My First Attempt at a Pyromusical

[kinterke]

I am kicking myself for not getting good pictures of the setup, but I use two 4'x8' pieces of plywood. Each has an angled portion. Each board has it's own sequencer, and one sequencer triggers the other. These two pieces of plywood are placed on a raft and pushed out into our lake about 100' and triggered with a remote. The music is manually synced to the fireworks.

All fireworks were purchased from wfboom.com, and are all consumer fireworks.

I used FWSim, and did my best to create all cakes purchased. I used the timing from the wfboom.com website for the simulation timing. As you will see in the video, the timing of the actual cakes didn't always match the video.

Here are a couple pictures.
These pictures were taken after placement of the cakes, before wiring.
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1234&stc=1
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1235&stc=1

Here is us loading the boards on the raft.
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1236&stc=1

Here is the video. It includes both the simulation and the actual show. It is about 20 minutes long. I named the cakes as they are fired.

https://youtu.be/yM5tp5QNBv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM5tp5QNBv8&feature=youtu.be

Ken

[kinterke]

Here is the lineup:
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1237&stc=1

[Crab107]

Dude...that was cool as hell!!!! I would have paid money to see that in person

[UniversalPyro]

is it legal to just put fireworks on a raft at any given river or lake and shoot fireworks? Or did you get permits to do so? do you have to contact with River and/or lake Jurisdiction?
I know land its hard sometimes to shoot on. show looked good for first time.

[displayfireworks1]

I don't think the post gets any better than this. You covered it all, thank you for sharing it on the forums. I think Ray from wfboom will really enjoy this. You did a great job, those people on that lake must really enjoy the show you put on for them. I don't see the system you used. Was it the Cobra or something else? I can tell you spent a lot of time putting this together. How did you broadcast the music and synchronize it to the display? This reminds me of my old Fireworks on the Lake videos.

[pistolus]

Very nice job.. Done very professionally for a consumer show.

[Wholesale Fireworks]

WOW what a great show. I hope you don't mind but I had to share this on our Facebook page. Thank you again for the opportunity to supply you with product this year. We definitely would have loved to have been at this show.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I humbly bow in your general direction Sir! That was most impressive. Most impressive indeed!!

I wasn't keeping count, but I tried to look up the fireworks on the WF Boom site as I saw them listed in your video, and I was struck by the fact that your show at least appeared to be very 200G heavy. Was this actually the case? If so, it proves you don't need to buy tons of 500G cakes to put together a really REALLY nice show!

I've already put together a list of 20 different types of 200G cakes that I'm looking at for next years show. The list would total 284 individual cakes. For comparison sake, I had exactly 1 case of twenty four 200G cakes this year. So I must admit you folks have opened my eyes quite a bit to the possibilities with the smaller cakes. Definitely stretches the fireworks budget quite a bit further too!! If I buy everything on my current list (including the 16 cases of 500G cakes I consider "must have items" (51 individual pieces), I would wind up paying 50% more than I did this year for 3.5 times what I got this year!! And I'd probably have a much nicer show!!

I'm going to have to give this one some serious consideration... That leaves plenty of head space to buy more mortars for the finale!!! :cool:

Once again... My hat's off to you Sir! Very well done.

P.S. As a side note... I'm a huge Star Wars fan!! I was actually in a "stage band" in High School and we played the Star War medley for our final show in 1978. I played the trombone and the "Princess Lea's Theme" solo was mine!! Never saw notes so high, but I crushed it!! lol... Those were the days....

[Bazerk]

I humbly bow in your general direction Sir! That was most impressive. Most impressive indeed!!

I wasn't keeping count, but I tried to look up the fireworks on the WF Boom site as I saw them listed in your video, and I was struck by the fact that your show at least appeared to be very 200G heavy. Was this actually the case? If so, it proves you don't need to buy tons of 500G cakes to put together a really REALLY nice show!

I've already put together a list of 20 different types of 200G cakes that I'm looking at for next years show. The list would total 284 individual cakes. For comparison sake, I had exactly 1 case of twenty four 200G cakes this year. So I must admit you folks have opened my eyes quite a bit to the possibilities with the smaller cakes. Definitely stretches the fireworks budget quite a bit further too!! If I bought everything on my current list (including the 16 cases of 500G cakes I consider "must have items" (51 individual pieces), I would wind up paying 50% more than I did this year for 3.5 times what I got this year!! And I'd probably have a much nicer show!!

I'm going to have to give this one some serious consideration... That leaves plenty of head space to buy more mortars for the finale!!! :cool:

Once again... My hat's off to you Sir! Very well done.

Remember if you order in February with wfboom, you will get an additional 40% off if you order $1200 or more. Now thats some extra headroom right there.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Dude...that was cool as hell!!!! I would have paid money to see that in person

Don't these guys make your brain bleed with this stuff!! OMG... It's all I can do to get my stuff to light without having huge gaps. These guys are putting their stuff to music!!

That video alone must have taken hours and hours to put together!! Very humbling experience to be associated with people of this caliber on this site. I can't think of a better place to be to learn this stuff.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Remember if you order in February with wfboom, you will get an additional 40% off if you order $1200 or more. Now thats some extra headroom right there.

Yes Sir! I always order from their sister store, Patriotic Fireworks, in March for that very same 40% discount. However, last year they didn't have 75% of what I initially ordered. Not their fault, the boat just never delivered their orders.

So I think I'm going to try WF Boom this February. My wish list is already up to $3300, so I think I'm good for the 40%. lol... Not sure how I'm going to hire an attorney for the divorce proceedings once the wife finds out! But that's a matter for another day. :cool:

[Crab107]

I humbly bow in your general direction Sir! That was most impressive. Most impressive indeed!!

I wasn't keeping count, but I tried to look up the fireworks on the WF Boom site as I saw them listed in your video, and I was struck by the fact that your show at least appeared to be very 200G heavy. Was this actually the case? If so, it proves you don't need to buy tons of 500G cakes to put together a really REALLY nice show!

I've already put together a list of 20 different types of 200G cakes that I'm looking at for next years show. The list would total 284 individual cakes. For comparison sake, I had exactly 1 case of twenty four 200G cakes this year. So I must admit you folks have opened my eyes quite a bit to the possibilities with the smaller cakes. Definitely stretches the fireworks budget quite a bit further too!! If I buy everything on my current list (including the 16 cases of 500G cakes I consider "must have items" (51 individual pieces), I would wind up paying 50% more than I did this year for 3.5 times what I got this year!! And I'd probably have a much nicer show!!

I'm going to have to give this one some serious consideration... That leaves plenty of head space to buy more mortars for the finale!!! :cool:

Once again... My hat's off to you Sir! Very well done.

P.S. As a side note... I'm a huge Star Wars fan!! I was actually in a "stage band" in High School and we played the Star War medley for our final show in 1978. I played the trombone and the "Princess Lea's Theme" solo was mine!! Never saw notes so high, but I crushed it!! lol... Those were the days....

STAR WARS all the way right here my friend. When i heard that opening theme i was like...awe no way man...HONEY COME WATCH THIS!!!!! LOL

[kinterke]

I don't think the post gets any better than this. You covered it all, thank you for sharing it on the forums. I think Ray from wfboom will really enjoy this. You did a great job, those people on that lake must really enjoy the show you put on for them. I don't see the system you used. Was it the Cobra or something else? I can tell you spent a lot of time putting this together. How did you broadcast the music and synchronize it to the display? This reminds me of my old Fireworks on the Lake videos.

I use two sequencefire systems. One is a 40 queue and one is a 32 queue. The first is trigger via RF command, and the second is triggered from the first. As for timing, this is manual. If you want the countdown at the beginning, on "one", you see two comets go. This is when I trigger the show, and the comets let me know it received the command.

[kinterke]

Don't these guys make your brain bleed with this stuff!! OMG... It's all I can do to get my stuff to light without having huge gaps. These guys are putting their stuff to music!!

That video alone must have taken hours and hours to put together!! Very humbling experience to be associated with people of this caliber on this site. I can't think of a better place to be to learn this stuff.

The part that took the most time was watching the wfboom videos, and creating the simulated cake from scratch. Each cake took 30-60 minutes. But now that I have them, next years show will be much easier to do. I need to tweak the timing on some of the cakes to what they actually did in the show, but I will never get them exact as they will likely vary from year to year.

[Crab107]

The part that took the most time was watching the wfboom videos, and creating the simulated cake from scratch. Each cake took 30-60 minutes. But now that I have them, next years show will be much easier to do. I need to tweak the timing on some of the cakes to what they actually did in the show, but I will never get them exact as they will likely vary from year to year.

What kind of software was that?? How did you duplicate the cakes on computer??

[kinterke]

It is called FWSim. It costs about $30, but really helps to put queues right where you need them in respect to the music. If you are buying wfboom cakes, I have quite a bit of them created, and you can just tweak them. Let me know if anyone is interested.

[kinterke]

One more note. If you don't have time to watch the whole video, start watching at the 15 minute mark. Most of the timing (and finale) is to the last song. You can see what I wanted it to look like, and what it actually ended up looking like.

A couple other interesting cake combinations if interested:
10:50 - combination of Cascade and Gold Dust (one of my favorites)
19:02 - 3 Cascade Cakes fast fused to shoot all at once. (pretty cool effect)

[displayfireworks1]

You spent 30 to 60 minutes creating a simulation of each wfboom cake. You spent a large amount of time on this display for sure. I am going to have to look in my Finale Fireworks inventory to see if it contains the wfboom products.
I keep telling my advertisers to create exactly what you just did and sell it as a prepackaged display. So far Spirit of 76 is the only one I see doing it. One of my recent survey questions was about the amount of time enthusiast spent watching the videos and planning out their July 4th displays.
Let me get your opinion on something since you watched many videos in preparation for this.
1. Do you like the current way distributors post internet video, that is, each product is posted as a single short video, and you click to each individual product to view it.
2. You would like to see all the product one right after the other as one continuous lengthy video , moving the slider to each product as you desire to view it.
.
Both of these assumes both video identify each product. What is your opinion on the video choices?

[Crab107]

It is called FWSim. It costs about $30, but really helps to put queues right where you need them in respect to the music. If you are buying wfboom cakes, I have quite a bit of them created, and you can just tweak them. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Thanks. Im in no way ready for anything that professional but i really would like to try...lol..i just put on my first fused show on the 4th and planning another for labor day. And as rick said...i humbly bow sir:))) I mean that show was killer buddy. Thanks for sharing it!!

[Bazerk]

You spent 30 to 60 minutes creating a simulation of each wfboom cake. You spent a large amount of time on this display for sure. I am going to have to look in my Finale Fireworks inventory to see if it contains the wfboom products.
I keep telling my advertisers to create exactly what you just did and sell it as a prepackaged display. So far Spirit of 76 is the only one I see doing it. One of my recent survey questions was about the amount of time enthusiast spent watching the videos and planning out their July 4th displays.
Let me get your opinion on something since you watched many videos in preparation for this.
1. Do you like the current way distributors post internet video, that is, each product is posted as a single short video, and you click to each individual product to view it.
2. You would like to see all the product one right after the other as one continuous lengthy video , moving the slider to each product as you desire to view it.
.
Both of these assumes both video identify each product. What is your opinion on the video choices?

Not that you were asking me, but I would prefer click on an item and watch a video. Definitely not one long video.

[kinterke]

I just added up what I paid for each item used. It came to ~$825.

Now keep in mind that I had to purchase more than used in many cases, and there was shipping on top of the cake price.

[kinterke]

I don't mind the individual videos, and would be ok with either. What is really needed is to be able to compare each cake's size and height. Videos need to be taken from the same distance and vantage point. So if this means going to one long video, I am all for it.

[displayfireworks1]

Yes, please anyone can answer. the criteria is you spend a lot of time watching the videos in preparation for your display. Most distributors follow the same format. A single product video , each video starts with a roll in of their brand name and ends with it. I don't really watch all those videos , I am trying to find out is the way they all seem to do it the best way for those that spend time watching and planning. Would anyone recommend any changes? Is there a better way?

[Bazerk]

Yes, please anyone can answer. the criteria is you spend a lot of time watching the videos in preparation for your display. Most distributors follow the same format. A single product video , each video starts with a roll in of their brand name and ends with it. I don't really watch all those videos , I am trying to find out is the way they all seem to do it the best way for those that spend time watching and planning. Would anyone recommend any changes? Is there a better way?

Spirit of 76 is on the right track with that app. Short videos of decent quality would be the best thing to do. By short, I mean put the product name on the bottom of the screen during the performance of the item. Simple. Also, another beautiful thing would be to have a downloadable folder of all product videos so people can view them no matter where they are without an internet connection as well. I put all of the product videos on my home server and stream them through my apple TV so I can watch them on my couch on the big screen. Then the wife can be a part of selecting the products for the year. Kids also like to pick some.

[chriskrc]

Yes, please anyone can answer. the criteria is you spend a lot of time watching the videos in preparation for your display. Most distributors follow the same format. A single product video , each video starts with a roll in of their brand name and ends with it. I don't really watch all those videos , I am trying to find out is the way they all seem to do it the best way for those that spend time watching and planning. Would anyone recommend any changes? Is there a better way?

Yes I watch the videos of the products and then re-watch them many times to see where to put them in the display. Now I think the program is gonna be the way to go.

Awesome display by the way. Truly awesome.

[Crab107]

Not that you were asking me, but I would prefer click on an item and watch a video. Definitely not one long video.

Im with bazerk..i know im new and just starting..no clue what im talking about..BUT for the regular joe consumer maybe trying to plan a small show..1 click short video is nice..as long as its the full burn time.

[displayfireworks1]

Now that I look at this thread I probably should have started that video question on a new thread. We can't lose track at the level of detail and work he put into this display. He did it for under $1000.00 . It is impressive. Its great for me to see all this level of advancement at the Consumer Fireworks level.

[Crab107]

You hijacked his thread...lol..kidding:)

[Westpapyro]

Kinterke could you send me those sims you made! I'll pm my email address.
Chuck

[Rick_In_Tampa]

The part that took the most time was watching the wfboom videos, and creating the simulated cake from scratch. Each cake took 30-60 minutes. But now that I have them, next years show will be much easier to do. I need to tweak the timing on some of the cakes to what they actually did in the show, but I will never get them exact as they will likely vary from year to year.

So you created the simulated cake effects?? Holy crap... I thought that was something you downloaded from somewhere or your firing system had pre-loaded. Are you a graphic artist per chance? You should get with the WF Boom people and see if you can't market those graphics through them for people with similar systems.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I don't mind the individual videos, and would be ok with either. What is really needed is to be able to compare each cake's size and height. Videos need to be taken from the same distance and vantage point. So if this means going to one long video, I am all for it.

Exactly right. I want to see what it's going to look like from the ground level. When the video is zoomed in on the breaks in the air only, you can't tell how high the shells launch, how big the breaks really are, or how much of the sky the thing really fills up. For me, that makes the video essentially useless.

I bought La Dolce Vita this year and used it as part of my pre-finale. The cake was a HUGE disappointment. Looked nothing like it did in the online video.

By the way... I'm all for individual videos. Weeding through one run-on video is aggravating in the extreme.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Let me get your opinion on something since you watched many videos in preparation for this.
1. Do you like the current way distributors post internet video, that is, each product is posted as a single short video, and you click to each individual product to view it.
2. You would like to see all the product one right after the other as one continuous lengthy video , moving the slider to each product as you desire to view it.


Single short videos all the way!!! I spend WEEKS and countless numbers of hours watching videos before I place my order. WF Boom has it exactly right as far as I'm concerned. I don't have the time or patience to play slider games with 2 hour videos searching for the exact footage of the exact cake(s) I'm considering buying.

[kinterke]

So you created the simulated cake effects?? Holy crap... I thought that was something you downloaded from somewhere or your firing system had pre-loaded. Are you a graphic artist per chance? You should get with the WF Boom people and see if you can't market those graphics through them for people with similar systems.

Before anyone gets too carried away, I did create these simulations, but I created them using the effects already provided by FWSim software. The majority of the work was defining each break, adding the number of breaks, and using the videos to create the timing. I didn't create these from scratch.

Also, you will need the FWSim software to use my simulations. The software is around $30.

Ken

[PGH_Pyro]

experimentation makes for good pyro displays. try this. try that . etc etc etc .

[esgrillo]

Great stuff!