantastic display, and many spectators around me were in awe and in a daze after the furious finale came to a close, not to mention that so many segments were already so noisy and exciting to begin with. Overall, however, I thought the display was fabulous and the quality and design of the show really did it justice in representing the theme. However, among the effects, I thought there was a little too much use of the shells of strobes – these were often fired in barrages, as well as being seen as mines or candles burst into them. While the shell of shells and multi-breakers were used often, they were in good variety, so this didn’t really push too much in the way of actual redundancy. I personally thought the soundtrack selected fitted in well with this display and really represented the theme nicely, but at times it wasn’t always so clear in how the effects were conveying the meaning of the theme itself. That said, it is to my belief that the repeated shells of strobes were useful in defining the theme altogether, and I found them rather appropriate. Because many of the effects were identical and were often in harmony with the music, they mostly never felt that redundant because they had virtually always been in a wide variety of color, form and mixture. The balance of the display was in proportion from all angles, but seeing that the show was active, it didn’t really provide the lift, so to speak, for delivering the emotional transitions that are common in many displays. Of course, this is absolutely not to say that I don’t like active displays such as this! Also, though there were plenty of low level effects, I was surprised that there were very little, if any, nautical strobes or flares, particularly when compared to what France has done in that sector. Seeing that much of the shells themselves involved a variety of colored strobes, I was actually expecting these at some point. Synchronization again was fabulous, but there were one or two segments where some shells were fired abruptly immediately leaving off from the previous segment. Also, within some segments, the music-fireworks connection was not as intricately demonstrated as I had hoped, although this was not always consistent. That said, much of the variation of soundtrack really helped with the sequencing attempts at low to mid level.
Most of these criticisms, of course, are ultimately minor, considering that much of this display was so elegantly crafted. It’s fortunate that we had enough wind to blow off the what appeared to be quickly building smoke accumulations in response to the heavy humidity towards the East and Northward, or else we would have been looking at an obscured display. The threat of rain, stagnant humidity and wind speed were probably the biggest concerns for this presentation, but I was confident that the winds would be strong enough to take care of any smoke accumulations – this is why I was moreso concerned about the rains coming from the next wave. It wasn’t long after the show had ended that newly developing cells started approaching with the cold front, and hence the early overnight heavier rains and this morning’s furious storm.
Trav’s personal scorings (for fun):
-Pyrotechnic components: 8.5/10
-Synchronization: 8/10
-Soundtrack: 9/10
-Technical design: 8/10
-Pyromusical concept: 9/10
-Overall: 8.5/10
(Scores will be adjusted before the closing ceremony).
***In any case, hope you guys saw Mother Nature’s fireworks at 4:00-5:00 a.m. this morning. lol A very impressive storm, to say the least, although I was expecting the chance to see something like it since a few days now.
Trav.
