2022 First Show Ever

[PG2159]

Self taught pyo enthusiast here. I had been helping set up a 1.3 show for several years and since COVID it never returned, and it was feeling a bit of a whole about it. So I decided to try and start something in my neighborhood. Had about 60 people come and just us for the fun. There is a large retention pond across the street from my house, I used google maps to ensure appropriate distance from roadway and houses

I was fortunate to capture a whole sale contact around my area, which i think saved me a ton. The 12-cue system was another recommendation i ate up.

I built 5 cake boards, with fast fuse connecting the last tube on a cake to the next cake, poked them all. Some where tied in together for multiple cakes at a time, created some 15 degree angle boards for 200gm cakes. I created 3 home-made fan slices following methods of "myfireworksdemo" on youtube. The handy work of that is the first 50 shot arraignment in the video. I had 100 total motar tubes, 50 rack finale, 20 "V" and 30 "W". Everything was fused, glued and ready to go a week before the show ( MJG initiators added on the morning off, but had been poked, covered with Daves sticky tape and marked for rapid placement). I had to maximized my free time to allow for house/party/food preparations prior to the show, smoking 50lbs of BBQ takes up a good bit of my time.

It was really important to me to be able to incorporate the kids who were in attendance at the show to be able to hit the remote, which did result in some black sky during the show, but it was entirely worth it and the kids, mine included were awestruck by it.

I was thrilled with how this turned out. I took away a ton of learning pearls and hope to continue to improve my technique for next year. this forum has been wonderful for research and watching other enthusiasts shows for inspiration. I'm sure I will have more questions as the manifest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neR1vCb06wc

[PyroWalker]

Sounds like a success! I love to have about an hour before my show to spend with the kids. I always have sparklers, fountains, and some parachutes for them to chase. This kills time before it is dark enough. Next year I plan to have a firing module of 200g cakes for each of the kids to push buttons to set up before the show. The awe and wonder of the kids is part of what keeps me going, even though I don't have kids of my own to enjoy it with.

[PG2159]

I have a 5 year old and an almost 2. We had some 60 people at my house. I love the idea of sparklers and such, but most of the kids were under the age of five. My wife frowned at me when I shot down her idea of sparklers, I just didn't think all these little kids running around with sparklers was the best idea, also my front yard got pretty full. And i have a funny feeling next year there's going to be more people. Need to give the kids a few more years then we can.

I didn't think about parachutes, that's a brilliant idea. I have fond memories of chasing them shot by Garden State Fireworks in the town I grew up in. My kids, and friends kids were in awe getting to start a set

[Arles]

I have a 5 year old and an almost 2. We had some 60 people at my house. I love the idea of sparklers and such, but most of the kids were under the age of five. My wife frowned at me when I shot down her idea of sparklers, I just didn't think all these little kids running around with sparklers was the best idea, also my front yard got pretty full. And i have a funny feeling next year there's going to be more people. Need to give the kids a few more years then we can.

I didn't think about parachutes, that's a brilliant idea. I have fond memories of chasing them shot by Garden State Fireworks in the town I grew up in. My kids, and friends kids were in awe getting to start a set

Speaking from my own experience, a large group of kids with sparklers is a bad idea and actually quite dangerous. We gave out neon glow sticks and bendable neon tubes (and ribbon so they could twirl them in a circle) and the kids really seemed to like those.

[Birdman]

Great to see you get the kids involved with your show! Refreshing to see a more "traditional" family backyard type show. Sounds like it was enjoyed by all and some of those kids will probably never forget it. Kudos to you!

[barehm]

What equipment did you use to record your video? I like how it looks.

[PG2159]

Iphone 11 (maybe?), mounted on the garage door with an impromptu wood mount and clamp. I changed the aspect ratio to 0.5x for a wider view.

[PG2159]

I'm in the lehigh valley as well, Upper Macungie Township. Where you from Birdman?

[Birdman]

I live in Easton.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Next year I plan to have a firing module of 200g cakes for each of the kids to push buttons to set up before the show. The awe and wonder of the kids is part of what keeps me going, even though I don't have kids of my own to enjoy it with.

This is absolute genius! I was thinking about taking my grandkids down to our retention pond on New Years Eve and letting them fire off some leftover cakes and effects I have. I wish I had thought of your idea sooner. It would have been a great way to get the kids into the July 4th show. This year as I was setting up my seat for the show, I noticed a lady with her three small kids sitting right behind me. I normally let one of my grandkids start the show, but I just blurted out, "Which one of you is going to start the show this year?" The eyeballs of the one little boy got huge and his mother pointed to him. SO I told him not to go anywhere because at 9pm he's starting the show. He got a great kick out of it. It was a fun change.

Kudo's to you for getting the kids involved, even though they're not your kids. It's always nice to pay it forward. Hopefully it will be something they remember when they're in our shoes.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

You did an awesome job for your first time! Seriously. Great show.

If you are open to some constructive criticism, I would offer the following suggestions.

1. Incorporate music. Even if you don't have enough cues to do what most would consider a true "pyro-musical" it's still nice to have patriotic music playing while watching fireworks.
2. Vary the effects. Big tall booming willows and peonies are great, but so are falling leaves and crossettes and go-getters. Watching the same (or essentially the same) effect type for 20+ min can get boring.
3. Vary the colors. Red/Green was the primary color for your show. I don't think I saw a white or blue color until the 14min mark. Even then, the finale was back to red/green again. If that's what you were going for, cool! Your money, your show. Maybe you didn't even notice if those are your favorite colors and you just subconsciously picked those effects. Regardless, IMHO, you will keep the audience attention better, and you will make a bigger impact/impression is you vary the colors.
4. Incorporate some ground effects. Different colored flame pots, gerbs, fountains, mines, comets, strobes, etc. will add to the "wow" factor of the show. The audience (especially the kids) love ground effects.

Just my $0.02 to hopefully make next years show even better!

Again, great job!!

[PG2159]

@Rick_In_Tampa. Thank you for the feed back.

I forgot to hit record for the Star Spangled Banner. I had two effects for the typical "rockets red glare...bombs bursting in air". So technically I did add some music, just not a full show. I have the sound system in my garage capable of putting out the volume necessary, I just want to get one more show under my belt, and then I can think about throwing music in. I have been throwing around the idea of doing one song in next years show, so I'm not discounting it just yet.


This was legit my first endeavor of putting together 20 minutes worth of non-stop product. I think the lack of color and effects was a product of my purchasing plan: Find the cheapest and most quantity. Re-watching the video, your point of lack of colors makes sense, I saw what you mentioned but it didn't click until just now.

I saw an older post that you put up saying something along the lines of product research. I just started really going through and describing every single product available through my wholesale supplier and documenting in an excel document in preparation for next year. I think breaking down cost per shot and color/effect will give me a much better color /spread as well as a cost analysis option.

There was one point in the show, I think around the 8min mark I timed off cannister shells, 200g cakes and ground effects. It really is impressive to watch when you can hit those low-mid -high effects consistently in a show evident in some of the big names shows on here.

I dabbled into creating my own fan cake in this show. The opening 50 shot fan was from dissected Matrix Pyro 350g cakes, and another combination fan/straight shot at 5:53 from dissected 200g cakes. I was very pleased with how it turned out. In the future, more research on color, effect and planning to better implement it is a must. I notice you incorporate quite a bit of mines, and comets (not sure if I'm using the appropriate vocabulary) and if I'm reading previous posts correctly, mostly Spirit of 76 proline 1.4 product. I don't think that's in my budget at the current stay, do you have any other recommendation for product that can provide a similar ground effect? or any other ground effect you particularly like

Thanks you for any follow up you have.

[Mattp]

great "first show ever"!!!! and definitely nice to get the kids involved... i also dont love the kids running with sparklers thing.. but i make sure all the smaller ones are attented to by their parent.. and are plenty far apart before even lighting one... also go through a few cases of bang snaps... they make a mess... but the kids just love em,, and are as safe as possible... and i remember thats how i started the intrigue with fireworks too.. had a buddy who let his kid push the remote buttons.. while still on the younger side... he pushed like 1/2 of the buttons at once.. ever since seeing that i left my remote pushing to me... but i do like the idea of a separate mod and channel just for that...

[PG2159]

I have the 12 cue. I think I upgrade it for next year, ill see where the budget takes me at that point. Probably similar style but the bigger controller. Hang onto the small one for kid pieces so as to prevent that exact point of letting it all fly. Thanks for the shout out for first show @Mattp

[Rick_In_Tampa]

@Rick_In_Tampa. Thank you for the feed back.

I forgot to hit record for the Star Spangled Banner. I had two effects for the typical "rockets red glare...bombs bursting in air". So technically I did add some music, just not a full show. I have the sound system in my garage capable of putting out the volume necessary, I just want to get one more show under my belt, and then I can think about throwing music in. I have been throwing around the idea of doing one song in next years show, so I'm not discounting it just yet.


This was legit my first endeavor of putting together 20 minutes worth of non-stop product. I think the lack of color and effects was a product of my purchasing plan: Find the cheapest and most quantity. Re-watching the video, your point of lack of colors makes sense, I saw what you mentioned but it didn't click until just now.

I saw an older post that you put up saying something along the lines of product research. I just started really going through and describing every single product available through my wholesale supplier and documenting in an excel document in preparation for next year. I think breaking down cost per shot and color/effect will give me a much better color /spread as well as a cost analysis option.

There was one point in the show, I think around the 8min mark I timed off cannister shells, 200g cakes and ground effects. It really is impressive to watch when you can hit those low-mid -high effects consistently in a show evident in some of the big names shows on here.

I dabbled into creating my own fan cake in this show. The opening 50 shot fan was from dissected Matrix Pyro 350g cakes, and another combination fan/straight shot at 5:53 from dissected 200g cakes. I was very pleased with how it turned out. In the future, more research on color, effect and planning to better implement it is a must. I notice you incorporate quite a bit of mines, and comets (not sure if I'm using the appropriate vocabulary) and if I'm reading previous posts correctly, mostly Spirit of 76 proline 1.4 product. I don't think that's in my budget at the current stay, do you have any other recommendation for product that can provide a similar ground effect? or any other ground effect you particularly like

Thanks you for any follow up you have.

You sound like you are doing everything right so far!! I also have an Excel spreadsheet I use that breaks down every product by price per piece, brand, duration, effects per case, port type, etc. I sit down in October (usually) and I start watching videos. I buy from SO76 and I love their Pro line. So I get on their Pro line 500G cakes page, and I just watch every single video. If I see a cake I like, I put it on my spreadsheet. I don't worry about budget at this point. If I like the effect, it goes on the spreadsheet. I also buy from American Wholesale Fireworks. I LOVE the Dominator line. So I do the same exercise over there too. I never buy anything that I can't preview in a video. Period.

Once I've gone through all the categories I check my spreadsheet to see what the grand total looks like. I'm usually way over budget, so I'll sort the effects by prices and start knocking off the most expensive products until I get down to my budget price. Of course, if I see an effect that's just so good I have to have it in my show, I'll keep it and remove a few other effects to make up for it.

So that's basically my starting point. If I'm ahead of the game and I know what my songs are going to be, I'll try to match up products to songs. If I have too much stuff, I'll delete more stuff. (rarely ever happens!)

This year I had just fan slices, which are basically just multiple comets strung together. I would have given my left leg to get my hands on some mines this year! Just couldn't find any. I love to use fan slices and mines and comets to accent certain parts of a song. Flame effects are a HUGE fan favorite, and they're very easy to use in a show. Check out my show from 2018. I did a for my granddaughter from Frozen. I used gerbs and colored flame pots (all from SO76) and silver sparkle cakes to emulate snow falling. I think I used the "falling leaves" cakes too. Came out really nice. My experience is that people always expect to see stuff being launched into the air and going boom. When you hit them with flame pots and gerbs and other stuff on the ground, it's really an "oh wow!" moment for the crowd.

Okay... I'll shut up already...:o

[Rick_In_Tampa]

i also dont love the kids running with sparklers thing..

Totally agree with this. My grandson got burned by a sparkler this year. A spark dropped on his shorts and burned through to his thigh. So he rubbed it with his forearm to try and wipe it away, and he burned his forearm too. I about choked my daughter when I found out.

[gecko2015]

It was really important to me to be able to incorporate the kids who were in attendance at the show to be able to hit the remote, which did result in some black sky during the show, but it was entirely worth it and the kids, mine included were awestruck by it.



I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of this! Unfortunately, I thought it it LAST minute this year and didn't have a chance to incorporate it. Great idea and great show!!