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sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
I'm injured all over so grueling isn't the word.
I'm in a pyro club that can't manage...to manage, so I got mad after the show, got hammered, walked away after my segment and quit the club.
So it's very awkward to be here throughout the week, as it is a week-long convention with the biggest fireworks displays in America
But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to open the week's festivities, so I was honored to do that.
I only had a short segment and relatively low budget, and help at the very last minute(by pyro standards). For reasons unknown a lot of my stuff didn't go off, we're certain it was software glitches as it happened later in my buddy's finale.

Despite what's obvious to me, people tell me "great job", and I don't believe them and look away.
I take it personal like I'm being appeased, which pisses me off.

Be honest.
I picked that little part to Guardians of the Galaxy, and Cherry Bomb.
It's far away so you can't really see the fireballs.


View: https://youtu.be/p22_Joh-3BE
 
1

1372

Guest
I'm injured all over so grueling isn't the word.
I'm in a pyro club that can't manage...to manage, so I got mad after the show, got hammered, walked away after my segment and quit the club.
So it's very awkward to be here throughout the week, as it is a week-long convention with the biggest fireworks displays in America
But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to open the week's festivities, so I was honored to do that.
I only had a short segment and relatively low budget, and help at the very last minute(by pyro standards). For reasons unknown a lot of my stuff didn't go off, we're certain it was software glitches as it happened later in my buddy's finale.

Despite what's obvious to me, people tell me "great job", and I don't believe them and look away.
I take it personal like I'm being appeased, which pisses me off.

Be honest.
I picked that little part to Guardians of the Galaxy, and Cherry Bomb.
It's far away so you can't really see the fireballs.


View: https://youtu.be/p22_Joh-3BE

Looks good broseph....Go get some drink and rest.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
71,541
71,465
I saw the gates opening up into an alternate universe...pretty epic display IMO
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
I saw the gates opening up into an alternate universe...pretty epic display IMO
It's nuts out here, if you want me to post more video....
They're still blowing off shit & I'm 5 miles away watching it from ramada.
50th anniversary.
In fact the PGI vice President died out here from an aneurysm, right on the field.
They could say "he died doing what he loved", and likely will.
The governor is coming in in a few hours, and I'm 90% green-lit for my daughter to sing the national anthem to open the nights festivities.
 
1

1372

Guest
It's nuts out here, if you want me to post more video....
They're still blowing off shit & I'm 5 miles away watching it from ramada.
50th anniversary.
In fact the PGI vice President died out here from an aneurysm, right on the field.
They could say "he died doing what he loved", and likely will.
The governor is coming in in a few hours, and I'm 90% green-lit for my daughter to sing the national anthem to open the nights festivities.
MOAR VIDS
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562

8-12" mortars, holding a total of 1200 gallons of gas/diesel mix.
Shape charges are next to them wrapped in electrical tape.
This goes off tonight, I'll get video.




24 & 36" shell built by the crew on site with the famous Ned Gorsky, signed by yours truly & crew.
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,737
19,619

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814
Awesome stuff.
I'm a little confused on what this event is. You said pyro club - is this attended by the public or is this like a convention for people who put these shows on? Around here the famous family for fireworks is Rozzi - they put on a lot of the big shows. So is this something that they'd be at - learning new techniques and stuff?

Also -
  • Do you make the fireworks?
  • Are you the choreographer that picks the sequence of explosions and timing with the music?
  • How much does a 13 minute show like the one in your first post cost?

I've always been curious as to how the mortars are put together and how the burn time from launch to explosion can be so precise that it can be set to music. That fascinates me. There is a big fireworks show around here at the end of each summer that a local radio show puts on. They play their soundtrack over the radio and the timing of the show is incredible. Explosions that are going off 800 feet in the air are timed perfectly with snare beats on a song. It's amazing.
 

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814

8-12" mortars, holding a total of 1200 gallons of gas/diesel mix.
Shape charges are next to them wrapped in electrical tape.
This goes off tonight, I'll get video.




24 & 36" shell built by the crew on site with the famous Ned Gorsky, signed by yours truly & crew.
Holy shit! How high do you need to launch a 36" shell so you don't kill everyone on the ground? Haha.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
How'd you get into this?

What are the chances of you blowing yourself up?

What kind of safety precautions does one have while packing a 36-in shell?
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
Awesome stuff.
I'm a little confused on what this event is. You said pyro club - is this attended by the public or is this like a convention for people who put these shows on? Around here the famous family for fireworks is Rozzi - they put on a lot of the big shows. So is this something that they'd be at - learning new techniques and stuff?

Also -
  • Do you make the fireworks?
  • Are you the choreographer that picks the sequence of explosions and timing with the music?
  • How much does a 13 minute show like the one in your first post cost?

I've always been curious as to how the mortars are put together and how the burn time from launch to explosion can be so precise that it can be set to music. That fascinates me. There is a big fireworks show around here at the end of each summer that a local radio show puts on. They play their soundtrack over the radio and the timing of the show is incredible. Explosions that are going off 800 feet in the air are timed perfectly with snare beats on a song. It's amazing.
So several regional pyroclubs converge at the convention, as well as the public who are not members of the guild, and famous display companies from all over the world, including Rozzi's, Casabella, Zambelli, Grucci etc.
Grucci was to perform last night but was pushed back to Friday as we had a storm roll through, tornado warning & golf-ball sized hail(can't wait to look at my truck).

  • Yes I make fireworks, and can at the convention and enter nightly competitions
  • Yes, I pick the music, choreography, fireworks, software etc.
  • It can vary greatly. Aside from the enormous time and logistics put into it, generally people are asking what the fireworks cost. idf Joe Blow were to try and make that happen his first go-around from a consumer standpoint, it could cost him $40,000.00. For me and the other 2 guys that did the one posted, the cost was probably around $15,000.00, aside from convention fees, software, transportation etc. Much was donated, discounted, and the guild pays us to fill the sky as a club before the big boys come in and put on the high-budget Display company shows, that can take a year to choreograph.




Mortars are the actual tubes the shells go in to, in pyro talk they're referred to as "guns".
Shells are either ball shells or canister shells, then you've got mines, comets and a hundred other common effects.
The timing is most definitely a science; precise timing is a combination of lift charge, time fuse, composition, and electronic firing and scripting among other factors.
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
Holy shit! How high do you need to launch a 36" shell so you don't kill everyone on the ground? Haha.
That one will likely go about 2000 feet in the air.
It weighs 370 pounds but will only require 22 lbs. of lift charge(black powder), amazingly.
 
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sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
How'd you get into this?

What are the chances of you blowing yourself up?

What kind of safety precautions does one have while packing a 36-in shell?
  • I got into it, basically by personality type. I'm an adrenaline junkie and love BOOM as well as sky art and cosmic beauty. But really it was by inquisition. Usually on the 4th of July for 20+ years I'd go trade on Indian reservations for fireworks. As a kid I was picking up aluminum cans and selling whatever for firework money as the 4th neared. As I got older I traded other things I won't mention, and then older I began trying to pool money with other. When they began prioritizing coke and gambling or partying above the effort, I said fuck'em, and went on my own and started researching and making calls. Then one thing led to another.

If you'd asked me 10 years ago if I ever thought I'd be an opening night show for the biggest convention in N. America I'd have laughed, Back then I hadn't even wrapped my first sparkler bomb.

The chances of ME blowing myself up.....hmm.....I'm pretty klutzy. I broke my toe the first night just unfolding a collapsible table.

Safety precautions for a shell like that are primarily clothing and anti static environment. Humidity, barometric pressure, environment...depending on the effects and necessary composition, there can be many factors involved. But once common-sense(relative) precautions are put in place, a lot of it is monotonous. It's always good to be grounded.