Hi everyone,

I had a little fun lately in creating a simulation for what could be a Fire on Ice display.

I took inspiration from last year themes, children movies, and decided to revisit a favorite of my own in a pyrotechnical format, Home Alone.

I used the same constraints as last year's participants, like choosing music from the movie's soundtrack, adding mandatory sound bites from the movie itself, respecting the safety distances in my firing layout and choosing from an inventory of products that's authorized for use in Canada.

I therefore simulated products that many display companies are actively using, or filled in with products that have equivalents in homologated material (like shells).

The show runs for 15:15, and I believe it's my best simulated work so far (surpassing The Four Seasons). For one, I tried to repeat the effects as little as possible, though I sometimes used the same class of products in a few sequences in different patterns and colors each time.

I allowed myself to pick from inventories from all the major distributors in Canada, so I might have given myself an advantage compared to regular display companies that don't stock products from all of them.

Among the simulated cakes, I believe that everyone will recognize a personal favorite, like :

* Dancing Dragon's Colorful Falling Leaves
* Hands Fireworks' Bahama Mama
* Dancing Dragon's Dragon Eggs
* Mystical Fireworks' The Full Load
* Mystical Fireworks' Cosmopolitan

and many others !

I used French excerpts from the movie, but I guess I could change these to English quite easily should it be needed; Vander and others can tell me if it's the case

Please also pardon the average image quality, as I had to film my screen with a camera. I used advanced shells in the simulator, but Finale Fireworks' rendering servers do not support these effects just yet, so I had to improvise... Golden effects may appear silverish because of that, but it's better than to have ring shells turned into spheres.

You can view it on YouTube.

Some stats :

* 806 cues
* 996 effects
* 376 3" shells, 17 4", 49 5" and 22 6"
* 7 front positions, 3 3" shells position and 1 big shells position
* 4 set-pieces, 4 wheels and 1 Niagara Falls

I commited two personal "cardinal sins" in pyrotechnic design though :

* Starting with 20th Century Fox
* Ending with a golden finale

Yet, both seem to fit so I guess this will have to do After all, Home Alone *is* a 20th Century Fox movie !

Have fun !

STL

That was very nice, great theme Home Alone's my favorite christmas movie too hahaha It's very interesting to see that you also have that canadian style of firing similar to FSC, Royal, and FAE.

Vander

Hi Vander,

Thanks for your kind comments !

Regarding my "firing style", I guess that this comes from seeing so many displays made by canadian companies. When designing a show, I guess one would naturally tend to take inspiration from what he saw elsewhere.

This might be why the most successful designers travel so much to learn new techniques abroad, as otherwise you tend to have similar shows as everyone else...

STL

That's probably true! It also doesn't help that the products used by canadian teams are quite similar. Maybe soon you'll be part of Fire on Ice

Vander

Awesome display, Simon!

Indeed, Home Alone, and its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, stand firmly as legendary films and will very likely remain so. I am truly proud to say that I grew up with these masterpieces and continue to faithfully watch them multiple times every year during the Holiday season. As such, I (and Enkil, I'm certain) can fully appreciate a fireworks display that is dedicated to these finely crafted films!

I personally enjoyed your simulation, and it would be nice if it were to be fired live (as was the case with an excerpt from your four season-oriented display in Appleton, Wisconsin) for a Fire on Ice display, I think! I loved the balance between low and high level, as well as the effects that you selected for certain segments for support. There was a fair interplay of colors, and I was enthralled by the brief appearances of z-cakes and photoflash salutes. What was particularly characteristic for the show, though, was the way you implemented the transitions in pace - this effectively delivered the right kind of emotional sense, especially when shifting to the concluding piece. For these reasons, I thought that the choreography was generally good.

Other than that, some feedback that I could provide (which is minor, anyway) would be to incorporate a little more enforcement for signature components of a couple of musical selections - one example might be the segment, "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree". Again, though, this is minute, for I enjoyed every segment, as well as the design of the display. I must say that you did a good job in portraying the film, even though you were constrained to about 15 minutes. The little excerpts that you included were not prolonged and, therefore, did not detract from the show. If I had to pick a favorite musical piece, it would be the one heard when Kevin was preparing his house with punishing traps for Harry and Marv!

On another note, it would also appear that you took into account ideal wind direction and speed.

Cheers,

Trav.

Hi Travis,

Thank you very much for your comments.

If you have around 25k laying around and don't mind burning it (so to speak), then let's fire this thing for real I sure don't have this kind of money, though I'd love seeing it in the Old Port !

I might be disappointed by the finished product though, as I have taken liberties with timing issues due to the show being a simulation. The two Bahama Mama cakes used in the second part of Carol of the Bells would never look so tight in real life, as they don't have good synchronization when fired together. Also, the large charcoal comet fan between the orchestral and the choral part of Somewhere in my Memory would fire all over the place when the orchestral part concludes, unless one could get 11 candles that fire exactly alike !

With regards to the wind speed and direction, I picked one that fit my background picture (taken just before Royal's display last year), as the flag is blown towards the left. I do remember that this particular show had no smoke accumulation, so these were indeed perfect wind conditions !

The musical track you mention as your favorite is "Setting the trap" on the first Home Alone's soundtrack (listen to it right here). It's also my favorite, as I love the superposition of the military march and the christmas carol styles.

It also has a great pace, though I left out the best part in my opinion : the middle segment, which is reminescent of a baroque piece with some flutes adding a kind of "laughing" melody at some point - maybe a way of reminding the listener of the comical predicament of Harry and Marv ?!

I do have to mention the rather oversized 3" silver dahlia shells fired during the last part of this song in my simulation. Finale Fireworks and I disagree on the meaning of the "dahlia" keyword, so I had to rework a peony to have the correct effect. I might have gone too far on the burst force parameter, as such a shell would strike the ground still burning in real life ! A 3" would also never open wide like that, but these could be replaced by 4 inchers, I guess...

STL