I had an interesting discussion with a pyrotechnician friend earlier this evening about the use of extra "structures" in the Montreal competition. He contended that the proliferation of these in the past couple of years is problematic - especially for companies who are coming from outside of North America because the price of renting such hardware in Montreal is very high.

So what does everyone think? Should the competition be about "pure" fireworks which just use the five firing ramps provided by the competition itself. There have been similar arguments in the past about the use or otherwise of lasers in fireworks displays. The same argument can be applied to flame projectors too.

Paul.

No. Often, these structures really add to the quality and originality of a display. They allow to do different effects. They also increase the complexity of the displays, which is not a bad thing in a competition. Moreover, we have to underline that using this sort of structures is not a guarantee to win (Sweden in 2005, Luso in 2005 and 2008...). The same apply for flame projectors and shaped structures (Weco 1998, 2000).

My opinion is somewhat different for lasers (1998) or human actors (off-competition opening displays in 2001 and 2004; France, Argentina and Portugal in 2005). I'm not sure that these ways really add to a display, especially since the size of the firing area in Montreal. However, I argue that we have to stay open to this different approaches. I believe that the competition must be a place for creativity, thus allowing some progress in the pyromusical art.

Fred

No and yes.

No because the structures add in a large creative and innovative component to a given display and make it technically more appealing in addition to providing it to become much more integral in its entirety, particularly when they enforce a theme gracefully.

Yes merely because I feel extra structures have a tendency to make those particular displays that employ them to sort of give a natural advantage over other competitors that don't make use of these at all, especially considering that not every display involves them. Of course, this argument is nullified assuming that every participant uses structures, and the fact that they don't secure a spot for a team to be on the podium just because they used them!

For the most part, I find the extra structures very effective depending on how any given team uses them, just so long as they are relevant and consistent with the thematic framework and are at least at times active with whatever fireworks are exploding around them, as what was seen with the towers and arcs during the American performance. I found the Portuguese ring from 2002 used pretty well (as was the pyrodome in 2005), and of course the English ring of last year (2007), just to name a few.

Overall, though, I would be content either way, clearly seeing that many participants operate very successfully without them anyway - there's multiple ways to exploit creativity, and it doesn't necessarily only have to be with structures, lasers, etc. - they are just one effective method to bring out creativity and/or originality more sufficiently.

Trav.

Regarding the structures, I think they add a bit excitement to a display. It's always interesting to see the different style of structures that they come up. The pyrodome segment in 2005 was one of the most exciting segments I've seen in this competition! The 2002 ring, again by Luso, was amazing, too.

I also think the US team this year made an excellent use of their own structures.

Absolutely not.

Designers are always looking for that extra bit of space, to make the display wider and bigger. Adding structures gives you that extra bit of canvas to paint on.

You could argue that lance work (set pieces) are structures also.

I'm sure most companies, regardless if they were from North America or not, would be required to rent the necessary items.

As for lasers, well I could be a hypocrite here, but I think no. The structures are still being used to mount fireworks. Flame projectors are still classified as special effects in the pyro world.

Sean

I think that we shouldn't stop the competitors from using "structures" in their displays.. I think when you stop them form using these structures, the designers will have less creativity with their shows. I also think that removing the structures is just like removing mortars of the fireworks.. I think this because really the structures are just like mortars arranged in a different way!

vander