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esgrillo
07-10-2019, 02:01 AM
Here is a link to my July 4th show. I had to upload to vimeo instead of youtube because the music patrol flagged it.

Set off using Cobra system 18r2 and 15 18m modules, 7 36M modules, 72m, 8 36 mini slats, 5 18 mini slats plus a Cobra Audio box. Fireworks supplied mostly by Spirit of 76 Fireworks & Fireworks Forever.

There are also flame projectors, laser lights, and moving heads all DMX controlled and triggered by the Audiobox and synced with timecode. The beginning of the show is all lights and flames so if you want to skip to the fireworks, go to the 3:15 mark.

The fireworks during the song Bohemian Rhapsody includes some nice comet and flame pot runs as does Thunderstruck.

Finale starts at the 20:50 mark. Included 250 artillery shells, 120 200g cakes, 9 NOAB (whacky tobacky), 12 Humming snake 500g cakes, 36 additional 500g cakes, multiple fan slices, and more. In addition to feeding timecode to my DMX software the audio box was used to get music to 3 separate backyards 2 with 4500w amps and DJ speakers and a 3rd with QSC K12.2 active speakers using a Yamaha Yamaha MG10XU mixer.

https://vimeo.com/347225074

AxeElf
07-10-2019, 03:18 AM
It was ok for a back yard home show; I wouldn't want my neighbors to see it.

(Just kidding; you win.)

Pyro Paul
07-10-2019, 06:54 AM
Very Nice Ed! On one hand I'd say it's gonna be hard to top that next year but on the other I know you'll find a way to do it. Love those ghost slices and that was an excellent ending!

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 08:00 AM
It was ok for a back yard home show; I wouldn't want my neighbors to see it.

(Just kidding; you win.)

lol.... yeah just a couple of sparklers and black cats.... so lame lmao. ;)

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 08:04 AM
Very Nice Ed! On one hand I'd say it's gonna be hard to top that next year but on the other I know you'll find a way to do it. Love those ghost slices and that was an excellent ending!

Thanks Paul. Yeah, I had a good spot for them this year... real slow quiet part. You can hear one of the kids shriek when the first one whet off lol... same girl that was jumping around during the PIP in Bohemian Rhapsody

Jay_
07-10-2019, 08:52 AM
Another amazing show Ed. You continue to inspire me to raise the bar.

Your crowd is always so fired up and involved! That makes it all worth it and pumps me up just watching.

I love how I watch your show and find myself nodding my head as you always have just the right effects at the right time and in the right sequence.

You are a true artist sir.

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 09:23 AM
Another amazing show Ed. You continue to inspire me to raise the bar.

Your crowd is always so fired up and involved! That makes it all worth it and pumps me up just watching.

I love how I watch your show and find myself nodding my head as you always have just the right effects at the right time and in the right sequence.

You are a true artist sir.

Yeah the crowd is usually pretty crazy... a lot of it is my two 20 something sons and their friends after working over my margarita machine hard lol. Both of them are in the intro of the video. One fusing a rack and the other working on bump bears. They earn the margaritas lol

Kooooou
07-10-2019, 09:35 AM
That was an awesomely amazing show and a wide spread. Love the drone footage and camera work too!

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 09:39 AM
That was an awesomely amazing show and a wide spread. Love the drone footage and camera work too!

Thank you! The video editing is almost as tedious and the Cobra scripting lol

PyroGyro
07-10-2019, 09:56 AM
This is an incredible show and it's getting hard to pick the winner from the videos posted on this site, but yours is definitely in my top 2. Like I said about another show video posted, "your show makes mine look like I just threw a bunch of dog $hit up in the air". Anyway, I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this...must've been 100's of hours just for the show creator. I'm a technology guy, software engineer, audio engineer, and greatly appreciate everything that was done here, but I'll never have the time or $$$ to do something on this scale. I'm just aiming to make my show a lot better for next year, and based on what I am learning here, I know it will be.

Robbro097
07-10-2019, 12:17 PM
That was absolutely amazing everything about it product scripting shoot site video editing u name it just amazing!

BeerGuyEd
07-10-2019, 02:50 PM
Finally had a chance to finish watching the video in full. The show left me speechless, though the spectators did not seem to have a problem cheering. Watching your show as well as several others here makes me wish I had more room to shoot and more time to accumulate the needed equipment. Wonderful job once again

Rick_In_Tampa
07-10-2019, 05:09 PM
I'm only half way through your video Ed, but wow.... I mean WOW!! You absolutely killed it this year! I can't wait to get home to watch the rest of the show tonight. 540 cues???? Holy crap! You're in a league of your own my friend. When I grow up I want to be you! :cool:

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 06:26 PM
Finally had a chance to finish watching the video in full. The show left me speechless, though the spectators did not seem to have a problem cheering. Watching your show as well as several others here makes me wish I had more room to shoot and more time to accumulate the needed equipment. Wonderful job once again

Thanks Ed. This one was a monumental undertaking. I was fortunate to have another Cobra guy on my set up crew which really helped a lot. Plus the 60+ hrs of work in the garage in advance to prewire as much as possible helped field set up.

Pyromaha
07-10-2019, 07:31 PM
Hail to the king! Haha. Spectacular display man. Definitely setting the bar high. After seeing how much planning and prep went into my little 10 min pyromusical, I have a whole new respect for guys on your level. I can hardly fathom the time and effort put into this show.

And to everyone else...when putting together your own show remember to ask yourself...what would esgrillo do? Haha.

MtnViewPyro
07-10-2019, 08:33 PM
Awesome show, Ed. I really enjoyed the timing of and arrangements of the comets and mines. You also sold me on those butterfly slices. I have a shopping list already started lol.

esgrillo
07-10-2019, 08:55 PM
Hail to the king! Haha. Spectacular display man. Definitely setting the bar high. After seeing how much planning and prep went into my little 10 min pyromusical, I have a whole new respect for guys on your level. I can hardly fathom the time and effort put into this show.

And to everyone else...when putting together your own show remember to ask yourself...what would esgrillo do? Haha.

Thank you sir! You have to have a passion, a lot of time, and be a little f-in crazy lol to do this. IMHO of course:D

Big Worm
07-10-2019, 09:28 PM
wow!! i feel like i just watched a movie and now owe you money. Absolutely fantastic! I,m speechless...

morrison2951
07-10-2019, 09:54 PM
You 'da man! Awesome!

Kooooou
07-10-2019, 11:30 PM
Thank you! The video editing is almost as tedious and the Cobra scripting lol
You've got mad editing skills, and the choice of music also rocks IMO.

rfgonzo
07-11-2019, 12:46 AM
OMG, I am so JELLY. I still can't pick my jaw up from the floor. A+++++

Mississippipyro
07-11-2019, 05:56 AM
Amazing, that was great. Thanks for all the great ideas :D

joed2323
07-11-2019, 08:49 AM
awesome show as usual, how far apart are your main stations

you also had multiple cameras capturing video

how far back did you set your main go pro from the fireworks

Jay_
07-11-2019, 08:50 AM
So after watching your show for about the 12th time, I will certainly be doing more slices in mine next year. I also can’t get over how crisp and clean everything is. It’s just spectacular....and perfect!

Do you use cobra show creator, or finale fireworks for your scripting?

esgrillo
07-11-2019, 09:18 AM
So after watching your show for about the 12th time, I will certainly be doing more slices in mine next year. I also can’t get over how crisp and clean everything is. It’s just spectacular....and perfect!

Do you use cobra show creator, or finale fireworks for your scripting?

Jay, thank you, I was pleased with the timing. Actually if there are any slight offsets in the video it is due to me not aligning the 20+ video clips in the timeline with the audio when I edited in power director. The live show was on the money.

I use CSC. I just cant seem to justify the yearly price for Finale. Considering how much I spend on everything else that might sound crazy but to me everything is how much value it will add. You can look at all the videos you want online to see how things will look and programming them in Finale is no guarantee that the timing of the visual effect will match reality when they go off anyway. There are still a ton of variables.

I have switched to all ematch for everything I can poke so that makes the timing on the cakes so much more precise than a talon on a fuse. That change really helps the symmetry left and right. You can see they all lengths are all a little different so as long as you overlap a few seconds it usually looks pretty good IMO.

esgrillo
07-11-2019, 06:45 PM
awesome show as usual, how far apart are your main stations

you also had multiple cameras capturing video

how far back did you set your main go pro from the fireworks

Joe, thanks man. The stations are 75 ft apart. I am using the 84 ft slat cables so that kind of locks it in at that range. The one on the back of the lake is about 400ft from the platforms. The one by the back of my house is probably about 220ft.

hokester44
07-11-2019, 06:56 PM
Fantastic job, the support and enthusiasm from friends and neighbors turn it into a community event which makes it even more amazing. Kudos... great work.

MaxSzek1
07-11-2019, 10:09 PM
What is the start to the show thats so nice

esgrillo
07-12-2019, 07:22 AM
Awesome show, Ed. I really enjoyed the timing of and arrangements of the comets and mines. You also sold me on those butterfly slices. I have a shopping list already started lol.

MtnViewPyro thanks! Yes, I am fan of the butterfly slice. I had a few in my show for the first time last year and thought they were great. The two comets in the middle must go up at least 350ft. They are really a cool and unique slice. I was looking for a good spot for them this year. I get that and all my Dominator product from Fireworks Forever, Marcus Berger is the contact over there. Great guy, works with me all year sending new product vids before they are public etc... Thats how I got those new mine cakes that are going off at the 4:16 mark in the video. Those are brand new this year. I am not sure there is even a video of them online anywhere yet.

PyroGyro
07-12-2019, 08:10 AM
I get that and all my Dominator product from Fireworks Forever, Marcus Berger is the contact over there. Great guy, works with me all year sending new product vids before they are public etc... Thats how I got those new mine cakes that are going off at the 4:16 mark in the video. Those are brand new this year. I am not sure there is even a video of them online anywhere yet.

Funny you mention FF and Marc. I've been researching wholesalers and have emailed him a couple of times recently. I found out that a local club (which I'm going to a pyro club shoot in Sept to see if I want to join) does group buys through Marc. Also, FF's wholesale prices are ridiculously low so I am probably going to start buying from them regardless.

krayg
07-12-2019, 08:28 AM
product vids before they are public etc... Thats how I got those new mine cakes that are going off at the 4:16 mark in the video. Those are brand new this year. I am not sure there is even a video of them online anywhere yet.

Do you remember the product code for it?

esgrillo
07-12-2019, 08:39 AM
Funny you mention FF and Marc. I've been researching wholesalers and have emailed him a couple of times recently. I found out that a local club (which I'm going to a pyro club shoot in Sept to see if I want to join) does group buys through Marc. Also, FF's wholesale prices are ridiculously low so I am probably going to start buying from them regardless.

What a coincidence lol. You will be happy working with him. His service is really unmatched especially considering how much I order. Plus the thing I like about FF is that they let you order singles of all the 1.4 Pro items, not by the case like 76 and others. You want 5 blue mines, you can get them instead of being forced to order a case of 50. That really helps control costs especially considering the single item cost really is not bad at all considering how much additional work it places on them to pull and pack it. I ordered plenty of product less than case quantities and they get my order 100% correct each time.

MtnViewPyro
07-12-2019, 01:50 PM
MtnViewPyro thanks! Yes, I am fan of the butterfly slice. I had a few in my show for the first time last year and thought they were great. The two comets in the middle must go up at least 350ft. They are really a cool and unique slice. I was looking for a good spot for them this year. I get that and all my Dominator product from Fireworks Forever, Marcus Berger is the contact over there. Great guy, works with me all year sending new product vids before they are public etc... Thats how I got those new mine cakes that are going off at the 4:16 mark in the video. Those are brand new this year. I am not sure there is even a video of them online anywhere yet.

I was curious what those were. They were really awesome and I hadn?t seen them before. Oddly, fireworks forever is the only place that has denied me buying AP products. I may have spoke to the wrong person. It was early last year, so I don?t even know the persons name now.

In your intro, you had some aluminum one shot racks. If you don?t mind, where did you pick them up and for how much? You can pm me if you don?t want to share that publicly. I have a link below of some 2? single shot racks on eBay. Let me know what you think.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-inch-15-shots-AL-racks-for-fireworks-display-display-racks-fireworks-racks/133061181682?hash=item1efb1080f2:g:i~YAAOSw3vdc5lh 8

esgrillo
07-12-2019, 02:09 PM
I was curious what those were. They were really awesome and I hadn?t seen them before. Oddly, fireworks forever is the only place that has denied me buying AP products. I may have spoke to the wrong person. It was early last year, so I don?t even know the persons name now.

In your intro, you had some aluminum one shot racks. If you don?t mind, where did you pick them up and for how much? You can pm me if you don?t want to share that publicly. I have a link below of some 2? single shot racks on eBay. Let me know what you think.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-inch-15-shots-AL-racks-for-fireworks-display-display-racks-fireworks-racks/133061181682?hash=item1efb1080f2:g:i~YAAOSw3vdc5lh 8

The short tube ones are from Brian Craig and I had Reed S make some for me the year before that are the taller tube ones. The single shots with the open style are from Big Time Pyro. I like then because they are noodle free and use zip ties to a metal support. Plus you can fit just about anything on them. I had 76mm mines in them plus regular sized items as well.

MtnViewPyro
07-12-2019, 02:36 PM
Thanks for pointing me to Big Time Pyro. Those racks would be great for me. Not being limited to size is ideal. Now I just have to determine if I need 3 or 5 lol.

esgrillo
07-12-2019, 09:44 PM
Do you remember the product code for it?

Krayg, they are Dominator PFX5438MN. I got them from Fireworks Forever. Marcus Berger is the contact. marc@fireworksforever.com

Icooclast
07-12-2019, 09:59 PM
i think it's good. didn't finish it, yet. but will go back to it eventually, i think.

thanks again. very good stuff

krayg
07-13-2019, 07:59 AM
Krayg, they are Dominator PFX5438MN. I got them from Fireworks Forever. Marcus Berger is the contact. marc@fireworksforever.com

Thanks. I worked with Marcus this year also. Great to work with. That finale box didn't have a video link so I didn't buy any. I did buy 6 cases of other finale boxes though. Great stuff...

Stormcrow
07-13-2019, 09:32 AM
As usual unbelievable. Always the show I aspire to be. This always gives me ideas and makes me want to shoot the next year. Damn you Ed I’m trying to take a year off. Absolutely jealous of the ghost mines and whatever went off at 4:20 that was amazing looking.

AxeElf
07-13-2019, 01:32 PM
Absolutely jealous of the ghost mines and whatever went off at 4:20...

I think we all know what goes off at 4:20...

esgrillo
07-13-2019, 02:01 PM
As usual unbelievable. Always the show I aspire to be. This always gives me ideas and makes me want to shoot the next year. Damn you Ed I’m trying to take a year off. Absolutely jealous of the ghost mines and whatever went off at 4:20 that was amazing looking.

Stormcrow, that cake at 4:20 is Dominator 1.4 AP PFX5438MN. It looked spectacular in person. Colors were great. Got if from Fireworks Forever

esgrillo
07-14-2019, 07:47 AM
Thanks for pointing me to Big Time Pyro. Those racks would be great for me. Not being limited to size is ideal. Now I just have to determine if I need 3 or 5 lol.

No problem. I have 5 of the 20 shot ones. I should have got some 40s too to match up with my 36ms firing my comet racks.

esgrillo
07-14-2019, 09:28 PM
OMG, I am so JELLY. I still can't pick my jaw up from the floor. A+++++

Thanks rfgonzo! It was a ton of work but overall I was pretty happy with it.

Jay_
07-15-2019, 10:25 PM
Just like heaven is awesome! It has party written all over it! That has to be an incredibly hard song to script to and make sense.... it?s just perfect. It?s encouraging me to think outside of the box on my music selections for next year.

2 questions:

What slices did you shoot at 19:39

What zippers are you shooting at 15:52

esgrillo
07-15-2019, 10:54 PM
Jay -

Thanks brother. The cakes going off at 15:52 are 330s Zipper Cake (20sec) from 76 The slices at 19:39 are 9 SHOT GOLD CRACKLING COMET WITH AQUAMARINE MINE PFX9FRGGA. Yeah the by the time I got to the Cure song I was starting to run out of cues especially after using 180 the previous song Bohemian Rhapsody so there is not too much scripting in it. I tried to make up for that by using the DMX flames a lot in that song. They are a bit hard to see in the video but looked good in person.

Jay_
07-16-2019, 09:46 AM
Thanks Ed, did not know that there was a 20 second variety of the 330. Thanks for the info on the slice too, it’s a beautiful effect.

I have a song in mind for next year that the zipper cakes would be ideal in. Your show is always such a great resource!

Were all of the vertical comets in just like heaven singles or were they cakes?

Jay_
07-16-2019, 07:32 PM
Were all of the vertical comets in just like heaven singles or were they cakes?

Never mind, found your script on csc. Thank you for sharing that!

esgrillo
07-19-2019, 08:21 AM
Never mind, found your script on csc. Thank you for sharing that!

No problem Jay, if you have any questions, let me know. I had to make a couple of subs based on product availability.

Mattp
07-19-2019, 01:13 PM
i finally had 25 straight minutes to watch this... AMAZING!!!! you always find a way to step it up!!...Really love all the fast paced stuff.. i could only imagine all the work that goes into pulling this off... i have so many product questions about certain things you used..may be easier if there is any way to see your list and cue sheet??? or at a minimum what were those slices@ 7:40 and @6:50 were those slices or single shot items you put together??

esgrillo
07-20-2019, 09:37 AM
i finally had 25 straight minutes to watch this... AMAZING!!!! you always find a way to step it up!!...Really love all the fast paced stuff.. i could only imagine all the work that goes into pulling this off... i have so many product questions about certain things you used..may be easier if there is any way to see your list and cue sheet??? or at a minimum what were those slices@ 7:40 and @6:50 were those slices or single shot items you put together??

Matt - Thanks! I shared it in CSC. You can see the full details there if you use that program. The share name is 20194thofJuly Share, let me know if you can access.

at 6:50 it is PFX13FR18 13 SHOT BUTTERFLY at 7:40 it is 7s FanSlice Crackling Comet w/ Crackling Mine (40mm) from 76

Any other questions let me know, I had to make a couple of subs vs what is in the script based on product availability.

Mattp
07-20-2019, 01:55 PM
Cool,, thanks a lot.. appreciate the Info!!!!

esgrillo
07-23-2019, 08:21 AM
Cool,, thanks a lot.. appreciate the Info!!!!

No problem, anything else, let me know.

PyroGyro
07-23-2019, 02:50 PM
Hey Ed and Rick I voted for your displays on Cobra's Backyard Choreography contest. You owe me a sparkler if you win. LOL

Rick_In_Tampa
07-23-2019, 03:42 PM
Hey Ed and Rick I voted for your displays on Cobra's Backyard Choreography contest. You owe me a sparkler if you win. LOL

Lol... Thanks PG!! I'll send you a whole box if I win!! :cool:

esgrillo
07-23-2019, 07:46 PM
Hey Ed and Rick I voted for your displays on Cobra's Backyard Choreography contest. You owe me a sparkler if you win. LOL

Thanks!! You got it lol

esgrillo
07-30-2019, 09:43 AM
Well I disputed the music copyright infringement I had on YouTube for my show and got it live. The music company has 30 days to respond or I win... we'll see how it goes.

Rick_In_Tampa
07-30-2019, 04:18 PM
Lol... Can't wait to hear how this one turns out! It will be interesting to hear what rationale they use to keep it muted.

Stormcrow
08-03-2019, 08:57 AM
Well I disputed the music copyright infringement I had on YouTube for my show and got it live. The music company has 30 days to respond or I win... we'll see how it goes.

I tried that last year and loss. If you win you’ll have to tell me what you said. From what I read claiming you fall under the fair use act is your best shot.

esgrillo
08-03-2019, 11:38 PM
I tried that last year and loss. If you win you’ll have to tell me what you said. From what I read claiming you fall under the fair use act is your best shot.

Thats what I used. I have won a couple and lost a couple. I think the best shot is if they do not reply in the 30 days and I win by default lol

esgrillo
08-21-2019, 07:03 AM
Well I got denied on round 1 but now I disputed the ruling. This process allows you to provide more details to support your claim. We'll see if this works.

In the mean time pleased to announce I won 2nd Place in the 76 Video Contest! Plus I picked up a 3rd for one of my pics.

PyroManiacs
08-21-2019, 08:25 AM
Congrats so far man!

AxeElf
08-21-2019, 12:27 PM
Well I got denied on round 1 but now I disputed the ruling. This process allows you to provide more details to support your claim. We'll see if this works.

In the mean time pleased to announce I won 2nd Place in the 76 Video Contest! Plus I picked up a 3rd for one of my pics.

I might have to dispute the ruling of 2nd place if I was you--it's hard to imagine anything being better. Maybe better cinematography or camera tricks or something, but a better home fireworks show? Doubtful. Is there any place we can see the (ahem) "winner"?

I won't even get into the 3rd place for the pics, but I'm thinking there might have been a thumb on those scales somewhere too.

Seriously, YOURS was the show that all fireworks shows want to be when they grow up.

esgrillo
08-21-2019, 01:45 PM
I might have to dispute the ruling of 2nd place if I was you--it's hard to imagine anything being better. Maybe better cinematography or camera tricks or something, but a better home fireworks show? Doubtful. Is there any place we can see the (ahem) "winner"?

I won't even get into the 3rd place for the pics, but I'm thinking there might have been a thumb on those scales somewhere too.

Seriously, YOURS was the show that all fireworks shows want to be when they grow up.

Axe, thanks for the positive comments. The show that won was only 2 1/2 minutes long. Seems like there is a trend with submissions to these contests to be very short "finale style" shows that are very very heavily scripted and use huge amounts of cues. They make for a spectacular short show but guys like me and Rick from Tampa (and most other guys) submit full shows in the ~20 minute range. You have to spread all your fireworks $ and Cobra hardware over a much longer show so they are really apples and oranges in many ways.

Plus I probably did myself a little injustice submitting the intro portion of my show which was all DMX operated equipment. Lights, lasers, flames... it was hard to video and the camera angles were not great but in person it was pretty cool and the audience loved it so I left it in. Plus the fact it was very complicated to even get it synched with the Cobra script and took so much time... I was like.. that's going in there dammit lol

I would have to have over 2000 cues in my show and spend close to $30K in fireworks to compare to some of these short shows. That is never going to happen for obvious reasons. Plus typical shows are in the 15-20 min range so it makes sense to me to submit something in that typical range.

Hey, if my audience is happy then that's good enough with me.

This was the pic that got 3rd:
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=4422&stc=1

This was a pic that I actually thought was even better (maybe they didn't like it because it was a Dominator product lol):
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=4423&stc=1

Rick_In_Tampa
08-21-2019, 05:22 PM
Axe, thanks for the positive comments. The show that won was only 2 1/2 minutes long. Seems like there is a trend with submissions to these contests to be very short "finale style" shows that are very very heavily scripted and use huge amounts of cues. They make for a spectacular short show but guys like me and Rick from Tampa (and most other guys) submit full shows in the ~20 minute range. You have to spread all your fireworks $ and Cobra hardware over a much longer show so they are really apples and oranges in many ways.

Plus I probably did myself a little injustice submitting the intro portion of my show which was all DMX operated equipment. Lights, lasers, flames... it was hard to video and the camera angles were not great but in person it was pretty cool and the audience loved it so I left it in. Plus the fact it was very complicated to even get it synched with the Cobra script and took so much time... I was like.. that's going in there dammit lol

I would have to have over 2000 cues in my show and spend close to $30K in fireworks to compare to some of these short shows. That is never going to happen for obvious reasons. Plus typical shows are in the 15-20 min range so it makes sense to me to submit something in that typical range.

Hey, if my audience is happy then that's good enough with me.

This was the pic that got 3rd:
4422

This was a pic that I actually thought was even better (maybe they didn't like it because it was a Dominator product lol):
4423

Ed my friend, I appreciate the plug and I admire your self-deprecating explanation of why you believe you didn't win. However, I'm going to have to call bullshit on this one. Sorry. Your show is the gold standard that most of us aim for. 2.5 minutes is not a show. I've had BM's that lasted longer than that. It takes me longer to brush my teeth or to shave. 2.5 minutes isn't a show. Anything less than 10 minutes should be disqualified. Period! I think you got screwed and I'm sticking with that story.

morrison2951
08-21-2019, 09:42 PM
Ed, you got hosed and we demand a recount!:mad:

AxeElf
08-22-2019, 01:08 PM
I for one am in the camp that does not believe that more is always better. It only takes a big bank account to put $10k of fireworks in the air in under 3 minutes--no planning, no thoughtfulness, no creativity, no "story" of intensity and placidity to tell to the audience--and besides that, when the sky is simply one big glowing ball of explosions and sparks, all the intricacies of the various effects are lost. It's as if one were to take a beautiful piece of music like Handel's Messiah and turn it into a cacophony of noise by playing all the notes at once.

So if the judges are going simply by the number of explosions in the air at once, I don't think they are truly judging "the show." You still have my vote.

And yes, that is the picture I was thinking of. I still think it is one of the more amazing and beautiful fireworks still-frames I have EVER seen, let alone this season. I haven't seen the two that placed higher, but imaging yours as 3rd seems preposterous as well.

There's just no accounting for taste, I guess, but it seems like the amateur judges on THIS board are all in agreement that you raised the bar in 2019.

esgrillo
09-10-2019, 09:05 AM
well I WON my appeal on the ACDC song that YouTube had my 2019 video blocked!!! So that is the good news. Bad news is there is another song it got flagged for. I have that dispute going now so it is still not visible to anyone. Hopefully I will win that one too.

It is more a matter of principle now since I have my video posted on Vimeo anyway but YouTube has a much larger audience so it is better to post over there.

I have a great link to another video on what to say in your appeal docs if anyone wants to try.

I only bring it up because more and more songs are getting flagged at least in my experience and the trend for people to do pyromusicals is increasing. It is kind of frustrating to go through all that work and your video gets blocked on upload or in my case taken down after YEARS of being online without issue.

Oh well it is what it is. Gotta keep fightin' the man I guess lol

PyroGyro
09-22-2019, 11:22 AM
My 2 cents Ed

I saw the 1st and 2nd place picture winners. You've got to be kidding me right? The wedding pic was probably taken by a professional photographer, and of course these 2 chicks who voted for it probably wet themselves just seeing a wedding photo. The 1st place winner....I have to admit that this is a great setup photo, but if you put your photo side by side with it I'd bet most people would choose yours.

As for the video contest, I really liked the winners show, but I liked yours more. And it's not just the actual show but other factors go into it as well. It's easier to do a shorter show. It's a lot less work, and your show also had a lot more hits that needed to be timed. It's obvious how much more detail and work went into your show, and your show video was MUCH better too. I will say this though. The length of your video could've been a factor. Let's be honest. These judges have to watch dozens of videos. Do you really think that they all watched the entire length of your video? Maybe next year you should do an edit that is more targeted towards contests/being a little shorter.

Btw, I've watched the evolution of your shows by watching your show starting back in 2014 and then in 2019 it's an amazing improvement. I get a ton of ideas from watching your videos and others here, and I know I'm going to make a huge jump myself next year because of this. I literally went from a 1 long fused Visco show on July 4th of this year to a chinese firing system and pyro club membership, with a Cobra and group buys (including 1.4 Pro) in my near future, and I'm helping setup my first Class B pyromusical next month. I'm excited to see how much my shows will improve next year because of all of this. That said, I also know this. Unless I get physical help and some serious cash donations my shows will never be even remotely as good as yours or Ricks' and some others.

PyroGyro
09-22-2019, 11:32 AM
Btw, I went and looked at the winners youtube channel. They actually DID have a long show for 2019 but the video they submitted for the contest was only the finale part. So I'll cut them some slack, EXCEPT, if you look at their 2019 show video they also used Thunderstruck, and it wasn't as good as your version. That said, their show was still kick ass.

esgrillo
10-10-2019, 12:56 PM
Well I WON the final appeal on my copyright claim with YouTube! It can be done! Hopefully it will stay up for the duration... knocking on wood right now.

displayfireworks1
10-10-2019, 06:29 PM
I glad you won the appeal. This is why I hate music playing when I try to make a video. YouTube is still finding subtle music playing in the background on some of my videos from 4 plus years ago. You have to try hard to even listen to find it. Someone will have a radio playing off to the side somewhere and their software picks it up. Most of the time they will allow it and just add some advertisements. However, there are some songs that will shut the entire video down.

Lanni
10-10-2019, 10:10 PM
This show is awesome, that multi-angle photography was great for me to learn. Strobes in the beginning was a good way to attract people?s attention and made the atmosphere high, I also saw the lights you put in the ground, it made the fireworks more colorful and looks like a pretty party I would like to be. After saw this show, smiles shows at my face just like the audience in your video. I like the last part that you posted people?s back view when they seeing the firework show, it looks like pretty happy and desirable.

esgrillo
10-11-2019, 09:57 AM
I glad you won the appeal. This is why I hate music playing when I try to make a video. YouTube is still finding subtle music playing in the background on some of my videos from 4 plus years ago. You have to try hard to even listen to find it. Someone will have a radio playing off to the side somewhere and their software picks it up. Most of the time they will allow it and just add some advertisements. However, there are some songs that will shut the entire video down.

Dave I agree. YouTube flagged a lot of my videos that were several years old. I hate the fact they do that. I have started using Vimeo as well. No songs get flagged over there so they always stay up but that platform is only about 10% of the size of YouTube so they dont get seen much. The reality for the majority of us pyros is that we do use music for our shows. That is not going to change and I believe that the trend will continue as more and more backyard guys use systems like Cobra which are designed for promusicals. Just have to deal with it I guess...

There is another free platform for videos that has very good functionality. It is called UGETube.com. I have an account there too. No traffic really but you can post anything you want without a problem.

esgrillo
10-11-2019, 12:51 PM
This show is awesome, that multi-angle photography was great for me to learn. Strobes in the beginning was a good way to attract people?s attention and made the atmosphere high, I also saw the lights you put in the ground, it made the fireworks more colorful and looks like a pretty party I would like to be. After saw this show, smiles shows at my face just like the audience in your video. I like the last part that you posted people?s back view when they seeing the firework show, it looks like pretty happy and desirable.

Thanks for the compliment Lanni