Hello all

[wopahoe]

I am from southern BC canada. I am very curious about fire works displays that I saw as a child. We are going back about 45 years. It was common to see displays Pictures flags peoples heads etc. Why do we not see this any more? thanks for your help in advance

[PyroJoeNEPA]

What you are referring to are commonly called "set pieces". They are very labor intensive in the fact that they are constructed and fused by hand. Cost prohibitive for many small shows and lots of the "big displays" are more aerial oriented in that people can watch from several vantage points. A set piece would be set up on the ground in a stadium or field where the audience could see it. There are still people making and using them.
They are constructed of a wood or bamboo frame with "lances" attached--these are small tubes with chemical compounds that burn in different colors-depending on the chemical composition. They are about 2/3 the length of a pencil and about the same diameter. These are mounted on the framework and then fused either with Quick Match or [what has become more popular in recent years] Stick Match.
There are lots of videos on YouTube. Here is one of Dave's videos from the 2003 PGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZf4nX6HtjA

Also, here is a video Dave did of simple construction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB48ndkSWNA

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Also, welcome to the Forum!