Hey guys, I made this before the show even started, cause I wanted to say I wont be there, cause of my mom. I hate my mom for not allowing me to go ever againI hate her!
She won't ever let me again. So I won't know what happened with Canada's or LaRondes display. Not even Italy. I am furious. I actually broke my cell phone. (It was cheap) and I can't enjoy no more fireworks cause I have to be old enough..I'm 14 for god sakes..It's either her way or the highway.

So don't count on me with the videos being posted of the rest of the season.

And I heard it from the radio, and I am extremley mad that I couldn't go.

Pat

Good evening,

Just got back from the Italian performance, and let me just say "WOW"....just wow! The show was very well done from beginning to end, and as expected, a very Italian design - mini finales almost all the way through! There were so many of those typical multi-breakers and shell of shells, massive wide shells in addition to those shells of terminating salutes. The color range was very dymamic and fortifying from bright reds to rich silver comets from shells and candles. There were some excellent sequencing attempts with the mines and candles along with the music, and a lot of the mines themselves were in perfect rhythm and pace - my favorite piece was during the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. The candles were very impressive, and in good variety - they really lived up to what was mentioned in the press release. I noticed a lot of use was made of the shells of strobes throughout the show, but though it became at times repetitive, it was rather appropriate for the theme employed. The show itself was nicely synchronized, although I found one segment started a little too abruptly following a previous one. The show was nicely balanced as well, though just a little more ground level effects would have been appreciated.

As for the finale, it was extraordinary - loud, colorful and had decent longevity, although I couldn't get enough in that I wanted more! At the end, although the feris wheel illuminated once again, there were these salutes still firing to my left, thinking that something else would happen (I knew deep down that it was over, though lol). In any case, a very thunderous close to an overall gorgeous display.

In all, a glorious night and a beautifully crafted display to go along with it. It's quite fortunate that the weather cooperated in the way it did and that "dry slot" I spoke of earlier lasted for as long as it did. Right now, the band of cells associated with the cold front are approaching us. We're very lucky! Also, as I had expected, the winds were good enough to take care of the smoke accumulations, which were building up quickly before they were blown away.

Pirotechnia Morsani really put a positive impression on the Montreal audience with their debut. It's too bad most of the crowd was scared away by the weather.

Trav.

Hi there Saluteness (and the others),

Well Saluteness, I'm sorry to hear about the situation that you are in. I also wish I could comfort you by saying that in not attending Italy's display tonight, you did not miss much. If I were to say that though, I'd be lying.

I thought Italy put on a top notch display tonight. Importantly, the show started off strong with an opening number that set the tone for the following 20-odd minutes. It created in me a sense of being in a fantastical world of merriment - childlike. It was lighthearted and strikingly beautiful.

From that point on, with very few exceptions, the display was impeccably well paced. One song would transition into another just as the sky would rarely go dark unless purposeful in a sparse but well utilized game of tension and release.

I cannot say enough about how well paced this show was. It was excellently choreographed and the music selection was strong and those two strengths worked in harmony to maintain an engaging rhythm, often both fast and slow-to-medium paced within the same musical number.

The display as it is titled "Curtains of Light" struck me as a series of reveals - or raising of curtains - that all built up to the final element to behold: the finale. And, in my opinion, a very good finale it was! My feelings may differ from many who regularly post here, but I feel that a finale does not have to astound you or nearly make you go deaf to be memorable; it should simply end the display in a manner befitting that particular display. I think that Pirotecnia Morsani S.R.L accomplished the latter on this evening.

Now, despite the fact that it was a very good display and without question the display to beat at this early stage of the competition, I was a bit put off by somewhat of a lack of colour during a substantial portion of the sequences considering the youthful and vividly expressive feel that Pirotecnia Morsani S.R.L hoped to convey. Also, there were some partially repetitive parts where the use of (I want to say Roman Candles... not sure if that's correct) low-level effects continued being fired off while the music went in different directions and, based on Italy's strong synchronization (and style thereof), I expected some variation in fireworks at parts. There were also a notable number of shells that went off early. Paul (or anybody else who can answer), are firms usually penalized for this occurrence? Can it be said that it is their fault for having faulty pyrotechnics?

Anyway, I really had a great time tonight. I have videos for tonight and last week that I will put up on YouTube when possible for what it's worth - Paul is providing very good quality full length videos though and I thank him for those!

Have a very good rest of the weekend and Canada Day everybody!

Tyler

WOW - what a finale! I'm just converting and uploading the video before going to bed - full report and video first thing in the morning.
[edit: the video is up, the report is on its way]

What a great debut by the Italian team!

Paul.

Hey Everyone!! Im happy that i was able to see another great display in montreal (through the video )

Here's what i thought about the display.

The first two segments were great. I thought that how they used roman candles where very good, always in perfect synch with the music. I love that they used fantasmic as their first song. It just puts you in the perfect mood to watch the show. Then the next song was very good and "emotional" with great synchronization as well. The next segments weren't really that good i think. The finale starting with the drums until the final volley of salutes was just spectacular. Perfect mix of intense -ness and softness. The finale had the perfect build up of an italian finale. Reminds me a lot of most traditional italian fireworks finale that ive seen in videos. They also had a lot of great large caliber shells like the shell of shells, multibreak shell of shells, multibreaks, and far falles. The playful angles used in their mine sequeneces made the it enjoyable even though as said later the time was off by a few miliseconds?? haha

What i didn't like in the display was that they didn't use any watter effects and i tihnk there was no ramps in the water? The show as a whole wasn't really that complex even though they had some attempts at making great mine sequences specially in the pirate of the carribbean theme. I thought that the timing of the (one shot) mines could use a little bit of tweaking maybe about .15 - .50 seconds earlier cause some of them appeared a bit late. At times too the display looked more like a traditional italian display with just 1, 2, or 3 shells firing at a time but still having that italian rhythm of firing in it. Although there was many variations i thought that they used just a too much of the mine to peony cakes.

This was a great debut to the pirotecnia morsani team. Maybe they could be Ipon's competition when it comes to finales hehehhee

I rate this show just below prestatech. 8.25/10
1. Prestatech - 8.75 / 10
2. Morsani - 8.25/10

Vander

Hey guys,

I made my first fireworks video on youtube. Give me some credit please. It took me like 4 hours while talking to Vander on MSN:tonguebut it's ok for a start.
But I made another account for fireworks. The first video i made can be found on:
http://youtube.com/UnlimitedCoaster
and the second which has the biggest finale ever made!)
http://youtube.com/MarzapanSRL
Pat

Country participant: Italy
Company: Pirotecnia Morsani S.R.L.
Date of presentation: June 28th, 2008

Terrible weather conditions and the risk for thunderstorms were the backdrop for the majority of the day. Thankfully that dry slot quickly pushed in following that persistently long period of heavy showers associated with the warm front, leaving us with some partly cloudy skies by 9:00 p.m. along with some dense low cloud in the distance and some of the most stagnant humidity that I have felt so far this season. This debutant Italian team was set to present an extravagant display featuring a popular selection of soundtrack, some of which were from very familiar films. With the weather giving the go-ahead, the firm’s theme, “Curtains of Light” was set to capture the imagination of the audience with a variety of popular Italian effects as well as promising both an exciting display and strong finale.

The display had a fair variety of effects that were employed, including the infamous shell of shells, multi-breakers, salutes, mixed double to triple farfalle shells, kamuro comets and shells, shells of strobes, photoflashes (towards the penultimate piece) small mid level go-getters, shells of meteor comets, salute terminating shells, (red, silver and green), MASSIVELY dispersed overhead shells, shells of serpents, crossettes (I think I saw this at low level at one point) and of course the promised gorgeous candles of silver and gold comets. Let’s also not forget the, at times, well sequenced “dancing” mines from left to right and right to left with some of the great music beat.

Synchronization was fairly good for the most part and, as I mentioned, there were some enamoring sequences with both the candles and mines through many segments of the display, some of which were so nicely done in rhythm and pace that they appeared to be dancing in an elegant way when defining the key notes within a given soundtrack – this was a successful component for the display, in my opinion. The music selection itself was rather appropriate (and already some favorites listed there) for the theme and the effects utilized often made good definition in representing it, which is why I believe so many shells of strobes were used in the first place. The music itself often increased nicely in intensity as much as the fireworks did. This was often witnessed when large fans of varying comets would be assisted by massive barrages of strobes or of a massive shell combination and then terminating with deafening salutes accompanied with well sequenced low level effects.

The colors were rich and in excellent variation, although I noticed the emergence of the patriotic red and green mixing in often. The design of the show was simply surreal and well balanced, though some nautical effects would have made the show complete. Also, perhaps a little less use of the shell of strobes would have been ideal at times, along with attempting to create more convincing transitional points in pace. Again, however, the roman candles were stunning, and the low level sequences were spectacular in their concoction.

The subtlety between the faux and real finales was actually effective. The faux finale itself was convincing. It started off following clusters of strobe shells with repeated sequences of low level shells of orange with angled mines of blue stars. This was then augmented by a couple rounds of rapid firing of shell of shells later accompanied by barrages of mid level shells of comets and brocades (I think) as well as continuous background salutes. The pace increased and then later was assisted by a perfectly noted rapid sequencing of mines from left to right and back, bringing the segment to a close.

The finale was, simply put, amazing, as the press release denoted, especially since vehement endings are often scarce these past years since 2005. Leading up to the finisher, bright red fans of comets flared from below and then were augmented by repeated large shells of delicate white meteor comets at mid level. Following a brief pause came rapid sequences of bright red and yellow/white photoflashes at mid level, creating a simulation of a disco-like sky. Not long after these terminated, bright fans of white to pale meteor comet candles sprung out from low level, assisted immediately by small silver shells of strobes directly above at mid level. Being in perfect crescendo, this pattern was soon left off by more elevated silver intersecting meteor comets, soon to be mixed in with more mid level shells of red stars and sharp whistling comets along with repeated shots of larger shells of light blue stars above and background titanium salutes. This entire intricate pattern went on for a few moments, but then barrages upon barrages of mid to high level comet shells began to emerge so suddenly, catching many people off guard. This was instantaneously supported by low level bursts of green shells and shots of mines of green stars with continued rising silver meteor comets. The entire sky now being lit with this massive low to high level pattern quickly increased in pace, except now there were large chest thumping salutes added to the chaotic sky. Still going, the same massive shells of changing colored stars we’ve seen frequently during the display joined in with its smaller counterparts, while the low level shells and mines transitioned over to red stars. The pace increased yet further with more and more barrages of shells and salutes at mid to high level along with newly multi-colored shells in the middle (my body even more trembling and my ears ringing at this point), until finally the mayhem concluded with HUGE shells of bright gold stars and one large volley of deafening salutes. What a fabulous way to end off an overall beautiful and noisy performance. With smiling faces to roaring echoes of cheers of approval and delight from the much smaller than average audience, it would seem that many have gotten the thrill, excitement and satisfaction they were looking for after so long, including yours truly.

This was a fantastic display, and many spectators around me were in awe and in a daze after the furious finale came to a close, not to mention that so many segments were already so noisy and exciting to begin with. Overall, however, I thought the display was fabulous and the quality and design of the show really did it justice in representing the theme. However, among the effects, I thought there was a little too much use of the shells of strobes – these were often fired in barrages, as well as being seen as mines or candles burst into them. While the shell of shells and multi-breakers were used often, they were in good variety, so this didn’t really push too much in the way of actual redundancy. I personally thought the soundtrack selected fitted in well with this display and really represented the theme nicely, but at times it wasn’t always so clear in how the effects were conveying the meaning of the theme itself. That said, it is to my belief that the repeated shells of strobes were useful in defining the theme altogether, and I found them rather appropriate. Because many of the effects were identical and were often in harmony with the music, they mostly never felt that redundant because they had virtually always been in a wide variety of color, form and mixture. The balance of the display was in proportion from all angles, but seeing that the show was active, it didn’t really provide the lift, so to speak, for delivering the emotional transitions that are common in many displays. Of course, this is absolutely not to say that I don’t like active displays such as this! Also, though there were plenty of low level effects, I was surprised that there were very little, if any, nautical strobes or flares, particularly when compared to what France has done in that sector. Seeing that much of the shells themselves involved a variety of colored strobes, I was actually expecting these at some point. Synchronization again was fabulous, but there were one or two segments where some shells were fired abruptly immediately leaving off from the previous segment. Also, within some segments, the music-fireworks connection was not as intricately demonstrated as I had hoped, although this was not always consistent. That said, much of the variation of soundtrack really helped with the sequencing attempts at low to mid level.

Most of these criticisms, of course, are ultimately minor, considering that much of this display was so elegantly crafted. It’s fortunate that we had enough wind to blow off the what appeared to be quickly building smoke accumulations in response to the heavy humidity towards the East and Northward, or else we would have been looking at an obscured display. The threat of rain, stagnant humidity and wind speed were probably the biggest concerns for this presentation, but I was confident that the winds would be strong enough to take care of any smoke accumulations – this is why I was moreso concerned about the rains coming from the next wave. It wasn’t long after the show had ended that newly developing cells started approaching with the cold front, and hence the early overnight heavier rains and this morning’s furious storm.

Trav’s personal scorings (for fun):

-Pyrotechnic components: 8.5/10
-Synchronization: 8/10
-Soundtrack: 9/10
-Technical design: 8/10
-Pyromusical concept: 9/10

-Overall: 8.5/10

(Scores will be adjusted before the closing ceremony).

***In any case, hope you guys saw Mother Nature’s fireworks at 4:00-5:00 a.m. this morning. lol A very impressive storm, to say the least, although I was expecting the chance to see something like it since a few days now.

Trav.

I kind of disagree with some of you and rate the show between ok and good.

We arrived at La Ronde at around 5pm. The lineups for the rides were quite long. Monster and Goliath each had a 60min waiting time. After the torrential rain ended, I got a feeling that a lot of people left the park, as the lineups became suddenly shorter. We were able to ride both Goliath and Monster two times in row while barely waiting in line! However, I still got the impression that there were a lot of people walking around, but there was PLENTY of free space to watch the fireworks. Even today, we arrived at La Ronde when it started to rain a bit. I'm not sure how it was in the afternoon, but when we were there, the park was almost empty. Almost for all the rides, we waited in line for like 5 minutes, max! I think it was a bad weekend for La Ronde. It's all because of that major weather system! lol

About the Italian show, I think the quality of the pieces and colors were really good. I thought the shells of shells were exciting and great. I'll just say that for their debut performance, it was just good.

However, I personally think the effects were way too repetitious. If my friend next to me, who had never seen a show from La Ronde, found the the show very redundant, then obviously, there was a problem. Some segments were too simple and basic, not to mention the lack of creativity at times... Because of this, the show was sometimes boring. I still liked some of the lower effects, such as the candles (I think that what they're called) and the shells. They went very high in the sky, almost overwhelming you. They were also good at ending each segment. The endings were intense and more exciting! Finally, their shells were colorful and beautiful.

Overall, same as France's display, I don't think the Italian team will win an award, simply because the show was too basic. The superpowers will no doubt present better and more complex displays. I also think the music was sometimes boring. Synchronization was just OK, compared to France's display, which was better synchronized with the music.

All in all, it was just a good show for the new firm. However, I think in the end, most people will remember their AMAZING finale, which I highly anticipated it during the show. It sure was an Italian finale! Thanks to them, we witnessed one of the greatest finales in recent years, although it wasn't as intense as France 2005's finale, which left me and everyone else shaking! Ending a show with a real finale means a lot to me, so I was really satisfied when I saw Italy's finale. Thank you!

My rankings - rated from La Ronde:

1. Italy
2. France

Avec une bande sonore mixant la musique de films et le classique, et une performance pyrotechnique concentrée en haute altitude et exempte de mise en scène particulière, l'équipe italienne nous a servi un feu de facture assez classique. Cela ne m'a pas empêché d'en être complètement captivé pendant 30 minutes (une durée réglementaire respectée de justesse grâce aux quatre marrons d'air lancés une fois la finale complétée).

Le matériel pyrotechnique était d'une grande ampleur, sophistiqué (une multitude pièces multibris, entre autres) et présentant une large gamme de couleurs. Souvent, les transitions entre les tableaux étaient si soignées que nous n'y voyions que du feu. La synchronisation était par ailleurs très bonne. J'ai également aimé certains agencements, par exemple les pièces se terminant en craquelins blancs sur les sons du drum. Et que dire de la finale!

J'ai trouvé surprenant que l'équipe italienne n'utilise aucunement le lac et que si peu d'effets en bas niveau aient été produits. Les spectateurs situés ailleurs qu'à La Ronde ont été choyés par toutes ces pièces en haute altitude mais, vu du parc, cela créait un certain déséquilibre. Par ailleurs, la thématique était un peu faible. Le rideau que j'attendais ne s'est jamais levé. J'aurais aimé voir un rideau pyrotechnique large, haut et opaque, à la manière des mines denses lancées de façon spectaculaire par Syd Howard en 2000 (voir le rapport de Paul, tableau 9, dernière phrase).

Fred

What an epic show !!! Maybe too much !!!

The show was good, intense and as I said epic. There were two problems: First of all the theme. It was good, but not perfect, the music (and in general the full show) was too basic, always the same, a bit repetitive and (from my point of view) without sense.
The effects were the second problem. They use the space always in the same way, without surprises. I didn't see creative effects. And what happened with the nautic shells?

The finale was really good, filling the sky with different shells, mines... very intense, an italian finale.

For my it was just a good show but not a winner. It could be a great display in other competitions but in Montreal you have to do a perfect show or it's very hard to win.

I think I prefer the French show... their problem was the finale, but the show was more coherent and the synchronization was better.

Salut

Cette firme italienne nous a offert un excellent spectacle. Un feu roulant de pièces pyrotechniques variées bien disposées dans le ciel,une excellente utilisation de l'espace aérien pour compenser la quasi non utilisation des possibilités du lac ,une faille à mon avis.
Une excellente trame sonore mais sans thème à développer..
Un rytme d,enfer progressif devait nous amener une finale grandiose et les Italiens nous ont éblouis contrairement aux Francais qui ont aussi présenté un très bon spectacle mais avec une finale vraiment décevante et non concordante avec ce qui avait précédé.
Toutefois cà demeure à mon sens un feu assez classique sans trop de créativité et de nouveautés . Comme spectateur j'aime bien être surpris pas l'imagination d'un concepteur qui aime risquer dans l'inconnu du nouveau.
Donc à date...deux beaux spectacles mais attendons la suite pour des thèmes plus recherchés et une recherche artistique plus imaginative.

Salut les pyromaniaques

Roger

I'm glad many of you spoke of the themes directly. As I had mentioned before the competition kicked off, a lot of the themes that are employed this season amongst the competitors seem to be very hard to work with in giving off a key connection, and so far this has been true with France, and to some extent, Italy. As Roger said, I, too, am in high anticipation to witness more artistic and creative thematic frameworks with our remaining 7 entrants.

Trav.

Hello guys,

After reading all of your comments about the Italian show, I must say that Enkil is the one whose opinion is closest to mine. This was a good show, but for at least a good 10 minutes during the display, I got bored with the constant slow pace and repetitive sequences. During those long minutes, I hoped that they were saving all those shells for the finale....LOL.....and they did!

Wow, this is the kind of finale that makes me going back every year and every single time there's a display! It was fast-paced, powerful with some longevity, although I thought it could have been longer....much longer.....but they did deliver and they made my heart pump like mad!!! As I am a huge fan of strong finales loaded with salutes, I must say that Italy is my number "1" so far, even though I thought France had a better display during the first 28 minutes (finale aside).

My message to the future participants this year? Bring on the powerful, lengthy, fast-paced, loaded with salutes, deafening finales.....I want to feel like it's the end of the world!

Have a great week, everyone!

Pierre

Il est vrai que la conception de la plupart des tableaux n'était pas très complexe (ce qui se reflète notamment dans le nombre de signaux: moins de 1000 cues). Nous avons assisté à des agencements assez simples de pièces pyrotechniques et la rareté des effets de bas niveau n'a pas contribué à accroître la sophistication des tableaux.

Concernant la répétition, par contre, il me semble que Pirotecnica Morsani a intégré des effets différents tout au long du spectacle, en particulier par l'utilisation de plusieurs pièces multibris et d'autres avec des changements de couleurs. La qualité des pièces m'a paru excellente et il s'agit peut-être du principal point fort de ce spectacle. Tout ce matériel a été fabriqué par la maison Morsani elle-même.

J'avance l'hypothèse que l'usage abondant des chandelles romaines a amplifié cette impression de répétition, la chandelle ayant justement pour caractéristique de lancer à intervalle régulier le même effet pyrotechnique. Plus de pièces mono-coup aurait peut-être été préférable.

Fred
P.S.: Mon texte sur le feu italien est maintenant en ligne sur PyroPlanet.

Fred,

"Concernant la répétition, par contre, il me semble que Pirotecnica Morsani a intégré des effets différents tout au long du spectacle, en particulier par l'utilisation de plusieurs pièces multibris et d'autres avec des changements de couleurs."

My thoughts exactly. I had also touched on this briefly in my ending comments near the end of my report concerning the repetition of many of the effects. A few effects were used often, including the shell of shells or multi-breakers, but this may not necessarily deem them "repetitive" in their entirety because they were often in a variety of form, mixture and color, so I didn't get that impression of redundancy at the same level compared to what I'd witnessed in the French display. As a result, the team had a gorgeous selection of pieces. That said, at the same time, despite them being successfully demonstrated, it would have been nice to at times have seen more effects employed instead of dealing with similar ones, most notably the strobes. And again, more nautical strobes, in particular, would have been greatly appreciated, especially seeing that many shells of strobes were being made of extensive use to begin with.

As I had also mentioned, the Italian team additionally had numerous exquisite sequencing attempts along low level with the various mines and the gorgeous roman candles, while being often mixed and supported by higher level shells of varying color - I think that this was a key component to their display.

Edit: Nice report, btw. I had a feeling that the team was fearing the ominous weather, including the humidity, throughout the day, but again, as I said before, thankfully the weather later smiled upon them and permitted for a great performance before the next approaching wave of rains reached the island. Their hard work really payed off, despite the highly risky night's weather.

Trav.