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Fireworks 2013
- Thread starter BigDave
- Start date
Alastair
TS Team
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Olii said:I'm vouching for a barrage of awfully timed shells of random colours (mainly yellow?) being fired to blaring awful pop music and a yellow light, with a finale of ITHOTMK.
No yellow shells exist AFAIK, they'll have to do what they can with gold
Olii
TS Member
Alastair said:Olii said:I'm vouching for a barrage of awfully timed shells of random colours (mainly yellow?) being fired to blaring awful pop music and a yellow light, with a finale of ITHOTMK.
No yellow shells exist AFAIK, they'll have to do what they can with gold
Stop exposing my limited knowledge of fireworks!! Gold sorta looks like yellow... *embarrassed*
Dave
TS Founding Member
Fireworks is being planned by the same team that do the Scaremazes this year... Hopefully we will see a bit more creativity.
I think it will still be a predominantly music focused show (which is fine by me as the Dr Poprocket/ electric Towers shows where naff). The more you spend on gimmicks the less you have for fireworks and I like fireworks in my fireworks shows.
I'm fairly confident it won't be as pants as last year (fingers crossed)
I think it will still be a predominantly music focused show (which is fine by me as the Dr Poprocket/ electric Towers shows where naff). The more you spend on gimmicks the less you have for fireworks and I like fireworks in my fireworks shows.
I'm fairly confident it won't be as pants as last year (fingers crossed)
WillG
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I'm another one who'd love to see a return to the era of firework displays WITH storyline, similar to those we saw way back in 2002-2003, which remain the best I've seen - as has been said, yes, they were cheesy, but that just added to the enjoyment - even the infamous Dr Pop Rocket shows were preferable to 2011 etc.
2011, bar a couple of scenes, was a letdown for me, coupled with how obnoxiously busy the park was throughout - it really was just a mismash and god awful modern pop music, with seemingly no coherent link between the two. They were even unoriginal enough to incorporate Katy Perry's 'firework' - I don't actually mind that song, but Alton can be and should be creative enough to do better. That's what I want to see this year. All I know is 'memories', which is a promising theme, and with 21 years of my own mixed memories of the park, suspect it could get a bit emotional...
2011, bar a couple of scenes, was a letdown for me, coupled with how obnoxiously busy the park was throughout - it really was just a mismash and god awful modern pop music, with seemingly no coherent link between the two. They were even unoriginal enough to incorporate Katy Perry's 'firework' - I don't actually mind that song, but Alton can be and should be creative enough to do better. That's what I want to see this year. All I know is 'memories', which is a promising theme, and with 21 years of my own mixed memories of the park, suspect it could get a bit emotional...
BigDave
TS Member
The screens do cost a lot, but towers spent loads on getting them to split. That wasn't really needed and money could have been saved there. Having some sort of story really helps and with having a £18million ride that is new for this year, I really hope they incorporate that into the firework show.
James
TS Founding Member
Even with the screens and added effects I didn't feel it made the show any worse than the ones we've seen the past few years if I'm honest. Well, I've never noticed any massive difference at least. Of course there were less fireworks, but not so much less you think you've just wasted your money.
Electric Towers is a good (bad) example of how to blow all the money on some pointless effect (that sphere was a waste of money!) leaving pretty much no fireworks! The Pop Rocket shows on the other hand I think got the balance right. Mixing in effects, a storyline and good fireworks all in one.
Some more effects would be nice. Just something as simple as fire machines on the lawns would look amazing (hardly going to blow the budget).
It won't happen but for this year at least I hope a Smiler section will happen. The Th13teen section in the 2010 fireworks display was pretty good.
Electric Towers is a good (bad) example of how to blow all the money on some pointless effect (that sphere was a waste of money!) leaving pretty much no fireworks! The Pop Rocket shows on the other hand I think got the balance right. Mixing in effects, a storyline and good fireworks all in one.
Some more effects would be nice. Just something as simple as fire machines on the lawns would look amazing (hardly going to blow the budget).
It won't happen but for this year at least I hope a Smiler section will happen. The Th13teen section in the 2010 fireworks display was pretty good.
djtruefitt
TS Team
I hope they remove that stupid Peter Dickenson voiceover they used last year and the year before. It just makes it look a bit tacky. Plus it was really stupid as the countdown wasn't in time, and the crowd counted down much quicker than the voice over.
Alton towers has the potential to be innovative with the displays they create, however the past few years have lacked any creativity. They have delivered sub-par displays which can be seen at many venues for a significantly lower cost (considering the park is usually so busy it's difficult to get on many rides, i managed 3).
At the towers they have creative teams that should be able to put on not just a display, but also a show. Even without full blown story lines and cheese, it's possible to convey a story or theme through the music choice and fireworks alone. There is no NEED for projectors and fancy projector screens (be it mist of a giant globe).
They tend to overuse the wide beam lasers, which look good in short burts to fill an otherwise empty sky... however if you are to use them while ariel shots are exploding it can make the effect look less contrasting and therefore less impressive. If lasers must be used, they should keep to the tight single beam while fireworks are going off.
As well as lasers and fireworks there is a multiude of effects which can add to the show without being overly expensive.
Things such as "dancing flames" which featured at Jubilees "festival of fireworks" at catton hall (by another pyro company though, not jubilee) seen here - http://youtu.be/2Yqg-8uIpNs can be VERY effective, and warm the crowd up on a cold night.
The reuse of the exact same voice (and dubbing alton towers into a song) came off as cheap the second time around. Ok towers, you got your laugh ... now REALLY entertain us... be original.
I really don't understand Alton Towers efortless approach to both scarefest and fireworks. They are both events BUILT for a theme park, and with a coloured bulbs and projections you can create a really majical experiance.
Imagine for a second they put projectors in the windows of the towers showing people walking around it or even more creepy/fun things after dark! The ruins could really come to life! Make their beautiful grounds into something worth looking at after dark! Simple, cheap and you can update it every year!
I won't be attending this year, as much as i love fireworks. Unfortunatley university has to take priority... but will be watching it after hoping they have outdone themselves!
Edit: Just as a BTW. They use sodium salts to make both "yellow" and "gold" fireworks. There are fireworks which are sold as yellow, and i believe they tend to use sodium chlorate stars.
At the towers they have creative teams that should be able to put on not just a display, but also a show. Even without full blown story lines and cheese, it's possible to convey a story or theme through the music choice and fireworks alone. There is no NEED for projectors and fancy projector screens (be it mist of a giant globe).
They tend to overuse the wide beam lasers, which look good in short burts to fill an otherwise empty sky... however if you are to use them while ariel shots are exploding it can make the effect look less contrasting and therefore less impressive. If lasers must be used, they should keep to the tight single beam while fireworks are going off.
As well as lasers and fireworks there is a multiude of effects which can add to the show without being overly expensive.
Things such as "dancing flames" which featured at Jubilees "festival of fireworks" at catton hall (by another pyro company though, not jubilee) seen here - http://youtu.be/2Yqg-8uIpNs can be VERY effective, and warm the crowd up on a cold night.
The reuse of the exact same voice (and dubbing alton towers into a song) came off as cheap the second time around. Ok towers, you got your laugh ... now REALLY entertain us... be original.
I really don't understand Alton Towers efortless approach to both scarefest and fireworks. They are both events BUILT for a theme park, and with a coloured bulbs and projections you can create a really majical experiance.
Imagine for a second they put projectors in the windows of the towers showing people walking around it or even more creepy/fun things after dark! The ruins could really come to life! Make their beautiful grounds into something worth looking at after dark! Simple, cheap and you can update it every year!
I won't be attending this year, as much as i love fireworks. Unfortunatley university has to take priority... but will be watching it after hoping they have outdone themselves!
Edit: Just as a BTW. They use sodium salts to make both "yellow" and "gold" fireworks. There are fireworks which are sold as yellow, and i believe they tend to use sodium chlorate stars.
Alastair
TS Team
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Lurker said:
Agreed, a few flame projectors would look fantastic - I saw them used by both Walk the Plank at Southport and MLE at Capesthorne Hall and you can actually feel the heat off them from a very long way away!
I also wasn't aware that there were any yellow effect fireworks, if there are then they must be very rare - especially in consumer pyro.
I think it's because generally the yellow it gives off is not far from the gold (usually just brighter) so even if it's sold as a yellow star, it still looks fairly goldish in it's colour.
Was this capesthorn firework champs 2013? I was there (do all the firework champs events every year) however can't say i remeber any flame projectors. I know in their competition rules there is no allowance for any special effects (or so they say, spitfire pyro used search lights at stanford this year ... odd) but obviously those rules don't apply to MLE. (whose displays this year were dissapointing ... they always seem to do the same thing. Big fan with ariel shots. I like the more intricate things).
Finally found the display i was thinking of. This is classic sFX at catton hall UK festival of fireworks (hosted by Jubilee) http://vimeo.com/74151095
Jubilee put on an amazing display also that night ... it was raining burning card by the end ... and LOTS of it! If you don't go already, i would stongly reccomend that event. Superiror to the firework champs imo.
Though MLE had some impressive bangs at Plymouths British Firework Championships. They really pleased the audience (though not the judges, unfortunately for them). This video is very muted, but they really did cause a bit of a shockwave around the hoe. (about 3:30) http://youtu.be/HpsgDj0yI_E?t=3m38s
I'm hoping at alton towers we can have a third way to marmalise the audience. Not through frights or a awesome machine, through a mix of light and sound effects. From lasers scanning your brain, to fire projectors melting your mind, to bangs reorganising your thought patterns. Hopefully it will be a show that makes the whole audience smile.
Was this capesthorn firework champs 2013? I was there (do all the firework champs events every year
) however can't say i remeber any flame projectors. I know in their competition rules there is no allowance for any special effects (or so they say, spitfire pyro used search lights at stanford this year ... odd) but obviously those rules don't apply to MLE. (whose displays this year were dissapointing ... they always seem to do the same thing. Big fan with ariel shots. I like the more intricate things).Finally found the display i was thinking of. This is classic sFX at catton hall UK festival of fireworks (hosted by Jubilee) http://vimeo.com/74151095
Jubilee put on an amazing display also that night ... it was raining burning card by the end ... and LOTS of it! If you don't go already, i would stongly reccomend that event. Superiror to the firework champs imo.
Though MLE had some impressive bangs at Plymouths British Firework Championships. They really pleased the audience (though not the judges, unfortunately for them). This video is very muted, but they really did cause a bit of a shockwave around the hoe. (about 3:30) http://youtu.be/HpsgDj0yI_E?t=3m38s
I'm hoping at alton towers we can have a third way to marmalise the audience. Not through frights or a awesome machine, through a mix of light and sound effects. From lasers scanning your brain, to fire projectors melting your mind, to bangs reorganising your thought patterns. Hopefully it will be a show that makes the whole audience smile.
smudge
TS Member
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Lurker said:
Do you work for Merlin? :X
I do hope they do something Smiler-oriented. Failteen's display didn't work in 2010 (on the night I went anyway) although there are some serious possibilities with The Smiler's theme and colour-scheme, not to mention the rides popularity with the GP. I would say its been (The Smiler) a massive success for the park, and they should celebrate that. The last 'success' would be 2002 IMHO.
smudge said:Lurker said:
Do you work for Merlin? :X
I do hope they do something Smiler-oriented. Failteen's display didn't work in 2010 (on the night I went anyway) although there are some serious possibilities with The Smiler's theme and colour-scheme, not to mention the rides popularity with the GP. I would say its been (The Smiler) a massive success for the park, and they should celebrate that. The last 'success' would be 2002 IMHO.
Nope, don't work for merlin.
Thirteens display was ok in my opinion, some good parts some not so good parts. I enjoyed it (more so than the last 2 years anyway, which have been fairly dissapointing). The smoke was a bit of a problem for a couple of nights 2010... made some good effects less visislbe. Not much they can do there though, since it's down to the geography of the area.
They need to make more use of the lake i think. I like how they bounce lasers off of it (still unsure if thats intentional though?), but i've also seen some mines which are shot into the water then go off... like here (though not seen anything this complex in the UK) http://youtu.be/Ya9nhfPv4Cg
Edit: Anyone know how many people visited for fireworks last year?
Edit2: Twirly projected to the clouds with some big ass lasers?
smudge
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Mr Twirly Lasers must be a possibility... :twirly: It was projected onto the towers last year, and seemed to look pretty effective.
Also they projected Mr Twirly all over the place, they must have the hardware still.
The smoke was a massive problem when I went, there was several car accidents driving down the hill afterwards too. ( none serious I don't think, just prangs )
Last years was worse than 2010 for sure, I just think the actual Th13teen part of 2010's display was poor, although the theme music certainly added to the show. I love the x-sector background music, I would love to see that incorporated. Maybe even The Smiler version of ITHOTMK. Although nothing beats the original ITHOTMK as a finale.
Also they projected Mr Twirly all over the place, they must have the hardware still.
The smoke was a massive problem when I went, there was several car accidents driving down the hill afterwards too. ( none serious I don't think, just prangs )
Last years was worse than 2010 for sure, I just think the actual Th13teen part of 2010's display was poor, although the theme music certainly added to the show. I love the x-sector background music, I would love to see that incorporated. Maybe even The Smiler version of ITHOTMK. Although nothing beats the original ITHOTMK as a finale.
smudge said:
I do like ITHOTMK as a finale, it's a bit like their signiture at the end of the display. However i do think if it started normal then twisted into the more sinister smiler version that would be great.
I can also see that if fitting, another song would do just as good of a job. Even if it would stop people thinking "Ah, theme tune ... here comes the finale"
If they don't use it as a finale (which i doubt) i do hope they incorperate it elsewhere.
Also... why don't they put of more music and light shows after the fireworks? Would prehaps slow down the mad rush as soon as it finishes.
