Pre-ordering advice, the game board has been flipped up

[DavidthePyro]

I've gotten some word here and there of some sellers not offering pre-orders due to the degree of uncertainty on product that will make it here. Ive seen anywhere from 20-30%+ of their containers can be expected to not make it here, depending on the wholesaler. Given this, it completely changes how I will have to approach planning. Quite frankly I'm not sure where to begin-- do I plan as normal or do I scrub that, set a cut off date for ordering as product becomes available and leave my planning to the last month or so before the 4th? If I plan as normal, do I have a substitute in addition to a second tier of substitutes? The plan for the worst in me is just lost. Any advice would be appreciated. Theres probably a lot im not considering. Thanks in advance, everyone

[PyroFL]

Well I’ve set up a back up for my back up to back up to my other back up.

I’ve made agreement with local wholesaler as there not sure what they will get in and not to pay until they get there order in but have only pre-ordered for what they hope will come in with no payment down.

Next I ordered my pro 1.4 items and ill have them next week which is mostly for my timing to music.

After I made first pre-order with not paying. I called my other supplier and offered to buy a gift card for $X,XXX to save a spot in line for when there shipment comes in which they declined and said am already on the list and it wasn’t necessary.

I also spoken to one of the local club members and got another firework line on 1.4

Then my last backup I know the local Phantom managers and I will get a call when fresh stock comes in. (Stopping by from time to time with Starbucks helps)

So my answer would be network network network

[Rick_In_Tampa]

If you haven't already placed you're order, you're already behind. Get on one (or more!) of Dave's sponsor's sites and pick out what you like that they have in stock and BUY IT NOW! The rule this year will be, you snooze, you lose!

If one vendor doesn't have everything you want, find another vendor and buy more. Rinse and repeat until you have everything you need/want for your show.

[PyroFL]

100% agree with Rick

If you wait too long Phantom will be your last option and you’ll be paying for it ... order now

Only down side is prices went up on average 15-20% 5 days ago

There is a company that’s bringing in stuff up from
South America but it’s all 1.3g and no 1.4

If you need those details let me know

Goes back to networking

[displayfireworks1]

It will be interesting to see where the 1.3 market goes this year. With all of the display companies doing limited displays, where is all of that 1.3 product going? Imagine being in the display business and planning for this July 4th. Will it be the same as last year with no displays or will the country suddenly open up and July 4th 1.3 displays everywhere. How do you plan and order for that? What happens if you order too much and do not have enough storage? What happens if you order too little and can't meet demand?
.
On a side note . don't assume that 1.3 product from South America is going to be the same quality and complexity of the 1.3 stuff from China. The little bit of stuff I see from South America, the Consumer Fireworks items seem more interesting than the 1.3 items. Things may have changed over the years in South America I do know. Perhaps it may be the new emerging market for importation into United States.
.
My first NEW Displayfireworks1 2021 product will be dropping within two weeks in Ohio. I have multiple new product right behind that one. Plus continuation of all my ones from prior years. I am hoping my stuff makes it prior to July 4th also. My prediction of the Consumer purchasing of July 4th fireworks will be as big as last year. With the slow pace of the vaccine roll-out and limitation on mass gatherings , we are going to need at least 6 months or longer of a drop in COVID numbers before carnivals , festivals and city and town mass gathering are permitted that are typically associated with 1.3 fireworks displays.

[specialfxpyro]

I've gotten some word here and there of some sellers not offering pre-orders due to the degree of uncertainty on product that will make it here. Ive seen anywhere from 20-30%+ of their containers can be expected to not make it here, depending on the wholesaler. Given this, it completely changes how I will have to approach planning. Quite frankly I'm not sure where to begin-- do I plan as normal or do I scrub that, set a cut off date for ordering as product becomes available and leave my planning to the last month or so before the 4th? If I plan as normal, do I have a substitute in addition to a second tier of substitutes? The plan for the worst in me is just lost. Any advice would be appreciated. Theres probably a lot im not considering. Thanks in advance, everyone



Things may change but all I'm hearing is that wholesale will only be offered to big spenders by some vendors and prices are going up a lot.

Networking is always a great way to increase your chances of getting what you want. However the buyers who understand the current situation won't be in a rush to tell others where they can buy product. I expect the bootleggers to buy everything they can get there hands on after what they saw last season. Also there is shift with some display companies using 1.4 in smaller shows. So the wholesale buyer who spends $1k - $5k a year will be competing for limited inventory like never before. Wholesalers who sell retail will hold on to more product for retail customers.

Getting creative with whatever fireworks you can get could be your best option.

Firework hobbyist seem to get obsessed with choreographed pyromusicals. No matter if it's 1.3 or 1.4, a public audience at professional show or friends and family in the backyard. Your audience simply does not understand the difference between fireworks shot with music or fireworks shot to music. You don't need 7,9 or 11 positions, fancy comet and mines sequences or epic music to impress an audience. An opener, the body and the finale, use songs everyone knows (except thunderstruck and hello darkness my old friend...lol) and they will love it.

[specialfxpyro]

It will be interesting to see where the 1.3 market goes this year. With all of the display companies doing limited displays, where is all of that 1.3 product going? Imagine being in the display business and planning for this July 4th. Will it be the same as last year with no displays or will the country suddenly open up and July 4th 1.3 displays everywhere. How do you plan and order for that? What happens if you order too much and do not have enough storage? What happens if you order too little and can't meet demand?
.
On a side note . don't assume that 1.3 product from South America is going to be the same quality and complexity of the 1.3 stuff from China. The little bit of stuff I see from South America, the Consumer Fireworks items seem more interesting than the 1.3 items. Things may have changed over the years in South America I do know. Perhaps it may be the new emerging market for importation into United States.
.
My first NEW Displayfireworks1 2021 product will be dropping within two weeks in Ohio. I have multiple new product right behind that one. Plus continuation of all my ones from prior years. I am hoping my stuff makes it prior to July 4th also. My prediction of the Consumer purchasing of July 4th fireworks will be as big as last year. With the slow pace of the vaccine roll-out and limitation on mass gatherings , we are going to need at least 6 months or longer of a drop in COVID numbers before carnivals , festivals and city and town mass gathering are permitted that are typically associated with 1.3 fireworks displays.

Display company customers are planning on doing shows. I've already been asked to shoot more 1.3 shows this upcoming season than any previous season. Shows are being booked and some smaller and mid size companies are already booked up around the 4th and turning down shows.

Covid didn't stop everyone last year in spite of in PA, NJ,DE and MD.

If the number of shows approaches anything near normal the biggest problem will be a shortage of shooters.

We still have 90% of last year's 1.3 inventory, I haven't heard of any expected shortages of 1.3 in this area.

With potential 1.4 shortages, big price increases it's a good time for some 1.4 guys to make the jump to 1.3.

[PyroFL]

You need to come speak to my HOA board members and tell them we don’t need all this extra extra ... LOL

People have been pushing a pyro-musical for 3 years and I just caved in this year. I was hoping the extra cost to do it would scare them off but it didn’t work. They didn’t seem to worried about the extra work (me) that would be needed.

Tampa Rick has offered to help me as this is my first one so that will be huge help getting input I know nothing about.

[displayfireworks1]

As far as 1.3 professional displays getting booked. Getting booked does not necessarily mean getting fired. I'm sure the sponsors of these displays are placing contingencies on these contracts to get their money back if there are event restriction again this year. The vaccine roll out needs to speed up and so does the fireworks roll out from China. LOL The test will be how Memorial Day will be handled . If there are restrictions on Memorial Day it will be the same for July 4th.

[DavidthePyro]

Rick, thanks for making me panic a little, hahahaha

Dave, sounds like you know who I go to for wholesale, as they are very big in the 1.3 display sector.

I think I have a good plan. Im using last year as a template. Im going to make some changes of course. Im going to have 4 options for each cue/slot and I will get whatever comes in first. Im going to find out more about what I can expect in terms of volume in each shipment and such, then I will set my cut off date. In addition, last year I did all 500G cakes and canister shells but this year I will probably add some 200G in addition/in place of some items to control cost. Part of me wants to really blow last year out of the water, as that has been the result every year since im still a young man with only 8 yrs of experience. But the wiser thing may be to set a budget, enjoy it, and hope for better days, such as shipping fees being waived or something along those lines.

Lastly, I got my product list for the wholesaler I buy most of my product from, and about 95%+ is unavailable, so my best bet will probably be to stay in contact and take advantage of preordering from containers once they're confirmed to hit the water

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Lol.. I prefer the word, "motivate." :cool:

[DavidthePyro]

Things may change but all I'm hearing is that wholesale will only be offered to big spenders by some vendors and prices are going up a lot.

Networking is always a great way to increase your chances of getting what you want. However the buyers who understand the current situation won't be in a rush to tell others where they can buy product. I expect the bootleggers to buy everything they can get there hands on after what they saw last season. Also there is shift with some display companies using 1.4 in smaller shows. So the wholesale buyer who spends $1k - $5k a year will be competing for limited inventory like never before. Wholesalers who sell retail will hold on to more product for retail customers.

Getting creative with whatever fireworks you can get could be your best option.

Firework hobbyist seem to get obsessed with choreographed pyromusicals. No matter if it's 1.3 or 1.4, a public audience at professional show or friends and family in the backyard. Your audience simply does not understand the difference between fireworks shot with music or fireworks shot to music. You don't need 7,9 or 11 positions, fancy comet and mines sequences or epic music to impress an audience. An opener, the body and the finale, use songs everyone knows (except thunderstruck and hello darkness my old friend...lol) and they will love it.

Last year I had a pretty simple 3 position setup, with an additional 3 positions for the fake and real finale. Set it to music, kept it simple. It was 109 500 gram cakes and 600 shells in various racks. I used some passfiring to keep cakes closer timed and didn't have more than 3 cakes on a cue, or 2 cakes and a rack on a cue. Electronically fired with 2 remotes, 1 person per remote and 1 person calling the remote, bank, and cue number. Every year has a learning curve since I'm always doing new to me strategies. This year I plan to take last year, use the same strategies in all aspects and refine them. That may change in ways though too, we will see.

[specialfxpyro]

Last year I had a pretty simple 3 position setup, with an additional 3 positions for the fake and real finale. Set it to music, kept it simple. It was 109 500 gram cakes and 600 shells in various racks. I used some passfiring to keep cakes closer timed and didn't have more than 3 cakes on a cue, or 2 cakes and a rack on a cue. Electronically fired with 2 remotes, 1 person per remote and 1 person calling the remote, bank, and cue number. Every year has a learning curve since I'm always doing new to me strategies. This year I plan to take last year, use the same strategies in all aspects and refine them. That may change in ways though too, we will see.

Dave one of the companies I shoot almost exclusively shoots 1.3 pyromusicals. They use high quality fireworks and the show designer is very talented. 4 or 5 of the bigger shows I have worked on for years. Most of the same audience members comes out every year. Before the show starts I take a seat in the public audience and strike up conversations with them. On all of the 4 or 5 shows after years of sitting with the public heres what I learned.

1. Most of them have no idea they are watching a scripted pyromusical, even after watching the shows for years.

2. The only thing they remember from last year's pyromusical is the fuel mines (Big fireballs).

3. They don't like the slow songs segments every show designer feels obligated to include, which usually has the same effects like horsetails or ground strobes or falling leaves....boring. The ooos and ahhhs stop and you can hear conversations start up in the audience. Honestly I never met a single non pyro person who likes ground strobes (lamest firework ever IMO) or colored flame pots. However they are effective ways of smoking out your low level effects like mines and comets on a hot humid night with little wind.

4. Most don't like heavy metal or obscure songs. They prefer music they know the words to. Yeah I'm sure someone will chime in about a heavy metal pyromusical that everyone loved, but most non pyro people I talk to prefer pop, patriotic or some rock tunes. Shoot some red, white and blue fireworks to James Brown's living in America and listen to the audiences reaction.....they love it. Works every time.


Some 1.4 tricks I've used effectively, based on audience reaction.

Shooting a 1.4 cake in reverse makes for a good opener since it starts with the finale barrage most cakes have. Fusing the last tube of cake in to the first tube of the next cake to be shot saves cues if e firing. A cake like Neon Butterfly by raccoon is more effective if each row is e matched individually and fired at different times in the show. I consider any angled 25 shot cake that shoots 5 shots at a time as 5 fan slices in a box. 5 or 6 25 shot 200 gram cakes lined up perpendicular to the audience and fired 1 - 5 seconds apart makes for a great finale vs. racks of expensive shells. Mortar shells are better shot in flights of 2 or 3 between 500 gram cakes during the show. I ematch the last 3 or 5 shots of any cake that has crackle so they can all be shot at once for a kick ass crackle segment. Watching 20 or 100 cakes during a show that have crackle in the finale barrage is boring. But when you isolate those 20 or 100 cake's crackle finale and shoot them together, it gets a big cheer from the audience. I'm not a fan of "layering" the sky, the eye is instinctively drawn to the biggest breaks and the low level stuff is pretty much wasted.

[Arles]

Dave one of the companies I shoot almost exclusively shoots 1.3 pyromusicals. They use high quality fireworks and the show designer is very talented. 4 or 5 of the bigger shows I have worked on for years. Most of the same audience members comes out every year. Before the show starts I take a seat in the public audience and strike up conversations with them. On all of the 4 or 5 shows after years of sitting with the public heres what I learned.

1. Most of them have no idea they are watching a scripted pyromusical, even after watching the shows for years.

2. The only thing they remember from last year's pyromusical is the fuel mines (Big fireballs).

3. They don't like the slow songs segments every show designer feels obligated to include, which usually has the same effects like horsetails or ground strobes or falling leaves....boring. The ooos and ahhhs stop and you can hear conversations start up in the audience. Honestly I never met a single non pyro person who likes ground strobes (lamest firework ever IMO) or colored flame pots. However they are effective ways of smoking out your low level effects like mines and comets on a hot humid night with little wind.

4. Most don't like heavy metal or obscure songs. They prefer music they know the words to. Yeah I'm sure someone will chime in about a heavy metal pyromusical that everyone loved, but most non pyro people I talk to prefer pop, patriotic or some rock tunes. Shoot some red, white and blue fireworks to James Brown's living in America and listen to the audiences reaction.....they love it. Works every time.


Some 1.4 tricks I've used effectively, based on audience reaction.

Shooting a 1.4 cake in reverse makes for a good opener since it starts with the finale barrage most cakes have. Fusing the last tube of cake in to the first tube of the next cake to be shot saves cues if e firing. A cake like Neon Butterfly by raccoon is more effective if each row is e matched individually and fired at different times in the show. I consider any angled 25 shot cake that shoots 5 shots at a time as 5 fan slices in a box. 5 or 6 25 shot 200 gram cakes lined up perpendicular to the audience and fired 1 - 5 seconds apart makes for a great finale vs. racks of expensive shells. Mortar shells are better shot in flights of 2 or 3 between 500 gram cakes during the show. I ematch the last 3 or 5 shots of any cake that has crackle so they can all be shot at once for a kick ass crackle segment. Watching 20 or 100 cakes during a show that have crackle in the finale barrage is boring. But when you isolate those 20 or 100 cake's crackle finale and shoot them together, it gets a big cheer from the audience. I'm not a fan of "layering" the sky, the eye is instinctively drawn to the biggest breaks and the low level stuff is pretty much wasted.

Good stuff. I've often wished I had more control over certain cakes.... I'll try it out this 4th.

[DavidthePyro]

Good stuff. I've often wished I had more control over certain cakes.... I'll try it out this 4th.

I've done a lot of these methods. Pass firing cakes does save cues as you basically make 2 or more cakes into one big cake. Using rows is what I do with comet and mine cakes. It really helps get creative if you want close to the 1.4 pro result with 1.4 consumer. Last year my show was 100% consumer and a fellow pyro asked me if I had AP product sprinkled in to keep the timing so tight

[PyroFL]

Great info FX

Am going to take a few of those and use them great ideas

[esgrillo]

Dave one of the companies I shoot almost exclusively shoots 1.3 pyromusicals. They use high quality fireworks and the show designer is very talented. 4 or 5 of the bigger shows I have worked on for years. Most of the same audience members comes out every year. Before the show starts I take a seat in the public audience and strike up conversations with them. On all of the 4 or 5 shows after years of sitting with the public heres what I learned.

1. Most of them have no idea they are watching a scripted pyromusical, even after watching the shows for years.

2. The only thing they remember from last year's pyromusical is the fuel mines (Big fireballs).

3. They don't like the slow songs segments every show designer feels obligated to include, which usually has the same effects like horsetails or ground strobes or falling leaves....boring. The ooos and ahhhs stop and you can hear conversations start up in the audience. Honestly I never met a single non pyro person who likes ground strobes (lamest firework ever IMO) or colored flame pots. However they are effective ways of smoking out your low level effects like mines and comets on a hot humid night with little wind.

4. Most don't like heavy metal or obscure songs. They prefer music they know the words to. Yeah I'm sure someone will chime in about a heavy metal pyromusical that everyone loved, but most non pyro people I talk to prefer pop, patriotic or some rock tunes. Shoot some red, white and blue fireworks to James Brown's living in America and listen to the audiences reaction.....they love it. Works every time.

Lol I break every one of the "don'ts" listed.

We all have our own and our audiences POV on the show. I just do a 1.4 backyard show but use strobes, flame pots, gerbs... all of them in every show. I find them great transitions from one song to the next. I even do the cardinal sin of complete instrumental songs in each show too. I am even a falling leaves and horsetail user.

You can hear my "experienced" audience cheer during the show when strobes come on because they know its a transition.... I even usually get a couple of oohhs and ahhss when I transition to a new song especially one they recognize. I try to leave those audio clips in the final show they are pretty funny sometimes. I would say nearly everyone knows it is a scripted show... It is quite obvious especially when they have a couple QSC 12.2s staring at them and I always start with a slow enough beginning to be clearly apparent that the show is timed with the music.

I have even had people talk to me months later about the show timing when there was a clear boo boo (cake issue in that case) .... they notice lol

I would recommend using effects you like, looking at other shows and taking ideas you like and attaching them to your show. Just offering a different POV from a backyard 1.4 only perspective, not disputing anything specialfxpyro said.

Also Rick is right. Product availability is a big problem this year... I ordered everything in Dec and took delivery of all in stock product already. Don't wait.

[Salutecake]

Hey esgrillo I don't do the music thing, but I try to use new things and Ideas, along with new products. For your own backyard show I think you get to do what you like to do, lol. I do like having a plan, but if it was up to my son, there would probably be one fuse or cue.

For transitions I like 3" salutes.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

What Ed said! Every time I use strobes and flame effects my audience loves them. When I lead off the show with them, the audience realizes the show is starting and they settle in and quiet down. For that reason I think they're great for a show opener. That's what I'm using them for again this year. I won't beat a dead horse, but suffice it to say, I break all the rules too, and I think I'll keep breaking them. :cool:

[ssmith512]

Dave one of the companies I shoot almost exclusively shoots 1.3 pyromusicals. They use high quality fireworks and the show designer is very talented. 4 or 5 of the bigger shows I have worked on for years. Most of the same audience members comes out every year. Before the show starts I take a seat in the public audience and strike up conversations with them. On all of the 4 or 5 shows after years of sitting with the public heres what I learned.

1. Most of them have no idea they are watching a scripted pyromusical, even after watching the shows for years.

2. The only thing they remember from last year's pyromusical is the fuel mines (Big fireballs).

3. They don't like the slow songs segments every show designer feels obligated to include, which usually has the same effects like horsetails or ground strobes or falling leaves....boring. The ooos and ahhhs stop and you can hear conversations start up in the audience. Honestly I never met a single non pyro person who likes ground strobes (lamest firework ever IMO) or colored flame pots. However they are effective ways of smoking out your low level effects like mines and comets on a hot humid night with little wind.

4. Most don't like heavy metal or obscure songs. They prefer music they know the words to. Yeah I'm sure someone will chime in about a heavy metal pyromusical that everyone loved, but most non pyro people I talk to prefer pop, patriotic or some rock tunes. Shoot some red, white and blue fireworks to James Brown's living in America and listen to the audiences reaction.....they love it. Works every time.


Some 1.4 tricks I've used effectively, based on audience reaction.

Shooting a 1.4 cake in reverse makes for a good opener since it starts with the finale barrage most cakes have. Fusing the last tube of cake in to the first tube of the next cake to be shot saves cues if e firing. A cake like Neon Butterfly by raccoon is more effective if each row is e matched individually and fired at different times in the show. I consider any angled 25 shot cake that shoots 5 shots at a time as 5 fan slices in a box. 5 or 6 25 shot 200 gram cakes lined up perpendicular to the audience and fired 1 - 5 seconds apart makes for a great finale vs. racks of expensive shells. Mortar shells are better shot in flights of 2 or 3 between 500 gram cakes during the show. I ematch the last 3 or 5 shots of any cake that has crackle so they can all be shot at once for a kick ass crackle segment. Watching 20 or 100 cakes during a show that have crackle in the finale barrage is boring. But when you isolate those 20 or 100 cake's crackle finale and shoot them together, it gets a big cheer from the audience. I'm not a fan of "layering" the sky, the eye is instinctively drawn to the biggest breaks and the low level stuff is pretty much wasted.

Thanks for sharing this info. Very valuable!

[DavidthePyro]

I somewhat layer, more like adding dimension, but its usually 2 identical cakes on the outside and shells in the middle, but at a slow pace. Too much going on can definitely make it wasteful. I actually got a cake that was similar in its presentation- Colossal Spread by Heavyweight. Some slow firing cakes on the outside with a high flyer in the middle can give a great dimension to the show. I want those outer cakes to do a simple spread that ties the centerpiece all together. I really enjoy doing this with Crossettes and a bold willow in the middle. Last year I nailed it with a few different combinations, but my overall show was way too busy at times. Last year was a race because of how late everything came in, so I hope enough comes in early enough that I have more than 6 days to put everything together. I pre planned everything last year but it was just a ton of labor. It always is

[Unknown]

Dave one of the companies I shoot almost exclusively shoots 1.3 pyromusicals. They use high quality fireworks and the show designer is very talented. 4 or 5 of the bigger shows I have worked on for years. Most of the same audience members comes out every year. Before the show starts I take a seat in the public audience and strike up conversations with them. On all of the 4 or 5 shows after years of sitting with the public heres what I learned.

1. Most of them have no idea they are watching a scripted pyromusical, even after watching the shows for years.

2. The only thing they remember from last year's pyromusical is the fuel mines (Big fireballs).

3. They don't like the slow songs segments every show designer feels obligated to include, which usually has the same effects like horsetails or ground strobes or falling leaves....boring. The ooos and ahhhs stop and you can hear conversations start up in the audience. Honestly I never met a single non pyro person who likes ground strobes (lamest firework ever IMO) or colored flame pots. However they are effective ways of smoking out your low level effects like mines and comets on a hot humid night with little wind.

4. Most don't like heavy metal or obscure songs. They prefer music they know the words to. Yeah I'm sure someone will chime in about a heavy metal pyromusical that everyone loved, but most non pyro people I talk to prefer pop, patriotic or some rock tunes. Shoot some red, white and blue fireworks to James Brown's living in America and listen to the audiences reaction.....they love it. Works every time.


Some 1.4 tricks I've used effectively, based on audience reaction.

Shooting a 1.4 cake in reverse makes for a good opener since it starts with the finale barrage most cakes have. Fusing the last tube of cake in to the first tube of the next cake to be shot saves cues if e firing. A cake like Neon Butterfly by raccoon is more effective if each row is e matched individually and fired at different times in the show. I consider any angled 25 shot cake that shoots 5 shots at a time as 5 fan slices in a box. 5 or 6 25 shot 200 gram cakes lined up perpendicular to the audience and fired 1 - 5 seconds apart makes for a great finale vs. racks of expensive shells. Mortar shells are better shot in flights of 2 or 3 between 500 gram cakes during the show. I ematch the last 3 or 5 shots of any cake that has crackle so they can all be shot at once for a kick ass crackle segment. Watching 20 or 100 cakes during a show that have crackle in the finale barrage is boring. But when you isolate those 20 or 100 cake's crackle finale and shoot them together, it gets a big cheer from the audience. I'm not a fan of "layering" the sky, the eye is instinctively drawn to the biggest breaks and the low level stuff is pretty much wasted.

Awesome feedback and tips to keep in mind. Thank you!

[specialfxpyro]

Lol I break every one of the "don'ts" listed.

We all have our own and our audiences POV on the show. I just do a 1.4 backyard show but use strobes, flame pots, gerbs... all of them in every show. I find them great transitions from one song to the next. I even do the cardinal sin of complete instrumental songs in each show too. I am even a falling leaves and horsetail user.

You can hear my "experienced" audience cheer during the show when strobes come on because they know its a transition.... I even usually get a couple of oohhs and ahhss when I transition to a new song especially one they recognize. I try to leave those audio clips in the final show they are pretty funny sometimes. I would say nearly everyone knows it is a scripted show... It is quite obvious especially when they have a couple QSC 12.2s staring at them and I always start with a slow enough beginning to be clearly apparent that the show is timed with the music.

I have even had people talk to me months later about the show timing when there was a clear boo boo (cake issue in that case) .... they notice lol

I would recommend using effects you like, looking at other shows and taking ideas you like and attaching them to your show. Just offering a different POV from a backyard 1.4 only perspective, not disputing anything specialfxpyro said.

Also Rick is right. Product availability is a big problem this year... I ordered everything in Dec and took delivery of all in stock product already. Don't wait.

No worries Ed

Always good to have different opinions and even some friendly disagreements. One man's cool strobe pot segment is another man's smoke screen. Open minded people consider disagreements as a potential learning experience. I love learning new stuff and hearing about different experiences from folks.

Show design is art and designers are artist. If every artist did the same thing the art would become boring.

From my perspective the problem with working with some of the best show designers in the country is you get a little jaded. It becomes harder and harder to watch a show and be impressed with a show that would blow most people away. It's one of the downsides of working a lot of shows.

I've watched your shows and admired your willingness to employ new tools to create your art. Hobbyist like you with larger budgets are an valuable resource to those dealing with limits on budget, space and equipment. I'm sure you have provided inspiration to many pyros here.

[jamisonlm3]

Honestly, it's more of an art for fellow artists, but regular people like it too.

[specialfxpyro]

Art ... when you have the right budget and venue.



https://youtu.be/h_3D4I2Wdh8