Body vs. Finale

[BMoore]

Looking for some advice. What percentage of your shows are finale vs. body? I'm a shell junkie and I'll usually have around 200 shells in racks as the main body of my show that I handlight either singularly or in flights of 2 or 3. I generally don't put cakes in the body since I'm not a fan of the mini-finale built into most cakes making the pace too inconsistent in my opinion. For the finale, I typically use 5-6 cases of cakes (mix of 500g and 200g for multi layer effect) followed by a pair of Z-Cakes followed by another 50 or show shells. I was watching a video of my show last year and the body of the show lasted about 12 minutes (200 shells) and the finale lasted 195 seconds (approx. 900 shots + another 400 Z cake shots).

Question is, is that too much finale? Everyone enjoys the finale and it looks great, but it is it too much in proportion to the body? Obviously I could move some cakes into the body of the show, but barring that, would I actually be better off cutting back on the amount of product?

[RalphieJ]

"Enough is enough, but too much spoils." By asking the question, it appears that you already know the answer. You could do what Garden State Fireworks does at their weekly shows on the Jersey Shore: Each show has 2 false finales. Very effective crowd pleaser, fooled into thinking it's over. The real finale is bigger of course.

[MontanaMike]

I love to put a bunch of cakes together - the mini finales in them don't bug me, but I can see your point. I like to mix cakes, such as putting a few NOABs in tandem with some that do comets or mines.

I usually make the finale out of mostly shells, with maybe one or two zipper cakes thrown in for a real sky puke in the last few seconds.

In the end it's whatever floats your own boat. (I don't think "cutting back on the amount of product" is ever a good idea, unless you have budget problems!)

[Robbro097]

Im a believer that a finale cant be too big, but thats me.

[BMoore]

I guess a related question, assuming I don't have too much product in the finale, is the duration. Last year I timed it at 195 seconds or 3 minutes 25 seconds. Is that too long for a finale? I generally start off with just two cakes and as they are finishing, hit 4 cakes, then half way through those hit 4 more etc to build it up. Once all cakes are done, I'll fire the Z-Cakes. Once those are done I'll hit the final shells. Would I be better off speeding it up and putting more product in the air at once? The more I think about it, I think that's really my concern. Its not so much the product, it's the duration. Is a 3+ minute finale too much for a 15 minute total show?

[Robbro097]

I think the most important is you and your audience if you/them like it then its not broke and doesnt need fixing every1 has theyr own way they like to do it im a bombs away kind guy if i could make the whole show a finale with a few down time to highlight specific effects id do it like that lol. My 4th show was around 19min total with only about a 90sec finale of as much as i could put in the air finale about 17:40
https://youtu.be/QZ9OOw9v23U

[Jay_]

To me, the key to a good finale is that it starts off strong, scales down a bit, and then ends with a fury with a nice crisp end.

Last year, my finale was a little over a minute (17 minute show) but I felt like it was strong. I think anytime you can get your entire audience to collectively ooh and aah at the same time, I think you nailed it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g1GyfzrA8R0

My punctuation mark was ripping off 2 Dominator instant crackle cakes at the end of my finale last year.

This year, my show will be 22 minutes and my finale will be just under 3 minutes with the punctuation mark being 200 salutes sent up simultaneously.

In the end, you are person that is spending thousands of dollars on your show. If you are satisfied with your finale, it was a success.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I generally start off with just two cakes and as they are finishing, hit 4 cakes, then half way through those hit 4 more etc to build it up. Once all cakes are done, I'll fire the Z-Cakes. Once those are done I'll hit the final shells. Is a 3+ minute finale too much for a 15 minute total show?

This is pretty much how I do my show finale. I start out with 4 cakes. Half way through those, I start 4 more cakes. Half way through I start 4 cakes. Then 8 cakes. Then 8 more. Then 8 more. Then I light 236 mortars. Everything overlaps so at the end there's a ton of sky puke. The punctuation mark at the end are 3 fan slices. It's all done to music of course. I don't think 3 min is too long for a 15 min show.

[Kenny East]

No such thing as too much finale... I tend to avoid cakes ending a finale... One of two random shots at the end bug me. I may start with a bunch of cakes then fire a bunch of shells. Last big show I did, the last shell up was one random horse tail shell that came in an assortment... Unique ending for sure.

My show typically will be around 15 minutes, 1 for a loud/big opener... 9-10 for body... Around 5 for the finale. Show speeds have increased since getting more involved with efiring. Used to shoot for around an hour, one to two cakes or shells at a time.

[BMoore]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm now encouraged that maybe I'm doing it right! I was really worried that having 200 shots in the body and probably over a 1,000 shots in the finale was overkill (although you can't really compare small cake shots to shells). My wife (who is very supportive of my hobby) also gives me weird looks when I tell her that 3/4 of my show budget goes up in about the last 2 minutes.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

My wife (who is very supportive of my hobby) also gives me weird looks when I tell her that 3/4 of my show budget goes up in about the last 2 minutes.

Ahhhh ha! See. That's where you're going wrong. Never let them know how much it costs!

My wife and I have an agreement about my hobbies. She doesn't ask how much I spend, and I won't lie to her.

So far, so good. :cool:

[joewad]

Ahhhh ha! See. That's where you're going wrong. Never let them know how much it costs!

My wife and I have an agreement about my hobbies. She doesn't ask how much I spend, and I won't lie to her.

So far, so good. :cool:

I always make sure we have the Hallmark Channel on one of our premium satellite channels. That's always a good buffer.

[RalphieJ]

Here's my method for a financially happy marriage: Let her spend all of what she makes, and half of yours! 49 years and counting.....

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Here's my method for a financially happy marriage: Let her spend all of what she makes, and half of yours! 49 years and counting.....

Wow... 49 years is quite an achievement. Congrats to you both!!

As for your advice, I'd say you're spot on. I have never asked her for a dime of what she makes, and she's pretty good at spending what I make. lol... So I'd say you're definitely on to something there.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I always make sure we have the Hallmark Channel on one of our premium satellite channels. That's always a good buffer.

OMG.... I am STILL watching Christmas movies!! It's ridiculous...

[morrison2951]

I like to mix 200g cakes in with 500g cakes and shells for a nice layered effect finale.