Please post your reviews of the Austrian display here!

Trav.

The 2018 competition truly began with the 31-minute debut display of steyrFire at the Montreal International Fireworks Competition. In my opinion, it was a very good performance, especially for viewers who sat at La Ronde and could fully appreciate the many low-level effects. It is noteworthy that show designer Nikolaus Langer is only 24 years old. He is certainly one of the youngest designers in the history of the competition, probably next to Croatian Nikola Koletic who was 23 y.o. when he designed Mirnovec Pirotehnika’s award-winning show entitled “Artificial Intelligence” in 2013.

The overall concept of the show was more conservative in this case. “Let’s Dance” was made of 16 segments of famous musics. There was no actual storyline, rather a well-developed theme which allowed to encompass a broad range of styles (classical, Irish, French, Italian, Latin, American, etc.) and rhythms, even within the final segment - John Miles’ ballad Music -which combined serene and powerful parts. Most transitions were smooth, without being as carefully intertwined as we heard in Royal Pyrotechnie’s opening show, though. I also felt that some music segments could have been a little shorter, for example Sing, Sing, Sing and YMCA.

The Austrian team did not use the circular fourth ramp, but it added four floating platforms closer to the audience (5th ramp), as well as two lifts which supported fans and circular slices of one-shots which allowed for some 360-degree sequences. I have mix feelings regarding the technical design of this show. On one side, the lifts really added to the complexity of the design and they allowed some sort of plus-value in comparison with more standard setups. The fifth ramp was used to launch the letters “YMCA” (more on this below), as well as spectacular barrages of massive, thick mines of white stars falling on the lake, at the beginning of Michael Jackson’s Beat it.

On the other side, the team decided to use neither the fourth ramp, nor nautical products. The circular fourth ramp would have allowed other patterns of chasing sequences – or dance steps – than the lateral ones (from left to right, or the reverse) across ramp 3. The lake is also an opportunity to widen the range of pyrotechnic effects. (White serpents were horizontally shot over the lake during Sing, Sing, Sing, but these were not nautical products per se.) From the Ferris Wheel, it is hard to assess the quantity of large shells on ramp 1 due to the foliage, but it appeared during the show that it emphasized low-level effects rather than higher ones. I was however surprised to spot a series of double-ascension girandolas on the first ramp (such devices are usually on ramp 2), which flew during the ultimate segment. Unfortunately, they were “covered” and partially hidden by falling horsetails of the same colour and the twinkling tails of rising shells.

Generally speaking, the synchronization was excellent. Some segments were precisely note-synchronized, especially the opening one on Irish Step dance, The Blue Danube, as well as the beginning of the song Maniac (Flash Dance), which featured spectacular fast sequences of strobes on ramp 3 and other strobes launched and lighting above. There were a couple of segments, though, where the fireworks ended before the musics (or the reverse).

The pyromusical design was very good. Of course, the “YMCA” letters, which could be seen from the Ferris Wheel and other viewpoints, composed an anticipated segment. In 2010, Goteborgs FyrverkeriFabrik (Sweden) did very clear YMCA letters with white gerbs attached to poles. This effect had been captured by photograph Simon Turcotte-Langevin and can be admired here. steyrFire used another way to create these letters, that is, stars launched from angled racks located on the fifth ramp. Ricasa (Spain) used the same technique to shoot “MONTREAL 2016” while closing its show in 2016. I would say that Goteborgs FyrverkeryFabrik technique was much more effective to achieve clear effects. In Ricasa and steyrFire displays, many letters were distorted. In this case, from my point of view (section 305), the “Y” was the most deformed letter whereas the “C” and “A” were clear. The “YMCA” appeared four times during this song.

Otherwise, The Twist was reflected with the movement made by many shells producing farfalles and tourbillons, as well as candles of comets ending in tourbillons. On the song Hit the Road Jack, some stars launched vertically extinguished very quickly in synchronization with the musics. The French national colours were prominent in gerbs, mines, and shells during the Cancan, although some green meteor-headed comets appeared as a substitute to the blue, before the segment turned into a multicolour closing.

The last segments were especially exhilarating. I hit the ground with my foot a couple of times during the display. Then, I could not refrain from screaming during the last seconds of the show, as many 360-degree sequences were shot in various patterns from the lifts, and the finale barrages were made of sequence of fans, reminding me the very end of Pyroemotions/Pyrodigital award-winning display in 2013.

Following Pyrotechnik P.S. (1988), Günter Vogler (1997, 1998, 2002) and Pyrovision Gmbh Austria (2008), steyrFire is the 4th Austrian team to compete in Montreal. The Bronze Jupiter won by Günter Vogler in 1997 is the one and only jupiter prize awarded to an Austrian team. At this early stage of the 2018 competition, I refrain to predict the likelihood of steyrFire to be on the podium. It is hard to say. However, if steyrFire miss the podium this year and is invited again, I believe that some adjustments could make a positive difference, starting with the launch of more shells to balance with the many low-level effects, but also with the addition of some nautical products and the use of the circular ramp. Such changes could provide more diversity in the range of products and the firing patterns.

***

For this second fireworks show, we benefited once again of perfect weather conditions – the wind speed was just enough to move the smoke away. However, the crowd was smaller than past Saturday, so I don’t know to what extent the strategy favoured by L’International of focusing on a famous music group on the opening night has produced any lead-in effect. Furthermore, it seems that the Public Award is not back this year : there’s no information about it neither on the official website, nor through the announcements made at La Ronde. I believe it is a very good thing for arguments I outlined in my 2nd message posted in this thread after the award ceremony in 2017.

Fred

That was a very enjoyable display by the Austrian team. Specially for those who were at La Ronde.

It was my first time there since 2005 and it was a very good way to start the competition, it will be a tough season.

The soundtrack was well put together with different styles and the evolution of them was quite clear in my opinion. Some tracks were indeed too long and other too short, some of them ending in not a very exciting way, suddenly, fading of.

The pyromusical design was focused on the low level. I would say 70% of the show was low level effects, and when shells appeared they were using small effects alone.

I would say the only parts with a good balance of low-aerial effects were the finale of Kalinka and Michael Jackson segments. To me the best parts along with the twist segment.

I really enjoyed the use of the fifth ramp, the musical selection and the use of the cranes.

My criticism applies mainly to the lack of shells. Shells give to the displys a more emotional layer, and the use of low - aerial effects is very important to keep the good balance of technique and excitment.

All in all a good performance of the Austrian team. At this point of the competition I cant say if they will be or not on the podium since I think it will be a very tough season.

My recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCOlMdC_VSc

THANK YOU @jbbank!

Like the opening, the Austrian debutante team was able to take advantage of very ideal weather conditions, as Fred noted above. Skies were predominantly clear, with a few lingering clusters of cumulus and cirrus cloud patches in the distance, low humidity, late-evening temperatures of 22-23 C, and a gentle Southerly/SSE wind (5-8 km/h). Fortunately, the winds were marginally sufficient to displace the smoke adequately to the right of the La Ronde audience (left for those on Notre-Dame/de Lorimier), and at all altitudes, though the higher-level smoke appeared sometimes near-stationary because of the weak wind fields. At the same time, however, because this display had a lesser number of energetic segments, this gave more time for the smoke to clear sufficiently, and the low humidity also greatly helped to prevent thicker smoke build up.

I agree with the comments so far that this was a generally good display by the Austrian team. One-shot firing styles have become a favorite dimension to incorporate into fireworks displays over the years, and this display promised to feature many sequences of these. Indeed, time was not wasted in showcasing the magnificent choreography at low-level, as the opening quickly and vibrantly came to life. We were treated to many fabulous sequences along low-level, and, often times, they well represented certain important components that defined the various selected soundtrack. Color richness was reasonable (sometimes in interesting mixtures) and was brought out well due to the lower humidity levels, although the display became murkier to our left (La Ronde’s right) as we ventured deeper into it due to some defined smoke build up eventually there along low-level. The choice of effects used was additionally appropriate. One notable example was the use of farfalles accompanied by swirls along low-levels to represent “The Twist”. After viewing supplied videos to see more details along low-level, the emergence of the letters, “Y, M, C, A” was also breathtaking and, in some sense, as Fred referred to above, was reminiscent of Sweden 2010. Other notable moments were the one-shots emerging from the two rings positioned at the center. This reminded me extensively of Italy 2013 as they came to life and exhibited the various intricate circular patterns, especially during the concluding segment. The crimson photoflashes were also well executed and always crowd-pleasers, as were the shell-of-shells.

The theme, though simplistic in its delivery, worked well, and the music chosen was appropriate for representation. While I am not so much of a fan of themes that do not yield a more dynamic set of elements to explore, I thought that this display moved fairly well with this basic theme. Indeed, we have seen other displays use basic thematic structures and were quite successful. In the most recent case, Poland 2017 used this approach and was quite successful, even though the display did not, unfortunately, earn them a Jupiter. I also got the sense that the selection of songs was structured systematically and chronologically, which did amplify the organization of the show despite the lack of any storyline.

My criticisms are largely directed at the overall design of the display. While the organization of the music flowed mostly well from one section to the other and usually did well represent the thematic premise, I found that the structure of the display could have benefitted from more subtle editing and, therefore, cleaner transitions. I think that this would have allowed for segments to visually segue in a more systematic manner and amplify the rhythm and pace of the display. Furthermore, as Rovira pointed out already above, I thought that the conclusion of some segments was rather abrupt, notably following the “Hound Dog” and “Maniac” segments. These particular moments left somewhat the feeling of a cliff-hanger because I would have typically expected more of a dramatic finish for several of the selected songs that were attempting to be portrayed. In a way, it was like a feeling of emptiness during the conclusions of those segments, and that something still needed to be fulfilled before moving on to the next piece.

Relating to the previous point, the firing style, to me, lost its luster during mostly the second half of the show. Notably, there were quite a few musical choices that captivated the audience (including myself, being an enthusiast of 70s-90s dance music), such as “Stayin’ Alive”, “Maniac”, and “Beat It”, so expectations would naturally be elevated in the anticipation of the overall representation of these particular songs. Indeed, this is especially true for Montreal fireworks aficionados, for we have witnessed other displays in the past that truly raised the bar for the visual/pyrotechnical representation for some of these soundtrack (Italy 2013 representing “Stayin Alive”, though briefly, for example, or the effective use of “Maniac” in Spain 2016). In this case, “Maniac”, for instance, initiated rather well, including with intense racing of bright red flares along low-level, but the fireworks did not really keep pace adequately with other elements of the soundtrack thereafter due to a more rudimentary firing style that would quickly be adopted, leaving the sense of an anti-climax. For this reason, I also expected a little more from “Stayin’ Alive”. As mentioned previously, too, “The Twist” was done well, but I felt like it could have risen to a level beyond what was actually shown, as there was opportunity to take advantage of other elements that engendered the soundtrack.

Some effects also started to become a bit “saturated” in appearance deeper into the display. In particular, the rainbow/fan effects became somewhat overused, although they still worked well with the music when involved. The low-level effects, such as the flares and gerbs also became a little too frequent. Despite the reasonable color richness and good quality products, I think the small bits of repetition limited diversity and, thus, negatively affected the overall technical design. Additionally, because of more reliance on low-level effects, this often created a sense of imbalance between low- to high-altitude, and the display, as a consequence, lacked energetic moments than I would have expected. Using higher-level shells more often to reinforce the low-level effects (especially in combination with one-shots) not only would have revitalized the scope of the theme later in the show but also would have reinforced lower-level activity and likely better represented the music. I thought that the concluding segment was actually well done, especially the manner in which the two rings had been employed, but the finale itself was much too short for my taste and also lacked a larger array of color, in my humble opinion, which would have been expected to conclude a dance-oriented display. This is a minor negative point, however.

In general, despite my criticisms, this was an entertaining display that featured quite a few enjoyable moments of superb choreography and creativity. In several ways, conceptually, it reminded me of Italy 2013 but clearly with a different approach that seemed to have worked reasonably well. Nevertheless, it is evidently too difficult to say that steyrFire of Austria will reach the podium, as this would heavily depend on our next five competitors!

Trav

My report: http://montreal-fireworks.com/ReportBlog/?p=1401

Paul.