Just got home from Pains' display - in the process of converting and uploading the video.

A very very strong performance from the British team with a well developed theme and superb design and synchronization as well as an excellent sound track and very thought provoking finale. Certainly a big gamble that paid off as far as I was concerned.

The display was both very broad and very high which made it difficult to film - hope everyone who wasn't there who watches the video can appreciate the display to its full extent.

The video will be up in about and hour from now.

Paul.

What a display this was, indeed. I will echo Paul's statement and say that this was such an extraordinary and strong performance crafted by Pains Fireworks once again. Upon concluding, I instantaneously left the area with an identical feeling of satisfaction and delight as I did following their display in 2007, and with some pondering, I felt repeatedly in my mind: they have a good chance of hitting the top 3 after an astonishing show like that. Let me say that I am most stunned and dazzled by Pains' display tonight in so many respects. The display tonight was such a success, and everything was so beautifully organized and well thought out in accordance with the theme.

Synchronization was practically flawless, and the attempts at sequencing were wonderful during many sections of the show, especially at low level. The choice of music was also, in my mind, very carefully selected and made sense in supporting the various components of the display. Not only did the music maintain the display in perspective as well as keeping fluidity, but it additionally served to deliver such striking emotions during the display through the successive transitional points in both rhythm and pace using the appropriate effects in support of that. Before "I Feel Like A Woman" started, I found the introductory part to be a rather nice addition to the display in getting things underway, for it gave the audience some guideline as to what to be expected of the performance. Though starting just maybe about 4 seconds before Michel LaCroix could finish the countdown, the display got off to such a grand start with a single powerful multibreaker that quickly was in connection to the music as soon as it had started, which was then followed by dazzling tall orange mines and some fairly large shells at mid to high level. What an opening to what seemed like was going to be such an exquisite performance, indeed!

The effects were quite diverse. First, I was very delighted to see the Venus and Mars symbols illuminated there on each side throughout the entire display, that is, until the end where the circles that encompassed them were nicely glittering. We had also gotten a taste of the pleasing shell of shells and multibreaks, plenty of cakes, candles, crackling pistils, horsetails, farfalles, bow shells, some go-getters, shells of swirls, single ring shells and a good deal of loud salutes. The huge gold glittering nautical shells were also so dazzling, as were many of the lower effects (mainly the candles, cakes and mines). Near the end of the display, I noticed a line of spinning wheels with silver sparks along the bottom - those were a nice integration to the display, as well as appropriately representing the soundtrack at that time.

The display was so incredibly organized, though I suppose this is to be expected from Pains Fireworks! Really, almost precisely after every 10-minute interval, they would immediately start off a new section. That said, the display was fluid from one section to the next while keeping everything in balance in the process. Pains additionnaly did a great job outlining both Man and Woman and then combining these two critical concepts of the theme over the course of the last 10 minutes, which appropriately commenced with "It Takes Two".

I didn't have my expectations up for the finale based on the information released by Pains. That said, despite what the team had claimed, I think England had really surprised the audience in the 3-4 minutes prior to the actual finale - those few moments were some of the most active that I have seen in recent years - most unexpected! Though the finale, as expected, was clearly not as powerful, it was very appropriate in the way it finished, especially with the music involved (reminded me a little of South Korea of last year in the way they had concluded). I had no idea what "My Immortal" was until I heard the song started playing - I recognized it instantly. It's a very emotional song that they used for the ending piece and, in some sense, served as a formal representation for the entire display.

To conclude, England really concocted such an overall powerful display, not just in terms of general vehemence, but in delivery as well. The display was professionally designed in being elegant, emotional, nicely transitioned (emotionally tied), creative and representative in terms of illustrating the framework of the theme and its components. As with the complexity and creativty seen in the 2007 display, "Day and Night", so, too, was this seen in "Venus and Mars" in both those sectors. Pains also did such a great job keeping the display on track and using the most appropriate effects whenever necessary, so kudos to them on that.

The range of effects was fairly good and the quality of the products was simply fantastic. In my own viewpoint, England did an even better job at sequencing than did the Spanish team, and Spain had some good sequences in their display, mind you. As a result, the choreography of the British display was just so incredibly well done and therefore enjoyable, particularly with the timing of the mines at many points with respect to the music. Similarly, it is good to note the timing with the music with respect to the shell of shells and multibreaks, which I believe was just a superb attempt (really something spectacular achieved there). One of my personal favorite segments was during the "Rain on your Parade" soundtrack - the team really did a fantastic job in this section and was one of the many points involving a tight music-fireworks connection. Indirectly, the shells of trailing white comets to conclude that piece also were, to me, very symbolic in depicting slowly trickling raindrops, especially with the final large shell of comets trailing gently and delicately to the river, like rainwater slowly dripping from leaves.

My only real criticism for this display is that there could have been just a little more in the way of color variation in the parts leading up to the finale. The color choice for the very final segment itself was appropriate, however. Also, I felt that the display could have been slightly more diverse in terms of shells towards higher level - in some way, I was expecting, for example, some heart shells to appear at times during the final 10 minutes. These are relatively minor drawbacks, though.

With all this, we were pretty lucky with the weather with in terms of the wind, though this obviously depended on where you were standing. Winds shifted very accordingly with respect to what I had stated: variable between the West to Northwest to Northerlies. As it turned out, being calm to light all the way through, I was amazed with my prediction when first observing winds starting off as Westerlies in the early evening, then eventually shifting to Northwesterlies, then Northerlies during the show along with a slight tilt from the Northeast later on into it. Consequently, as expected, the smoke slowly built itself (due to high moisture levels) and pushed toward the bridge, eventually covering it up in a thick cloud (seen at the end of my video). With the Northerlies to slight Northeasterlies present, this meant that folks viewing from both La Ronde (I would imagine better conditions there, thanks to the slight NE tilt) and Notre-Dame saw most of the display with little trouble, but for those on the bridge overlooking the park as well as people stationed South of the bridge, like last week, likely had seen a large cloud of smoke (sorry, Rachel ). Temperatures, too, remained in the expected range at 20 C. Finally, we were also left with partly cloudy conditions, and despite the scattered showers across the island around dinner time, we saw a gradual beautiful clearing with the half-moon seen to the West just before the display. Although the system moved East of the region, it seems that the threat of rain showers diminished the attendance somewhat tonight, but I noticed the place became increasingly packed 30 minutes before the show, likely because of the more stable and clearing/partly cloudy conditions.

Weather aside, I had a very enjoyable evening accompanied by such a memorable display. For those on Notre-Dame, the right end of the display was sometimes a little bit vaguely seen, particularly towards high level when the shells repeatedly fired - most of the bow shells were a little bit covered and a few of the regular shells appeared as semicircles. All that said, you could still distinguish what was being fired at all levels of the display. It is actually a good thing that the display wasn't constantly active, as this bought a little bit of time for the smoke to displace, even if just a little bit. It is fortunate that winds were not in the form of Westerlies!

This was quite a display put on by team England, and my preliminary scores are very high. As Paul mentioned, the display, especially at high level, was very wide, so it made for a little bit of challenge in capturing everything at once at a fair number of points - this was the case when I was recording the wild part(s) just before the finale.

Trav.

This show, in many ways reminds me a lot of their 2007 show. It felt like it was a continuation of their show. A few segments reminded me of a certain part of their 2007 show for example, there was a part near the end that had fans of blue roman candles and blue rings on top which is a bit similar to blue moon and the part with bow ties reminded me of feeling good. I thought that it was cool that they still didn't lose their design elementseven with another theme. This is also probably because of the same products used

The synchronization of the show's perfect but i don't think it's the strongest part of the show mainly because the song choice didn't allow them to have that much digital sequences. That said, i still think that the songs worked perfectly specially with the theme. I also thought that maybe they could have used more, fun segment because i don' t really see why such theme would be sad and emotional.

Again, this year the strongest part of their show's the theme. I have to say it wasn't a very easy theme to tackle on but they executed it really well. The set pieces of the male and female symbols allowed the audience to understand which part is which during the show.

The color coordination was also really well done although at some points i thought that they could have used a little bit more color to emphasize the music It's nice to see though that each segment had their own color theme. The products used were really good too i think most or all of them fitted really well with the music. I like the comets that came from the center and went to the lake.

My favorite parts of the show would be the first segment, the one with the tourbillions and bowties, and the ending. I wouldn't really call the my immortal segment as the finale, i think that it's more of an ending or maybe a closing o.O. It's more like the ending and the credits of a movie rather than the climax That's how i look at it anyways..... The immortal segment was a really nice touch... maybe i was expecting more horsetails but there was already plenty of them... If i were asked which one was better igual or pains, i have to say that in terms of synchronization and song choice i would go for igual but as for the theme and the coordination of the show i would go for pains. Both showed us very good shows i think.

Till next week

Vander

Great display by Pains Fireworks! I was very impressed! I'll go as far as saying that they have a good chance of winning something this year. It was a very well designed and organized display. Good use of the lake! Synchronization was almost perfect. It had a very good theme and an appropriate soundtrack. Luckily, the smoke-build up wasn't a big issue after all!

"It’s a man’s world," the introduction of the male part, was my favourite scene. I thought it was very well done! Actually, the real finale of this display (during the "Paradise by the Dashboard light" scene) was quite lengthy, but not intense enough, although the display was overall very satisfying. I also very much liked the "My immortal" scene!

Does anyone know if the male/female symbols were made of pyrotechnic material (or whatever you call it), because I didn't see any smoke coming out of them. They didn't seem to be burning! It must have been made of electrical wiring and bulbs, hehe.

My rankings so far - rated from La Ronde:

1. England
2. Spain

I'm going to have to think about this "finale." It may take awhile . . .

What a fantastic display. The synchronitzation was very good. The music really nice. Love the opening, with the Adam and Eve's song. If I have to compare this this play with the other one in 2007 I think I prefer "Day & Night", in some ways it was more intense.

However, in this one (Venus and Mars) the structure of the display was better. Love how they divided the display in different parts, mixing perfectly together. The material used was good, mixing different types of shells. Even so I found a bit repetitive the colors used.

I'm sorry but I didnt like the "finale". It was atypical, ok, but not creative from my point of view. So for me it was atypical but in a negative way. I think the last song could have been the second-to-last song and the second-to-last one could have been the real finale. I don't understand why they choose those effects to finish the show. Maybe more horsetails, or 4 or 5 huge shells before the horsetails rain could have improve the "finale". For me the way they concluded the show was not a very good way. A bit disappointing. And believe me, it's not about noise neither about amount of material but taste and entretainment. We shouldn't forget we're talking about fireworks, and fireworks are entretainment for the people, and what people usually want is to see a real finale, not only some horsetails falling in the sky.


An excelent show but an strange way to finish. Very strange.

I think there is something wrong with the video, Im only able to download about half the video.

Rovira,

We seem to share some similar viewpoints. In my review, I had stated that the "finale" was, in its entirety, appropriate for the soundtrack employed and sort of offered some representation of the entire display. Though I did not raise my expectations for the finale, given the news released by the English team regarding it, like you, I felt that the finale still gave off the impression of an anti-climax because it finished off just like any ordinary segment. I do also agree that it could have been a little more dramatic when finishing, along with either a good deal more horsetails or just massive barrages of gold weeping willow shells, or simply a mix of both.

Still, I very much enjoyed this display overall, though as you mentioned, and as I had stated briefly, there could have been a little more in the way of color richness, especially towards the finish. The 2007 display and this year's were indeed similar in the way they were both structured, though obviously implemented in a different manner. Although I enjoyed both a great deal and my feelings were virtually identical after leaving the area both in 2007 and last night, I still had slightly more of a better connection with the "Day and Night" performance of 2007. All that said, I feel that this performance has a good chance of making it on the podium this year.

Here's a video of the last 5 minutes of the display that I had just posted on YouTube (take a look also at the heavy smoke on the bridge at the end of the video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIRqDot02TE&feature=channel_page

As was the case with Notre-Dame to some extent, I noticed that into the first half of Paul's video that the shells at mid to high level were a little faint (until the stars illuminated from them, that is) due to the smoke accumulations, particularly to the left hand side (our right on Notre-Dame) of the viewers there. With the exception of the last several minutes (some of the shells were almost completely blocked out on the left at the time), the shells became a little more clear at those levels, which is indicative of the slight wind shift.

On a side note, again, I loved the line of spinning wheels of silver sparks along the bottom during the beginning of "It Takes Two" - we could just barely see them from Notre-Dame. I also really loved the interchange of the Venus and Mars symbols in accordance to what was being represented - it sort of added a little planetary feel to the display as well.

Trav.

Wow......right after the England display, I felt weird for the first time in the many, many years I have attended the Montreal Firework Competition. But first, let me tell you what I enjoyed from this display. As Travis and others said, the synchronization was excellent and so was the diversity. My favorite segment was, by far, the part where "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf was played....great intensity, something worth choosing for a finale. The theme was a good one, though not very original.

Two MAJOR things from this display, left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth though. The choice of songs for the soundtrack left a lot to be desired. "Venus and Mars", to me, was supposed to be a celebration of both sexes, but as I was listening to the soundtrack throughout the display, it turned out to be the celebration of one sex and the "putting down" of the other sex! Such songs as "Rain on your parade" and also, "If I were a Boy" which is one very sexist song, did not belong and had no place in such a theme! As for most of the other tracks, they were downbeat, depressing. With the exception of Shanya Twain's, Marvin Gaye's, Meatloaf's and Evenascence's tracks, there was no way I could connect nor enjoy the display!

As for the finale, Meatloaf's segment should have been put last for sure. When you know beforehand that the last track is a soft, downbeat song like "My immortal", you expect the finale to be soft, slow and with a relatively low intensity.....so when you're prepared, you can react positively.....but we all know that fireworks displays are meant to surprise the crowd and therefore, firms do not intend to reveal their musical content to the broad public. I only took notice of the list of tracks that Pains had in plan, after I attended the display, so my disappointment was huge at 22:30 last evening! Granted that the "My immortal" segment was really nice, but it should have been put either in the middle of the display, or right before "Meatloaf's" (so I totally agree with you, Rovira!). Somehow, I don't think this display will make it to my Top 10 list ever.....LOL

I am really looking forward to Australia's performance next Saturday!



Have a great week everybody!

Pierre

Photos from Bob and Steve are up - I'm still tired out from my display yesterday so my review (and comments on the reviews above) won't be up until tomorrow.

Paul.

I really liked this show very much overall.

The opening sequence of “Adam and Eve” was a pleasant surprise since it wasn’t on the playlist and did a wonderful job of kicking things off. I loved the two cakes that I thought resembled the two predominant trees in the Garden (starting at 1:40).

The “rolling” comet sequences during “This is a Man’s World” at 13:40 and again at 15:25 are simply one of the most brilliant and sophisticated sequences I have ever seen in Montreal. I really appreciate how they took a standard effect and turned it into something completely unexpected and extraordinary. BRAVO!

This is also the first time I’ve heard the prototypic blues chords and rhythms of “Mannish Boy” in a Montreal display and I enjoyed that whole segment and its energy very much

Paradise by the Dashboard Light was a hoot! I laughed several times. As I mentioned in another post, I thought that it could be very effective music for a finale, and it was.

THE “FINALE.” Gotta’ agree totally with Vander (and others). The last song was not the finale. I also his appreciated his reference to viewing the last song as being similar to a movie’s closing credits (which most people don’t sit though, but I do). My wife referred to it as the “afterglow.” I’m very grateful for Paul’s interview with the team from Pains earlier in the week which gave a heads-up on the finale, and also for posting the song list. All this gave me a chance to go into the display with an open mind. It wasn’t enough. Hey, it was a nice segment. But that’s all . . . nice. If you’re going to close the show with something non-traditional, that’s fine, but close it! It doesn’t necessarily have to be loud, but make it clear that it’s done. Show us something spectacular and awe-inspiring, even if it doesn’t leave my ears ringing. I have a pet peeve about fireworks displays that end with people saying, “Is that it? Is it over?” In my mind, there should never be any doubt when a display is over. And that was my exact feeling when the video ended. I wondered if I had missed something or if the video had been cut off. Then I realized that it was over. I’m all for trying new things, but, for me, this didn’t work. The other good reason to put the typical finale at the end became rather obvious. It was readily apparent throughout the show that there was a problem with smoke accumulation. Now, it’s impossible to totally account for wind speed and direction when designing a show, but to create a segment where the feel is one of refined texture and soft glitter right after a segment featuring many barrages of large shells is risky, to say the least. The smoke certainly reduced the overall effect, and therefore its overall effectiveness. I’m still open to a different style of ending, but this wasn’t it.

One last thing. In a moment of hyper-analysis, a thought occurred. Keep an eye out for comet angles and the shapes they define. Apply the symbology of the “chalice” and “blade” found in “The Da Vinci Code.” It’s not 100%, but it certainly seems that there are more comets firing away from each other during the “woman” segments and towards each other during the “man” segments. There are other effects which define space consistent with these symbols. In fact, there’s one portion when the two are combined at a time very consistent with the lyric. I’m sure it’s all coincidence . . . maybe.

Add me to the list of those who very much enjoyed Pains' display on Saturday.

Having to return to Montreal and defend their title as 'champions' a mere two years after winning a well deserved Gold Jupiter, they presented a display that evoked an originality in mood, technique, theme and meaning. I strongly feel that Pains are among the best firms at showcasing the potential of artistic achievement in a pyromusical.

"Venus and Mars" was a generally well thought-out display. I must admit to never having read the book on which the display's concept was based, but I believe to have an adequate understanding. The display expressed commonalities and differences between males and females that can be plucked from use of colour, fireworks, music, rhythms/patterns and scope. Interestingly - some may say 'expectedly' - of the first two "portions" of the display, as a male, I felt more a part of the masculine section, yet more interested and captivated by the female section. I wonder if most males here would agree and most women felt the opposite?

I felt as though the third portion of the display did not go far enough in really unifying male and female. I knew that it is what they wanted to do but I had to force myself to go along with it. This may have something to do with the yin & yang, "It Takes Two" sequence which, to me, constituted the only serious lull in the display. It is as if Pains counted on there being more of a "wow" factor with their three spinners, giving them a bit too much time and attention, which consequently meant that not enough was going on at high or even mid-level to maintain full interest. We'll see, if Paul puts a "WOW" in his report at this point then I will stand corrected.

On the subject of the finale, I personally loved it. It was a display that was deeper, more contemplative than most, and it felt right for the final statement to be calm, reserved and thoughtful. I see it as a quiet moment between a man and woman, the sharing of a knowing glance, an understanding of one another represented by the first 28 minutes of the display.

While I really enjoyed the "Venus and Mars" I found it to be slightly too uneven (the female part being better than both the male and togetherness portions). I also feel like Pains, while coming up with a creative theme, didn't present anything new on the perception, understanding and definition of man and women. The display did not change my feelings on anything which, for me, leaves an opportunity to other firms to score higher. With that being said, I would be pleased to see Pains reach the podium again in 2009.

A note to Chris on his "hyper-analysis." While I did not read "The Da Vinci Code" I completely see the symbolism that you are referring to. I'm thinking that there was plenty of thought put into angles and shapes, lines straight and curved. My guess is that it is far from coincidence.

As Enkil asked, were the male and female symbols actual pyrotechnic material? I'm wondering the same thing. They turned on and off like lights and did not produce any smoke as far as I could tell.

That's it... looking forward to what Foti and Australia has in store for us!

Tyler

i'm also curious as to what those set pieces were... They burned or lit for too long to be lances.. i guess those are the "electrical fireworks" mentioned in paul's report. ... which is still in progress xD

Vander.

i'm also curious as to what those set pieces were... They burned or lit for too long to be lances.. i guess those are the "electrical fireworks" mentioned in paul's report.
They were simply rope lighting - lances would not burn long enough.

Report will be up later today - much to do before then.

Paul.

Rope lighting? In my world that's got to be a violation.

OK. Use electric motors to turn a static display. While it's true that pyrotecnic devices can be used to accomplish that, I guess I don't have a big problem with it.

However, when it comes to illumination, I've got to draw a line! Would it be OK to use strobe lighting instead of stobe pots? A jumbotron to display images? Lasers?

Nah. I think that anything that lights up should be a pyrotechnic device.

***Guess I'm getting old and set in my ways.***

Chris