Good evening,

The weather really behaved in the way I thought it would with bands of rain taking a gentle NW movement coming in from New York, but it's fortunate that, although the rains were persistent for most of the display, they were mainly light in nature while luckily, the winds were rather gusty at times (actual winds were clocked at 19-24 km/h from the SE) to get rid of the quickly building smoke accumulations. However, the smoke did obscure, at least from our point of view from Notre-Dame and De Lorimier, many of the shells firing way to our left and drowning out the colors at times when the display became more active. If the winds had been calm, the display would have been easily ruined!

The display itself was very well organized and quite creative when enforcing the theme. It also did promise some delicate and rich color choices for the "Aurora" representation, and we got exactly that, particularly when integrating those shells of light purple stars along with other intrinsic colors in often a gorgeous mix. The effects were quite diverse and I did recognize the Italian products during the display, as well as those 12 "shells (a louder POW to those more than Australia's) - some of which, thanks to the wind, made their way all the way up to where people were standing on Notre-Dame! The display was also VERY wide from right to left, moreso than Australia, as well as quite powerful and easily the loudest.

The music choice was fairly enjoyable and I noticed that it permitted some excellent sequencing attempts, particularly with the cakes at one point, as well as the candles and mines towards the latter part of the display. Some tracks felt more appropriate than others, but overall, I thought that many of them made that important connection that I was looking for, especially through the fireworks. The double ascension girandolas were beautiful (we've been short of them this year), but different in that they spun quickly upon ascending and descending while making a screeching noise. Synchronization was fairly good, but there were some points where things were a little off cue. I also noticed an elongated pause towards the end, but then again, some activity may have been going at that point at low level that was covered by the dense smoke, therefore causing us not to see them (assuming, of course, that was the case).

The finale was powerful and had one of the loudest finishes near the climax that I can remember. It had a good length, and I was getting a little intimidated at first by the fact that it would be one large weeping willow! Then the colors emerged, with everyone regaining smiles on their faces until the thunderous close. All in all, because of the way it started, the ending felt a little broken, but of course there's no doubt that it was a powerful finale.

This was a very beautiful and somewhat artistic performance with a fairly large amount of shells, and despite the smoke obscuring some of the effects and colors to the center and left, I thought the show was still rather brilliantly executed. Good job, Canada! At this point, I still have Portugal for first place. Whether Canada will make it on the podium is still something to wait for, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility.

I'll provide a more organized review later today. I hope things were alright for folks at La Ronde in terms of viewing.

I had a great evening, despite the fact.

Trav.

The video is uploaded now - quality is a bit dubious in places due to raindrops on the lens but it should be good enough to give a good sense of this very enjoyable show. Note that due to the width of the show it was difficult, at times, to get everything into the shot. Report and photos to follow.

Paul.

It was just a fantastic display. Nothing more or less... The salutes sequence in the beginning at somewhere in the middle was great but could have been used in a much more variety.. The synchronization was just ok, there were some good sequencing like the green running sequence that just covered half of the firing area then red to the other half. It was great to see some nautical shells used..

There were many times where shells were just fired alone in one side and some effects distracting from the more "uniformed" effects. The italian shells where really nice specially the far falle shells and the double whistling rings to green inserts. The girandolas were nicely used and it was a nice addittion to the effects used. They made good use of strobes, instead of showing the where the strobes are.. they just hid it and illuminated the trees in the lake producing an awesome effect. The waterfalls setpiece in this display was also great.

The strong point of this display would be the very enjoyable musical selection that they used. The theme would be the weakest point of the display.. i thought that the theme wasn't really shown very well although the raindrops showed a similar effect to that of the "aurora".

The finale was just ok.. Lots of salutes

I thought that the canadians didn't do enough to be on top..
My rankings:
1. Australia
2. Portugal
3. South Korea
4. Canada
5. France
6. Italy

Next is the Austrians, this year's winner of Nuits de Feu (night of fire) in france. I'm very excited to see what they will show in La Ronde.

Vander

Edit: I just know the "aurora" from videos and pictures cause it doesn't happen in my country that's why i thought that the theme wasn't clearly shown..

There were many times where shells were just fired alone in one side

This may just be because the shells were fired very wide and it was difficult to get in both sides of the display in the video frame at once - so sometimes when it looked like only one side was firing, in reality it was both!

Paul.

Oh, I see!

I thought that this was a very original and quite artistic display. Unfortunately, I was not able to record the last five minutes, as I usually do, mainly because of the rains.

I did notice those gorgeous effects that simulated the Northern and Southern lights from where we were with the typical colors that make them up - definitely something that was never seen before in Montreal. A very beautiful array of colors and that particular effect (especially since they appeared almost the same way) really did the Aurora phenomenon justice. It would have been much more appreciated, from our viewpoint, if there wasn't so much smoke obscuring many of the effects. They're so beautiful in the video.

Trav.

Those special effects that Canada used through many parts of the show were simply breathtaking. Do any of you of know the exact pyrotechnic name/term used to describe it?

When many of the shells associated with these delicate effects exploded, they burst into partly stars, as seen with many typical shells, but parts of these had burst into a very smooth, elongated, and complex pattern, popping out like lightning within a cloud and also giving off the appearance and structure of the typical Aurora phenomenon as they trailed to the lake.

Trav.

im not exactly as to what you're talking about, smoke/Trav.. It's very interesting though. But from the the description that you've said i think your reffering to the effects at the very beginning of the display?? If yes, then i think those are just precisely timed and arranged salutes that's why they had that interesting lightning or thunder effect.. If this is the wrong effect, i want to know the timeline when this effect appeared!

vander

I think La Ronde was lucky yesterday. Although they probably didn't reach full capacity, there was a good amount of people at the park, possibly because it didn't rain (or rained a bit) during the day.

The rain may have been mild, but because of all the umbrellas, we didn't have the best view. I can't believe that a few minutes after the show ended, it stopped raining! I guess we all know the rule: it has to rain during Canadian displays!

I thought this was a very good and enjoyable show. For the most part, the display was well organized. I mostly enjoyed the last 15 minutes of the show, where there were many interesting and creative segments. Some segments were original and unique, compared to other displays we've seen this year.

In my opinion, possibly the weakest point of the show was the theme. I just don't think it's one of the best themes. It's OK. I'm not sure if some of the scenes represented something related to aurora, though.

There were a few memorable segments. In one scene, which I thought was well done, the same shells were shot over and over, while trying to create an emotional state. The shells exploded in colors and then brown-looking stars showed up. In another scene, on the lower level, pieces from the ramp were being shot into the lake for about a minute (or less), and a few seconds later, we saw massive explosions coming out of the lake. We've seen them before, but I thought the way that particular scene was organized, along with the music, was really amazing!

Throughout the show, the display was quite large. They made a good use of the whole area available for the fireworks.

As for the soundtrack, the first few songs were OK, but I enjoyed moreso the songs that were selected for the last 15 minutes of the show. For some reason, I felt that the latter songs resembled to one another. However, the songs seemed to have been carefully selected for the "Aurora" theme. Synchronization was good in general.

Unfortunately, I don't think I noticed the special effect that Paul was talking about. After the show, I asked Tyler about it, he said that he might have recognized it during the show, and he tried to explain it. I think I remember the effect he was referring to, but anyway, none of the effects I saw, seemed special or out of the ordinary lol.

The finale was loud, thanks to those salutes, but it wasn't long enough. Sadly, not enough shells were shot during the finale. Perhaps, a colorfully organized finale would have fit well with the theme in order to represent the "Aurora," but that's just me, always wanting the best finale.

All in all, this was a professional and very enjoyable display, which deserves a high ranking. It's getting harder to rank all of them, especially since I personally think that four contestants so far deserve an award. It's a tough decision between Canada and Australia. I realize that Australia had a great display (minus the music and theme), but when I think about both of them, I seem to be leaning more towards Canada, as I found their show more enjoyable and better organized. I'm still very excited for the last few contestants.

My rankings so far - rated from La Ronde:

1. Portugal
2. Canada
3. Australia
4. South Korea
5. Italy
6. France

reflections_of_earth,

I remember seeing them just a few minutes after the show had begun last night. I looked back at the video and noticed them to begin just around 4:15. They made several appearance throughout the display.

Enkil,

Unfortunately, I don't think I notice the special effect that Paul was talking about.

They were present throughout many points of the show, but I can't get the exact name of this effect. As mentioned to r_o_e, look around 4:15 in the video and you'll easily see them - the effects produced a very similar pattern to the Aurora with a variety of colors typically seen in the phenomenon, just on a much smaller scale, of course. I spotted most of them when they had appeared from my viewpoint, but it wasn't always so clear. Again, you'll notice them clearly in the video - they're very beautiful.

Trav.

You mean the ones that explode on the lake and look like half-shells? I've seen those many times in the competition before.

Enkil,

It's not the shells themselves, but rather the effect that many of them produced. Before the nautical shells you are referring to had started, look carefully at the overhead shells and wait a little after each explosion. You'll faintly see, at least in this part, some web-like effects emerging slowly after the explosions.

During the nautical shells themselves, look very carefully at them as they burst and you'll see the same kind of effect coming through - like wisps of color. If you can't see them as well here, look at the shells following this part - they are much more vividly seen with a rich blue color (about at 4:40). You'll see them on and off throughout the show with different colors.

Trav.

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but the wispy effects that you're seeing are simply the result of water droplets on the lens of my camera due to the rain we had during the display. The effect is more noticeable on the left hand side of the video frame but I can assure you it was nothing to do with the fireworks. It does give the video a special look, though, which happens to fit in with the theme of the display!

Paul.

Nevermind, Enkil! Thanks for the clarifications, Paul. If that's the case, then I really didn't notice too much in the way of anything out of the usual.

Edit: The only thing that may have given off this sort of vague appearance to me from Notre-Dame was probably the way the smoke had integrated with the colors. My bad.

Trav.

Country participant: Canada
Company: Garden City Display Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 23rd, 2008

Dismal showery weather conditions, coming straight from New York, prevailed throughout virtually this entire display with light to at times moderate showers. Though the weather was on the miserable side, it did not wipe out the spirit of this debutant Canadian team in presenting their highly anticipated display titled “Aurora”, which promised to dazzle the audience with extravagant colors, along with some effects that have never been seen in the history of this competition.

The colors were carefully chosen for this display, and were often in an interesting blend during a fair amount of pieces. There was a wide set of effects, including mines and shells of screaming serpents, variations of girandolas, shell of shells and multi-breakers, photoflashes of red and green, shells of falling leaves, and many shells of multi-colored stars (the purples stood out the most).

The choice of music was mostly very subtle, some of which delivered some moving emotions to me, at the very least. Virtually all of them were appropriate for representing the theme and given their nature in being mostly instrumental, it prompted some excellent shots at creativity and sequencing. The music itself made the display feel rather authentic, in addition to the thematic premise. The design of the show was generally good, especially seeing how wide it was from the left and right (somewhat because of the winds at the time, too).

The finale was pretty enticing. It had commenced with barrages of kamuro shells assisted by loud crackling low level shells. This pattern went on for a few seconds, giving off the impression that the finale would solely consist of a large golden weeping willow. However, not long after these, barrages of multi-colored shells were quickly launched without delay and eventually led to an enormous amount of deafening salutes at low level with the same shells continuing overhead, all of which were followed by a set of bright mines and one small volley of salutes to finish.

This was a very powerful and rather unique display, largely because of the way it had directly created that mostly subtle atmosphere. It was also a particularly inspirational display for me since I love the Aurora Borealis and Australis so abundantly, so I suppose that I was eagerly waiting to see how this display would represent it. The choice of music actually consisted of many enjoyable tracks, especially considering that predominantly all of them were instrumental, often creating some beautiful segments with sequencing via low level. Synchronization was generally good, but not entirely perfect – some pieces were noticeably a little off cue on some of the transitional points in between some individual soundtrack, while a couple of parts contained moments where the fireworks continued on once the music had come to a close. The quality of the products was fantastic and there was quite a diverse selection of effects that were utilized – one of which were those beautiful Italian shell of shells making their appearance two to three times during the display. The infamous 12” shells were easily noticed and always seemed to have created distinctively deafening blasts. The variations of the double-ascension girandolas were beautiful and most welcomed (especially seeing that we’ve been short of them this year, while being abundant on horsetails – a tradeoff, as it would appear), but some of them appeared to be different by their appearance in that they spun rapidly upon rising and falling while simultaneously making a loud whistling noise – I’m not sure if this is the effect that we were promised.

The low level effects were enticing and often perfectly on cue, particularly during one of the beginning segments (I think this was around in “Run Free”) where the candles, as well as the mines (particularly those of the dazzling golden fans), went on perfectly with the different pitches presented during that particular track. The Z cakes at one point were also nicely tied in the music, as were the nautical flares and shells whenever they were present. Those spinning wheels were also neat (looked like a hurricane icon lol), as were those waterfall structures. The fast shots of candles in “Amistad” (I think) were very well shot and breathtaking because of their speed and the way they came out like fans. One of my personal favorites was the segment when the small flares lit at the bottom with the tranquility of the music, and then there would be a quick surprise of titanium salutes along with the brief high sudden suspense in the music – this repeated three times. I remember seeing this midway into the show, but I’m not familiar with the soundtrack associated with it.

The debutant Canadian team really created a marvelous impression on the small crowd present by creating an atmosphere that was conducive to promoting much creativity, originality, subtlety and excitement. The performance, being easily the most widespread, rarely ever lost symmetry, while having amazing choreography that was frequently enjoyed by the audience, as well as myself, most notably because this display had a fairly large number of shells. The transitions were actually very well portrayed, but some points were probably a little too quiet during the more subtle segments, most notably near the beginning. The music was again enjoyable, but perhaps some of them possessed a similar feel in both rhythm and pace. The colors were often demonstrated in a beautiful mix that really brought out the theme through the fireworks (particularly the shells of purple stars), as expected, but there were arguably times when the colors weren’t as rich as they could have been, especially for a theme that heavily demands them. With this feeling in mind, the finale led a sort of broken structure because it did not bring out the colors as vividly and as powerful as I had hoped, even though they did appear nicely at the very end, just enduring with an unsatisfactory length. All that said, I personally thought that this was a very well organized and unique display designed by team Canada. It’s quite fortunate that we had ideal wind speeds and direction at the time, despite the rainfall! It’s a pity that some of the shells and colors were occasionally drowned by the smoke towards the center and the left (if viewing from Notre-Dame), but I’m grateful that this wasn’t to the extent where you couldn’t see the shells or whatever effect completely. Other than that, the rain present returned me to the 90’s, where the rain used to fall almost every year during Canada’s performance!

Trav’s personal scorings (for fun):

-Pyrotechnic components: 9.5/10
-Synchronization: 8.5/10
-Soundtrack: 9/10
-Technical design: 9/10
-Pyromusical concept: 9/10

-Overall: 9/10---------->Nice job, Canada.

(Scores will be adjusted before the closing ceremony).

Trav.

Hi everyone,

It is sad that there was not that many people on the bridge (or anywhere else) for the Canadian display, because it was quite nice. Pouring rain or not, I will always attend firework displays! I just can't understand why people bring their umbrella to see a firework display, specially on a windy evening. About 75% of the people on the bridge had umbrellas yesterday, instead of wearing a waterproof jacket with a hood. With an umbrella, you are not covered 100%, specially when it's windy, you have to hold it in one hand (and sometimes with both hands) and on top of that, you block other people's view! OK....I'll stop complaining now....LOL

Even though it rained throughout the whole time of the display, the experience was fun, as it rained lightly and because of the wind coming from behind, I didn't get any raindrops in my face, nor on my lens while I was filming the finale! From the bridge, the smoke did not build up in front at all, giving us a clear view at all times.....and the smoke being pushed sideways, we always had the dark sky as background, making the firework as bright as on a clear night.

As for the display itself, I thought it was quite nice, intense at times, keeping my attention throughout the 30 minutes. The finale was good with some nice intensity, but not long enough (once again....I am being impatient about those short finales)

All in all a good display, which places it in third place so far:

1. Portugal (best finale)
2. Australia (best display)
3. Canada
4. South Korea (almost a tie with Canada)
5. Italy
6. France

I am eager to see Austria on Saturday......hoping for a LOOOONG and INTENSE finale!!! LOL

Have a nice weekend guys!

Pierre

Sorry....my message was posted twice...

wow i'm so surprise with your ranking. I didnt feel this firework at all. Maybe just because i had a bad day, or because i was not in the center like usual, but the theme... not what i expected to be.

My review is up.

Next one saturday !!!

I am in agreement with Mylène after reading the review on her blog - I will be writing my review tonight.

My report is up as well as some great photos from Bob and Rachel - the ethereal nature of the Aurora theme really comes out strongly in the photos. Bob also managed to capture an amazing photo of the double-ascension girandolas.

Paul.

I didnt feel this firework at all

Me neither....


I'm also surprised with the rankings. The show was good, but just good. I didn't feel what they where trying to explain. The theme was difficult and I think they didn't know how to transmit it.

Sometimes the shells were exploding without sense, withowt feeling.... There were some nice segments, but at the end of the display I was diappointed.

My ranking:

1- Portugal
2- Australia
3- South Korea
4- Canada
5- France
6- Italy

Well I saw the video. I still think it wasn't worth going..I saw them do their show over Niagra, very poor compared to our displays I will always put last years Canada's display. it was the best I saw Canada do. I saw the large shells clearly from my house. Lots of flashes seemed to look like lightning.

I still cant argue..My rankings are up..

1-Portugal
2-Australia
3-Canada
4-South Korea
5-France
6-Italy

Je crois que l'une des principales qualités du feu de Garden City Display était l'utilisation maximale des potentialités du site: plusieurs tableaux étaient très larges, les fusées éclairantes qui sont apparues en arrière-plan sur la musique d'Insomnia créaient une tension dramatique, les bombes nautiques étaient abondantes, et un intéressant effet a été produit vers la fin du spectacle par le lancement de comètes depuis la rampe 5 et qui convergeaient vers le centre du lac.

Considérant tout cela et la connaissance que le concepteur a pu développer du site de La Ronde au cours de ses visites antérieures, il est étonnant que la chute argentée (waterfall) ait été segmentée en trois fragments accrochés à la clôture de la rampe 3 et à la bordure de la rampe 4. Je ne me souviens pas avoir vu une chute être accrochée si près du sol... Elles le sont généralement à des poteaux (comme dans le feu de la Corée du Sud) ou, mieux encore, suspendues à l'aide d'une grue (comme dans le feu du Canada en 2007). En positionnant ces pièces aussi bas, l'effet créé était beaucoup moins impressionnant qu'il aurait pu l'être autrement.

Concernant le matériel pyrotechnique, nous avons eu droit à une belle variété, plusieurs pièces multibris et des changements de couleurs. Je soupçonne que la pluie a rendu la coloration de certaines pièces encore plus vive, notamment avec le rose, le vert et le violet. J'ai beaucoup apprécié les soucoupes à double ascension qui sifflaient, une variété de soucoupes que je ne me souviens pas avoir vue à Montréal.

Un mot sur l'utilisation des puces MagicFire. Le feu s'est ouvert dramatiquement avec l'éclosion simultanée de plusieurs strobes et cet effet a été reproduit vers le milieu du spectacle. Personnellement, je demeure très sceptique concernant la contribution réelle de ces puces à la qualité d'un spectacle. Leur présence dans une performance semble exciter bien des artificiers mais, en bout de piste, je ne suis pas certain que l'effet qui en résulte soit si spectaculaire et remarquable pour le grand public. Je suis convaincu que les structures spéciales à la Pains, Weco et Luso, ou les agencements innovateurs d'effets pyrotechniques créent des images beaucoup plus saisissantes et susceptibles de mener une équipe vers le podium que ces dispositifs techniques.

La conception pyromusicale était le principal élément faible du spectacle. Premièrement, bien que plusieurs aient vu dans certaines bombes (falling leaves) une représentation des aurores boréales, il demeure que ce thème contribuait bien peu à structurer l'ensemble du spectacle. Pour ma part, il s'agissait d'une thématique aussi peu signifiante que les "Rideaux de lumières" de Morsani ou l'"Évolution" d'Howard & Sons. Deuxièmement, la complexité des tableaux était plutôt inégale. Si certains étaient bien réussis et applaudis par l'auditoire (en particulier certains barrages de gâteaux qui propulsaient rapidement des comètes et des étoiles), d'autres ressemblaient plutôt à des feux de démonstration où les mêmes effets étaient longuement répétés (ce fut notamment le cas dans le segment inaugural, sur la musique de Fire Dance). Enfin, la finale a été forte, mais un peu "facile", avec une multitude de bombes multicolores et des marrons d'air bruyants qui amplifiaient le tout.

La bande sonore était un aspect intéressant du feu à mon avis. Il s'agissait d'une musique instrumentale rythmée, différente de ce que nous entendons habituellement et qui se prêtait bien à un feu d'artifice. Le montage de l'ensemble de la bande était par ailleurs bien réalisé. La synchronisation était généralement bonne.

Malheureusement, on doit aussi noter un certain nombre de râtés au cours de ce feu: certains roues ont refusé de démarrer, d'autres pièces ont éclaté au mauvais moment, etc. Vers la 17e minute du spectacle, juste avant un barrage de bombes nautiques, des comètes lancées depuis la gauche des rampes semblaient bien isolées... Mais ces failles étaient relativement mineures.

Pour l'instant, mes deux premiers choix demeurent, respectivement, le Portugal et la Corée du Sud.

Fred

In following all of the reviews above - and those linked to external sites - I can say that I side with those of you who felt that there was something lacking from Garden City Display Fireworks' presentation the other night... the question I keep asking myself is 'what exactly was it lacking?'

As many of you may know, I was very excited about Canada's theme as it alone conveys a thematic approach much different than those which we have seen earlier this competition season. And it was different.

The soundtrack made for atmosphere/emotion-based synchronization as opposed to "beat-synchronization" which is commonly used - this aspect was very interesting as you almost didn't have to pay attention to the music and just let it subconsciously play with your senses.

The use of colour was another element that set this display apart from others. At certain points in the display there was a wonderful interplay between colour and synchronization propelled by the separation and/or mixing of colours (a few times from red to green and then a mix).

Despite strengths such as those mentioned above, the display just wasn't engaging for me. Granted, it could have been the rain and the umbrellas partially obstructing my view, but I just felt removed from the display. I have never truly seen the northern (or southern) lights first hand, but I can imagine that you feel a closeness with them because they are so vast and enveloping; Canada's display did not make me feel that way.

Despite my criticisms I did enjoy the display and would call it a successful debut for Garden City. I encourage them to continue thinking big and challenging themselves even if it may not win them a Jupiter this year.

Tyler

Considering the fact that I might be a little partial to the Canadian team as well as it being the only performance I actually attended, I loved the show. I had heard the music previously and I thought it was very appropriate for the theme. Several great effects produced by various shells looked great. Great use of the sky. The display was huge! I sat in the centre of the silver section almost directly underneath the red hut and the view from there was spectacular. Timing was ok as there were several times when the shells continued after the song ended but I'm not sure that it wasn't intentional. The waterfalls were neat with the use of the centre one added as the music built. All in all, I was very satisfied. If you're interested Paul, I can try get a copy of the video I shot. The camera I was using had some sort of shield around the lense and that minimized the amount of rain that got on it. I'll be waiting to see what kind of pictures got taken. I took them with my brothers camera and haven't seen them yet.

Great job guys!