Hi guys,

Please post your reviews/commentaries of the Taiwanese display here.

Trav.

I won't be able to watch the display. It's already started. And I'm about 2 hours away from it. So someone, hope you took a video.

Pat

I have uploaded the video for Taiwan.
http://www.burchcom.com/2010/index.html

If you want to download the video and save it, use this link.
http://www.burchcom.com/2010/taiwan.flv
Right click on the link and select "save target as"

Please note that I will be uploading .flv files to conserve space.
You will need a player to display them on your computer.

The Riva player is free at this site:
http://download.cnet.com/Riva-FLV-Player/3000-13632_4-10435953.html

Once you have the downloaded file, if you want to convert it to an .avi file, you can use this converter (also free download) http://www.any-video-converter.com/

I will leave all of the shows up in this index page throughout the season.

For me, Taiwan's "D'accord" has been a bit of a let down. The sequences were really simplistic and the sky was rarely full from top to bottom.

Also, the mixing of the soundtrack left much to be desired, because there was no mixing per se, only complete songs (or slightly cut) with silences of 5-10 seconds between each sequence. There were also a lot of "pop"s from the speakers in La Ronde, which screams bad audio normalization job to me.

Still, I had fun, but perhaps not as much as I would have expected from a Jupiter winning team.

They get 64% in my evaluation grid for what I perceived to be a weak theme (in relation to the music and the fireworks), the lack of a real finale and the fact that La Ronde's site was not used fully.

Review, setup and of course display pictures are available on my website.

Side note : Taiwan is now at 8.1 in the popular vote system, while Italy got 6.4. I personally think that both team's ratings should be inverted (Italy : 8.1, Taiwan 6.4), but the public seems biaised when they see a lot of big shells and start putting up 10's for shows that don't really deserve it (at least from my point of view).

Thanks for uploading the video so fast! i hope next week you'll be able to film the part where in they say the firm's name then the countdown

I was surprised with the way this show turned out It's not what i am expecting from San Tai. I think that they can do much better. I was really anticipating to see their show this year

Their theme was pretty nice. But they could have done much better in representing it Specially with the colors of their show. I don't think that the colors of the fireworks were well planned and is accordingly to the message they are trying to say in each parts. Although i liked the monks part, it looked like there were many monks praying in the lake and it was such a peaceful segment The smoke emitted by the fountains went well with the music xD
Their songs were pretty nice specially the toy symphony

San tai's known for making some of the best shells in China/Taiwan so as expected the quality of their products were really nice. The multibreaks they used were very well timed. The colors of their shells were nice too although some blues were a bit too dark i think like the ones in the fish shells. The pattern shells they used were really really good. I specially liked the "windmills" and the multiple rings. Some of their shells were a bit repetitive specially the half color half go getter shells. I think that they are capable of making a show that doesn' t repeat effects because they can make many effects. I'm surprised they did not use my favorite shells from them which is the crackle core to salute shell of shells shell They also didn't use any rising tails from what i can remember. Their nautical cakes filled the lake pretty nicely but they could have used some nautical shells too. Nautical cakes get a bit boring

They had a very simplistic synchronization only some of the ground effects were synched noticeably. They could have done a much better job in this aspect i think

Their finale was a bit weak, from England's show last year we all know that finales don't really need to be loud and action packed but San tai's finale was just weak i think.... As for the dora shells maybe they are the other variation of the cat shells in the toy symphony. They looked more like hello kitty without the ribbon But i guess that with the variety of their pattern shells, people would not really be complaining too much

Here's my grading for San Tai:
Effects: 10/10
Synchronization: 6/10
Music: 7/10
Technical Design: 6/10
Pyrotechnical Design: 7/10
overall: 36/50 (72%)

I'm sure they can do much better next time I'am very excited to see what surex will do in Montreal! Surely there will be a lot of cakes and multibreaks

Vander

Just a quick note on the studatas/multibreaks used by San Tai - they were all made by Benitor pagano! Helen Ong told me that Benito is working in their factory in Taiwan, but for various reasons the shells used last night were made in Italy.

Vander: most of the nautical effects were shells, not cakes (I saw the mortars aimed over the lake from ramp 3).

Paul.

Vander: most of the nautical effects were shells, not cakes (I saw the mortars aimed over the lake from ramp 3).

Here's a picture of what Paul is talking about :



Notice the angled mortars in the bottom left.

A nice display.. typical very nice Santai shells, but not realy suprising. I think they got a little help from Bugano (a company from Switserland). Because i recognise the typical "shoot with the music" from that company. Also bugano uses a lot of Santai fireworks in there displays. And if i am right i saw on one of the setup photos the shooting equipment from Bugano.

anyways, i enjoyed the display, thanks for sharing the video!

I think this display was enjoyable, but it wasn't up to the level of our competition. Its design was simple and basic, not very creative. The synchronization wasn't very challenging either. I couldn't really understand what the theme was all about. The emotional effects weren't strong or properly produced. The one thing we can note is that it had many unique and different effects. Some of the shells were stunning!

At the end, I actually had the impression it ended without a finale of any kind. I think I remember their 2001 display, and I'm sure it was much better than last night's show...

My rankings so far - rated from La Ronde:

1. Italy
2. Taiwan

That's why their cylinders were really good! Even the far falles were really good I guess some of their nautical shells were fairly small, i'm guessing that some of the shells they used were the nautical fountains which were really nice

Vander

Weather conditions certainly resembled closely to what was forecasted, where the air was very sticky due to high humidity and making it feel into the low 30s C (actual temperatures hovering around 23-24 C at 10:00 p.m). Following the heavy rains of the afternoon, which contributed to the high humidity later on, a nice clearing was gradually present, though light showers moved onto the island just before and during the fireworks while steadier rainfall was seen towards the West Island at the time - thunderstorms and severe thunderstorms were, luckily, to our South in upstate New York, further North towards central Quebec and West into Eastern and Southern Ontario. Winds were in the anticipated range in speed and direction at 17 km/h from the Southwest - I could tell that the smoke was sometimes blowing towards the right end of the audience of La Ronde. Still, due to the high to very high levels of humidity, smoke buildup was apparent and managed to, at times, drown out portions of the display towards lower level when the display became more active there. A typical Summer evening, to say the least.

Unfortunately, this display did fall quite short of my expectations and was not really the sort of approach that I had envisioned beforehand. While many of the effects were rather dazzling, particularly in brilliance and choice of colors, they were often a little redundant (sometimes overly used) in appearance for my tastes during those segments in which they were implemented. The firing scheme from segment to segment was notoriously similar in pace towards high level with the various shells being fired - it was more of a continuous, steady flow of shells during almost every piece, just with different types of shells. Consequently, this, at times, made synchronization sloppy and less distinctive in accordance with the subtle variations in rhythm and speed involved in the selected soundtrack. In terms of activity, there was a lack of balance between high and low levels of sky - that is, often times there was scarcely any support at low level to reinforce the shells being fired directly above. Similarly, there was sometimes a loss of symmetry from left to right at low level. There were additionally some moments where elongated pauses were taking place in between segments, though this may be attributed to technical problems. Using mostly uncut songs simply did not work as the feeling became quickly monotonous, while the fireworks tended to easily lose vitality in pace/transition under this manner. The termination/fading of numerous segments were abrupt, lacked vibrancy and energy as they could have been. The choice of music, nevertheless, was generally suitable for this display, although some selections had little or no relevance to the thematic premise.

Probably the most detrimental factor to this display was the lack of a sufficient thematic framework through the fireworks - in fact, it was more the music that made the representation than the fireworks themselves. The continuity of the firing scheme in most segments often did not do the music justice. Some points, however, in terms of choice of effects, were more appropriate, such as the exquisite rainbow stars emanating from the shells during Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" (the colors of the rainbow...). There was also a sort of dichotomy to the selected theme, which required a pivotal point later in the display that demonstrated that there is indeed hope that we can build upon collaboratively as the human race in spite of the current and long term implications of climate change. Again, the choice of music reinforced this (important) transitional component more so than a noticeable distinctive turn-around, so to speak, in the actual display in terms of tempo. Apart from the intention, the finale was lacking simply because it was disproportional (broken up), and therefore had no real direction. All that said, like Italy, though under different circumstances, this display, too, was simplistic in its overall design.

Product quality was most definitely the stronger aspect of this display, including some beautiful flamboyant colors and a fair diversity of dazzling effects, some shells of which exploded into intricate and fascinating shapes (most of these were seen roughly just past 20 minutes into the display i.e. fish shells, etc.). The lower level effects were possibly the most breathtaking pieces for me, especially the glamorous mines of gold fans and the cakes/Z-cakes. The alignment of gerbs and silver fountains when present were nicely implemented. The occasional shell of shells were equally well incorporated, as were the shells of crackling pistils, go-getters, and Saturn shells. Color choices were actually quite interesting at many points and appropriately used for some soundtrack, though some color mixing in between would have been appreciated.

All in all, this was a decent effort from the Taiwanese team, though the display could have been so much more captivating and convincing considering both the objective of the display and, more importantly, the organizational criterion in terms of foundation and structure. It's just a pity that the creativity aspect was absent for a successful and more enticing delivery.
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Other than that, Summer officially arrives today (Monday, June 21st) in the Northern hemisphere at 7:28 a.m EDT. This is appropriate as very warm weather is taking place in conjunction with Summer's arrival. I adore the season - I live for the heat and humidity.

Trav.

Like all the other comments posted so far, I have to agree that this display was simply below average. I'm pretty sure that the only Jupiter San Tai can win is the environmental award. The only positive comment I can give is the excellent quality of the large caliber shells. The colors and effects were simply dazzling.

Now for the negative aspects. The synchronization was almost non existent. The pyromusical style was simply large shell after large shell being fired in the sky. I must say that this technique sort of annoyed me since the use of a digital firing system was absolutely not needed for this display. Way too simple and repetitive. The same can be said for the theme. As far as I can tell, there was no interlocking between musical segments. I must say that I was a bit bored at times

As for the finale, for me it was the final nail in the coffin. No buildup of pacing was achieved. It pretty much ended as the show was designed ... way too simple.

I may be a bit harsh for this display, but I was expecting a lot more for San Tai. A from me.

Dan

Hey guys.

I saw the video that Bob uploaded. I'm actually glad I couldn't make it. I would have wasted my evening watching a boring display. Not to be offensive, but I really think San Tai will be the worst display this year, in my opinion. Really poor quality. As for the finale, extremley weak. I agree with STL on the ratings. Soldi was alot more better than San Tai both music-wise and display-wise. So thumbs down for San Tai

Oh and can someone reply to my question on the Italy review? Thanks

My ratings so far:
1. Italy
2. Taiwan

Pat

This show is a typical example that some displays may appear promising on paper, but have to be watched before to make any opinion on it. I was a member of the jury who rewarded San Taï with a Bronze Jupiter in 2001 and I was happy to see this team on the 2010 line-up. Unfortunately, I have to join previous posters and say that this show was clearly below the average, letting Pirotecnica Soldi on the top of my ranking. The light rain which occured during about the first half of the display was not an issue and can't explain San Taï disappointing performance. (I also want to underline in this intro paragraph that some criticisms must be addressed about the official ceremony, more on this below.)

The strenght of the extravaganza was clearly the quality and complexity of the pyrotechnic material used. I am sure that most viewers were awared of the shells with various shapes, but a closer look reveals that they were more complexed than the usual heart-shape or smiley face shells. For example, the cat-shape shells featured more than stars, but also short white comets (the whiskers), which require a completely different design of this type of shells, for sure. I also noticed several shells producing sequences of various effects. The audience became very vocal with some nautical effects, especially the particularly huge fountains scattered throughout the lake. Many shells also featured multiple changes of colours.

The quality of the overall display was unfortunately not as good as the pyrotechnic effects. The environment-based storyline, which looked interesting from the press release and Paul’s/Mylène’s interviews, wasn’t obvious for unwary viewers. Some short narratives (with light pyrotechnic effects to avoid any blackout) would have been useful to emphasize the story.

More serious weaknesses are about the soundtrack and technical design. First, it is my view that a pyromusical show is a pyrotechnic show sustained by the music, and not a way to honour a singer’s or a composer’s work. The role of the music is to support the pyro, not the opposite. This is why almost all pyrotechnic designers carefully extract from longer songs or pieces a specific segment. While some exceptions may successfully apply, playing complete pieces is not the most effective way to carry the audience into an entertaining pyromusical show. A second problem with the soundtrack was related to the countless « jumps » which have nothing to do with the Tibetan effect Helen Ong was concerned about, according to the above-mentioned interviews. They remind me the sound of a jumping needle on a microgroove record… The problem may also be related to La Ronde’s equipment, but since it has a long record of effectiveness, I suspect that we may rule out this explanation.

The technical design was the second major problem. That was a kind of exhibition display, with several sequences made of a single type of effect, shooted multiple times to be sure that everyone has an opportunity to fully see it. As I previously wrote, the pyrotechnic pieces were absolutely great, but it is required to insert them within more complex segments in order to reach the Montreal standard (which is literally « a perfect display » according to a foreign pyrotechnician I discussed with after the show). Moreover, the fireworks were sometimes launched without any connection with the music component. For instance, as Céline Dion gently begins « A New Day » song, loud shells (with titanium?) almost covered her voice. Pyro sequences often continued without any consideration for changes of music rhythm.

Pyrotechnic has something to do with figure skating or synchronised swimming : there is large room for freestyle, but some routines are mandatory. To prepare and bring the audience to a powerful moment, usually for the finale, is perhaps the most important routine to perform. This is the multi-sensorial orgasm most people are looking for when they engage with a pyrotechnic event. San Taï missed this important point.

As I walked through the turnstyle at the entrance of Place du Canada, an employee supplied me with the official program, which has been reprinted following the opening night. The initial version featured a translation mistake related to the Swedish entrant, « Suède » becoming « Switzerland » in English! I was happy to see that this problem was quickly fixed!

But I would be happier to see more serious issues being fixed as quickly. Paul and me already noticed some changes to the official ceremony last week. This pre-show was really dramatic last Saturday. Firstly, it started 10 minutes later than the usual schedule. Secondly, Michel Lacroix was missing. Another viewer told me that he was on a TV show at the same time for a golf championship (Michel Lacroix is busy with golf programs through the summer on the Réseau des sports but never missed a display for this reason). The voice of the substitute has nothing to do with Michel’s presence. Thirdly, neither Foster’s « Winter Games », nor a Vangelis’ music were heard, the latter being usually played during the introduction of pyro crew. Fourthly, the newly appointed master of ceremony read the descriptive of the show between the end of the (remaining) protocolar activities and the beginning of the show. Fifthly, the Giant Wheel’s lights (which are the well-known signal to the whole area that the show is going to start) were by mistake turned off one or two minutes before the actual start of the display. With the pyrotechnian crew’s boat tour and official’s speech whose disappearance were reported last week, all these changes really remove this pre-show lustre. We often underestimate how important such things are until they disappear. The foreign pyro I previously referred to asked me what had happened with all these things. They were very significant for him. They are also for me and, I’m sure, for many people. The organizers and other people in the fireworks industry claim that the Montreal competition is the world most prestigious. La Ronde must behave accordingly and fix all that as soon as possible.

Fred

A second problem with the soundtrack was related to the countless « jump » which have nothing to do with the Tibetan effect Helen Ong was concerned about, according to the above-mentioned interviews. They remind me the sound of a jumping needle on a microgroove record… The problem may also be related to La Ronde’s equipment, but since it has a long record of effectiveness, I suspect that we may rule out this explanation.

Yet, Austria entry in 2008 had a 3 seconds lag and we learned that it came from the audio system and not from the firing equipment.

The audio track did not jumped (as a broken record would do for instance). I think that the problem was a faulty normalization of the soundtrack, a step which makes sure that in no time the volume goes above 0dB. If such thing occurs, the audio system clips the offending waveform, causing a very audible "click!".

I think that it would be great if La Ronde put a soft-limiter in their effects rack. When a waveform goes above 0dB, this kind of limiter rapidly drops its amplitude, causing a sag in the volume, but no click. In the end, although not very nice to the ear, the sag sure beats a click.

It's a shame that a lot of firms do not have a Serge Péloquin of sorts in their ranks. I guess that there is not a lot of sound engineers with a fireworks display supervisor licence out there

My report is up now - click here. I'm in agreement with pretty much everything that has been said here.

As for the audio problems, it was something to do with the audio being on an SD card, rather than transferred to the usual La Ronde system (at least, that's the explanation I heard). I doubt it's a clipping issue as there were times that the sound was distorted (e.g. in parts of the Tibetan bells sequence).

Paul.

With all these things which happened Saturday night, I completely forgot to mention that San Taï display was the 200th on-competition show in the Montreal International Fireworks Competition history!

And the next one is going to be the 140th full display (excluding the Feux des pyjamas and last year award ceremony) I attend on La Ronde's site!

Fred