Weather became a factor for the start of this display, as occasional strong southwesterly gusts of wind near the 40 km/h mark were present across the central and eastern sections of the island, consequently resulting in a six to seven minute delay. Wind speeds, however, did decrease slightly from what they were during the mid-afternoon period and again over the course of the display and rapidly thereafter, as was forecasted. In spite of the winds, very warm and humid conditions were the backdrop for the American team, setting the stage for a dignified heat wave. With the atmospheric setup, late-evening temperatures fluctuated between 27-28 C in the metropolitan area but felt into the mid 30s C with the humidity. The winds, however, did provide some relief for those who are not able to tolerate the stagnant airmass (that will be the case for the Canadian display as well).

As my interpretations about this display are mixed, you will find that I am touching on the range of opinions expressed in this discussion. As I viewed each section of this display, I thought that the approach taken by team USA was original, with some interesting low to high level effects to represent various sections of the classic Wizard of Oz masterpiece. Being one who had seen the film several times through my childhood, I thought that the thematic premise was adequately reinforced, with careful selections of effects (such as the ghost shells, cube shells of yellow stars (although I did not know these were cubes at the time), shells of hearts, etc.) to represent the signature components of each track. The music selection was clearly tied to the theme and adhered closely to the important scenes from the film as the story unfolded. In particular, I liked the “Yellow Brick Road” segment because of the way those patterned shells portrayed the actual road, and then giving way to those shells of red stars afterward, illustrating the transition to red on this road.

In spite of the relatively good thematic premise, the conceptual design just did not work effectively, most notably because of the lack of a strong consistency with the music and the fireworks, and the music selections themselves, while appropriate, prevented successful transitional points - transitions, for myself, are a very integral component in a pyromusical, and it is unfortunate that each segment had very weak changes in rhythm and pace, a feeling which was perhaps amplified by the generally repetitive firing patterns of shells at mid to high levels. Synchronization was good at certain points, particularly with those one-shot candles and comets, and the brilliant mines of rich orange and green stars that occasionally made an appearance, but there were several moments where it was a little slack, perhaps, again, because of the general firing patterns employed. Synchronization, at times, was also leaning more on the simplistic side.

The quality of product, by comparison to Australia and Italy, was average, at best. A few of the colored stars, for instance, particularly at high level, tended to fade quickly upon the associated shells exploding. As Fred mentioned, the double-ascension girandolas also appeared somewhat dim. Some of the shells also were asymmetrical once they had exploded, and it was a little difficult to discern those aforementioned yellow cube shells, as their shape seemed distorted (funny enough, they first stood out to me as yellow tiles, so I thought that they were relevant, anyway!). The range of effects in this display was very limited, likely because much of it was based primarily on mid to high level shells - when discovering this after Paul’s interview with the team, I was under the suspicion that the diversity in effects would be low, as compared to what we had witnessed with a selected few of the previous displays this season, and it turns out that this was mostly the case for the American performance. Some of the low level effects, however, were stunning, most notably those large calibre nautical shells. Still, the low level effects were also limited, and because most of the focus of this display was at mid to high level, the display, as Dan outlined, often had a lack of balance from low to high level. Similarly, the width of the display was more constrained, as compared to that of both Italy or Australia, for example.

Overall, this was an entertaining performance, but the simplistic nature of the technical design of this display likely makes it difficult to really stand out in an emotionally compelling context. The weak finale did not provide assistance here either, potentially because, as some of the members have stated previously, it was a little forced relative to the nature of the music. I want to stress that the thematic framework was well thought out, but its concept was difficult to effectively execute in a Montreal pyromusical, at least in the approach that was taken to represent it. The principal problems were, I think, the musical arrangement, as well as the general delivery from one segment to the other. With repetitive firing patterns, a simple thematic representation through the fireworks, a lack of distinctive transitions, and a limited range of material, this made for a weak technical design. Even with the similarities of rhythm and feel that most soundtrack commanded, a more complex design would have been probably sufficient to compensate for this, meaning better symmetry, and a larger diversity of quality product for representation, as well as a more intricate attempt at synchronization and subsequent sequences. On a side note, it is also important for a display with multiple narratives to express them both in English and French - not to say that this was a problem for myself, but just that most of the audience is francophone, as Fred stated. Considering these criticisms, it is difficult to say how the judges felt about the display, as it is with a fair possibility that some of them are familiar (and emotionally bonded) with the film and its components, and so it may earn extra points under this respect.

And thank you very much, Pierre, for the kind birthday wishes! Even though the American display fell short of my expectations (particularly the finale), I am still fortunate to have seen an entertaining performance before my birthday!

Trav.