Trying to find my style

[PGHBoom]

I have only done two backyard shows of seven minutes or more and have yet to find a style I really like. I played with filling the sky with a pause between cakes. I looked into mixing cakes (2 or 3 at a time). I have watched videos of total sky puke and shows that have long pauses between effects. I just got done watching a video from Spirit of 76 (for the 5th time) of their 10 minute show and I really liked it. I like the pace, color, size of breaks and the fact that it it made up primarily of assortment packages. My question to you is, do you have a style and how did you come up with it? What do you think about when you are planing your next big show? What is your pace? How do you determine length of show?

[PGH_Pyro]

my style is maximizing what I have to work with ... don't have to have non-stop "sky-puke" and stuff popping off ... pauses and accents, like music ...
i'm a fan of multiples of each item, when possible with budget and clearance ... nice effect if you can get them to go simultaneously ...
and the more whistles and obnoxious crackle, the better...

[Bazerk]

My style is starting with smaller cakes (200g) multiples at a time and then working into single 500g cakes. I hit them, in bursts sot he crowd has a chance to react to what they just saw. I get into multiple 500g cakes simultaneously and then roll into a progressive finale. By that I mean I start the finale with one cake and start adding more and more cakes based on timing so they all build up and end at the same time. This year is the first time I did it and I think it turned out great. I will continue to do this going forward. The next step I will attempt is a pyro musical. Keep on keeping on and you will be where you want to be. Here is my 4th of July, maybe you will like it, maybe you will hate it. Maybe there is something in there that you like or gives you an idea. If you have any questions, feel free to ask bud.

https://youtu.be/UyU1D60HTZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU1D60HTZ0&feature=youtu.be

[chriskrc]

I start with 200g cakes just as Bazerk does but I throw in some shells with them to give some different height of effects. I actually do this quite often through a show and everyone seems to like that quite a bit. Multiple 500g cakes together and at times a 500g cake with some shells thrown up to do something different especially with fan cakes. Then hit a heavy finale and call it show.

Just keep trying new things and the crowds reaction will let you know what's working well.

[Westpapyro]

I try to take the opposite position! After some of you less experienced guys and girls shoot a venue over and over, I hope you will learn not to have a certain style. Learn and try to mix it up, shoot to music you wouldn't normally shoot too or add an effect that maybe you don't really like but others may love?
Of course some pyro's have their go to effect but I would say to all of you mix it up with different styles once in a while. Don't get in that boring schedule of strobes, fountains, 200gram, 500gram, final!
Have fun and try different things.
Just my humble opinion.
Chuck

[Crab107]

I like this post guys. Ive been thinking of a style as well. Ive only done one show with my cobra so im very new as most of you know. When i think of my style..i think of symmetry. I like the idea of 3 fronts and firing 2 of the same cake on right and left and a different cake in the middle..sounds kind of lame i guess but i want it to look symmetrical. I mean i think with the right choice of cakes and colors it could look real nice

[Bazerk]

I like this post guys. Ive been thinking of a style as well. Ive only done one show with my cobra so im very new as most of you know. When i think of my style..i think of symmetry. I like the idea of 3 fronts and firing 2 of the same cake on right and left and a different cake in the middle..sounds kind of lame i guess but i want it to look symmetrical. I mean i think with the right choice of cakes and colors it could look real nice

This is what I did in the video above.

[cmalloy513]

As Dave once said in one of his videos, the crowd always remembers the opener and the finale. I start with 2 zipper cakes facing opposite ways and 4-6 200g cakes. Then I go into the body of the show mixing up different effects and doing some layering of 500g and 200g usually pausing every 3-4 minutes for applause and such. Then toward the end I hit 6-8 200g cakes with 1 or 2 500g cakes as a pre-finally. Then I do a long pause getting the crowd to think that it's over and hit my finale which consists of 150 canisters all fast fused which go up in about 15-25 seconds. I make sure they never forget it.

[PGHBoom]

I'm with Crab107. The 2 & 1 system can give you a unique combination of colors, breaks and maybe elevations. I also agree with Westpapyro that you don't want to be predictable in your show. I am trying to do one show with all the same retailers product (WFBoom) and the next show with all Phantom. If I can get off my dead ass and apply for my Type 54 licence I could add more retailers. I like this idea because if the video comes out nice, I can give all credit to one supplier while highlighting only their product.

[Pyro Paul]

I don't know about the rest of you guys but I always incorporate music into my private shows. Not a pyromusical but patriotic music on the 4th enhances the show and gives it meaning. Somehow no matter how I set it up the fireworks always seem to go with it. I've had friends ask me how I got it to do that and I just have to laugh. This coming 4th however I am going to attempt 3 mini pyromusicals into the rest of the "show". At any rate, I know when I started playing the music during the fireworks it definately perked up the interest of everyone that came to see and the compliments were freely given afterwards. On a side note, one of the best fireworks shows I put on according to those that were there, was actually a horrifying experience for me as I watched a 30 min show go up in 12 minutes due to some bad fuse I purchased that took fire way to easily and at one point I watched as one long fuse was burning in 4 places. It was intense but all I could see was everything not going according to plan, a plan that I had carefully and painstakingly laid out and executed. All everyone else seen was an awesome fireworks display and they still talk about it every year. Sometimes the best things come about by accident...

[PGH_Pyro]

yeah, one does not have to sync music to their pyro cues in a tightly anal retentive pyro-musical style show... one can just have some high-energy background music playing over a P.A. system and it's still a cool aesthetic...