What’s the plan?

[PyroFL]

60 days out from the big day most of us live for each year.

Everything at our pyro HQ is going great besides one song I keep deleting and starting over.

Built 16 new racks this year for our mortar trailer to be 100% full with 6 cases starting this year. Along with 3 more adjustable single shot racks bringing me up to 500 singles I can use in a show.

Salute cake and I have teamed up helping each other learn F3D and occasionally helping each other with cakes we’re stuck on.

Per Rick-in-Tampa requirement for taking me under his wing for a few years I’ve been paying it forward to other local pyros in the area. Helping with scripting, loaning out gear to a few different groups so they can up there show this year.

Really looking forward to this year and already started on 2025 and hate to say it even 2026.

How’s your planning going for this year?

Anything new you have planned this year?

[KDirk]

I'm still very much small scale operation. Have grown my Cobra hardware to 216 total cues (planning for more, but not for this year most likely) and an audio box. Not certain if I'll use the audio box this year or not, as I doubt I'll be going fully scripted. Many cues fire more than one item, as I gang fuse some things to one igniter. Not everything has to be individually controllable, though for timing critical features (set to certain points in the music), I do have them wired at 1:1.

Last year was my first year with Cobra hardware, and I'm still growing into the concept of a scripted show. I'm not sure I want to be totally detached from the operation in that sense. A major reason I do this is my nieces and nephews love the show, and they really liked being involved by getting to press buttons and see something go off. I can have certain items setup just for each of them (pink
and purple shells for the girls, green and blue for the boys). So, I still like a hands on approach, and my initial aim was for no more (or very limited) hand lighting of product since electronic ignition has made the shoot more enjoyable (which is to say less physically demanding) for me.

I am building more racks to augment what I built out last year. I'm picking out product now and will have my order finalized in the next week or two, which is later than I wanted, but other more pressing matters and expenses have taken priority. While work has been good, I haven't had quite the excess funds to burn this year as I did the previous 2. Luckily I overbought last year and have a large back stock giving me a very solid head start on this years show.

The major change this year will be that I'm arranging a better shoot site. A private 9 acre spread with a small lake/dock, and much more room so the safety margins will be vastly better than in the past. I'd simply outgrown the previous location due to the show getting so big.

Going to electronic firing enabled a significant jump in size and complexity that made me a bit uncomfortable in the location we've been at the last several years. Having just recently solved that problem, I don't really have time to pre-plan a show that was scaled up again, so what I'm doing will be much the same as last year. I will be adding AP product to the mix, since I did Dave's course, so that will probably be the most notable difference versus previous shoots.

[rthruska]

also looking forward to it. I started scripting a few months ago. I think I'm at 8 songs and 29 min. I have increased my single shots also to 500 and getting close to 1000 cues. Will shoot 12 8in, 1 10in, and 1 12in this year. Kind of odd but the biggest thing I look forward to is the move to 3in comets and mines...looking forward to the difference in using these large single shots. I usually have one person helping me so hopefully I can find a bit more help this time around. Crazy that you are already working on 2 years ahead, I usually take a 2-3 month break after a show until I'm ready to work on another

[BMoore]

I'm on about my 3rd rough draft of the script. I don't do a pyromusical. I don't have the talent to pull that off! But I do organize my show into themes some of which probably only make sense to me. My biggest thing this year is the show will be 100% e-fired. Usually, I use Cobra for the opener, finale and cakes and I hand fire the shells. I love hand firing and I'll probably go back to it to some extent. This year is somewhat of an experiment and I really look forward to getting to sit down and actually watch my show.

[Salutecake]

So Kids, lol. I had a pretty nice musical section, plotted out using Finale3d. But it got dismissed by my son, lol. Perhaps for 2026. So I'm at the point that it all lands on him now.
A big thanks to PyroFL for his help with Finale3D, especially in the cake design, with not much to work with he has become a master at it.
To answer your questions from above, my planning is done and I don't have a clue if anything will be new this year.
I will say that the Finale3D program is good! -I'm not putting a pitch out for it but if you decide to go to the next level, this is a good tool to use, I still think a bit pricey for the hobbyist that does 1 or 2 shows a year.
Unless something changes....

[tonyr]

Time is definitely ticking. This year I used a table saw for the first time in my life :D and built 20 new racks, leaned how to design PCBs to hopefully speed up series wiring, and added modules and sequencers to my setup. Will be my biggest show I've ever done (seems to always be the case each year). I'm working on my script in Finale and hoping to wrap that up in the next couple weeks. Then will begin pre-wiring everything. No shortage of things to do right now. Below is video of my racks and you can see a few of the PCBs I made towards the end. Also have a couple other size PCBs where I can fire 2 to 8 items on a cue.


https://youtu.be/ai6MTCJ1Z1U

[Birdman]

Just starting to think seriously about things. I've learned that I don't have to put months of effort into my rather small show. Going with the same model I did last year. Get the product I think will work best in any show and then find the right music for it. Overthinking it just leads to more time, effort and stress. Of course I have this luxury because I only have about 200 cues to work with. That's about all this one man crew is willing to bite off.

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

Still far behind, script is done also except for one song I keep putting in and taking out like the hokie pokie. only set piece needing built this year is a new "mega-wheel" as my old one is currently somewhere between here and Tamps, depending on tidal shifts. addedf 62mm shells this year, so need to build/retrofit some older stuff to accommodate, but will likely also buy a couple more cragco racks for the 62's

[PyroFL]

@birdman

Am always free Thursday nights if you need any help up there after I fly in.

[PyroFL]

Crazy that you are already working on 2 years ahead, I usually take a 2-3 month break after a show until I'm ready to work on another

Not at all, am normally one year ahead but with the 250th coming up am stockpiling now as am
Expecting storages and price increases so distributors can cash in.

Next year theme and music in 80/90 rock

2026 American patriotic theme with music

This year 2024, you will have to wait and see when the video comes out. Huge changes this year!

[Birdman]

Thanks for the offer but I do most all of my prep and setup in upstate NY. Not very convenient for either us. I didn't realize you were still in my area on the regular.

[PyroFL]

You would think I live up here with almost being at 170 nights here last year.

I could be back doing NFL for CBS this fall or collage Football but we will see. Am kind of the last to know, I just go where they need me.

There is also talking I could be up here for another year

It’s been a nice brake the last year and half but I rather be back doing NFL, Super Bowl, the Masters, Finale Four and so on

[sethof]

Time is definitely ticking. This year I used a table saw for the first time in my life :D and built 20 new racks, leaned how to design PCBs to hopefully speed up series wiring, and added modules and sequencers to my setup. Will be my biggest show I've ever done (seems to always be the case each year). I'm working on my script in Finale and hoping to wrap that up in the next couple weeks. Then will begin pre-wiring everything. No shortage of things to do right now. Below is video of my racks and you can see a few of the PCBs I made towards the end. Also have a couple other size PCBs where I can fire 2 to 8 items on a cue.


https://youtu.be/ai6MTCJ1Z1U

Good job, I am doing something similar with custom PCBs to make wiring quicker and safer.

[tonyr]

Good job, I am doing something similar with custom PCBs to make wiring quicker and safer.

Nice, I made a few different sizes as I didn't really know what I wanted at the time. Here's a couple of the smaller ones. I don't know yet how well these will hold up. I've tested to make sure all the igniters fire but won't know the full story until after my show. Curious as to what you are doing and your designs.

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