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Leeds Opera in the Park 2011

It’s an understatement to say that there isn’t a bottomless pit of money available for council-run public events these days. And although it’s obvious that fireworks aren’t a “frontline service”, there are very few cheaper ways to entertain people for such a low cost per person. Still, it’s as understandable as it is sad that many events and displays have simply fallen by the wayside. Some, however, are still operating on reduced budgets, and some previously free events have been given a stay of execution by making them ticketed and paid-for events. In the last camp is Leeds City Council’s Opera in the Park which has been running for several years now the night before the pop music Party in the Park event. Part of the sweetener for the now paying audience was the addition of a fireworks display choreographed to the final piece of the evening, and Alchemy were delighted to get the nod from Ian and Paul to produce this new display in the grounds of the stunning Temple Newsam stately home.
Due to a line of tall trees in the backstage area we came up with the solution of firing stage pyrotechnics from 3 cherry pickers located stage left, right and directly behind the apex of the orbit. These digitally fired short sharp sequences accentuated the detailed instrumentation of certain points of the music. In addition there were hundreds of shells, far enough back to compensate for the fact that large material was required for the effects to clearly visible to the audience over the trees.
It was really pleasing to get a call on the radio straight after the show from Paul to thank us for producing a fantastic firework display. And judging by the sound of the audience reaction to both the musical performance and the fireworks we think they felt it was money well spent.

Bedford Proms 2011

We were delighted when Mark Harrison and The Full Effect invited Alchemy Fireworks to work with him for the return of the Bedford Proms to its spiritual home in Bedford Park. Not only is the event right on our doorstep in Bedfordshire, but it also gives us the opportunity to work with various other event industry friends with whom we have built relationships over the years, such as Jason Price of JAP Sound and Steve Bell and Wilf Goddard who are Conductor and Manager respectively of the London Gala Orchestra. It also introduced us to singer and radio presenter Aled Jones, who we would also see the following week at Leeds Opera in the Park.
Like most outdoor classical firework concerts, the Bedford Proms takes place on a Saturday night. No problem for us. We gave up having a summer social life years ago. But if you’re Aled Jones and you have to get up before the crack of dawn to present your early Sunday morning radio show then you could be forgiven for wanting to get away from your Saturday night engagements as quickly as possible. The difficulty with Bedford Park is that the only vehicle exit from the backstage area runs through the firework display firing site, all of which meant that Aled had approximately 30 seconds to take his bow, skip off-stage, put on his helmet, jump onto the back of the motorbike waiting to take him home (we presume) and get safely through the firing area before we started our firework display. Conductor and Compere Steve Bell helped him out a little by talking to the audience between tracks, but I could still see the bike slipping through the gate and away from the rows of shells as the first of three big hits of mines went up to mark the start of O Fortuna. After that moto-excitement had got the adrenaline pumping we fired three spectacular sequences to tracks by Orff, Paul McCartney and Goodwin, all of which finished bang in time with the orchestra. The result? A thrilled audience and client. A safe Radio 2 DJ. A relieved senior firer.

Branscombe 2011

Looking back over the hectic summer firework season, I’m slightly sad that I have spent so much time in my waterproofs in the last 4 months. It’s 3 years on the trot now, and I’m starting to take it personally, as if I have some sort of Charlie Brown rain cloud following me. Of the dozen or so summer firework displays that I have been on site for, I can only think of 2 where it was warm, and sunny and dry. This was one of them, preparing a firework display for a private party on the South Devon coast.

In fact, when I think back over a longer period of time I can’t think of a time that it has rained on any Quintessentially Events gigs we have worked on. Or even the site visits. These guys really must have some important phone numbers in their little black book, and I for one, am very grateful for it. If I have a private party for my 30th (er, 40th?, Ed.) then as well as Alchemy Fireworks (naturally) I would definitely get QE along in the hope that their sunshine touch would over-power my rain jinx.

This gig was a real team effort, and we must thank the National Trust for giving us permission to fire the display from their beach. It is very easy to fall in to the trap of thinking that everyone is a party-pooper these days, but when we sent out notifications to the local residents all we received in response were requests for timings so that they could come and watch. So as well as the birthday party guests, our display was also enjoyed by a small gaggle of local residents, and a number of sea fishermen who were taking part in an all-night fishing competition.

What did the event organiser think of the display? “The fireworks were truly spectacular and the client said that it was the perfect end to the evening and really made the weekend special.”

Christ Church College Ball 2011

Most Colleges at Oxford University have been around for a very long time. And many of the buildings themselves have existed in their current form for hundreds of years. They are a beacon of educational achievement as well as major tourist attractions in their own right. So we were absolutely delighted when the committee of Christ Church College – on the recommendation of event company and long-standing Alchemy clients Relevent – selected Alchemy to produce the first ever fireworks display for their Commemoration Ball.

As you might imagine it wasn’t straightforward. As well as being a collection of historic and sensitive heritage buildings it is also a place that students, staff and other residents call home. It is also in a very built up area, and to fire an aerial show to be visible in Tom Quad form the nearest open land would have required massive material and an even bigger budget; the display would have risked being samey due to the minimum shell size required, and it certainly wouldn’t have been the right option for a show that would ideally be choreographed to music. So we put in the leg-work looking at alternative options. And brain-work coming up with a method statement and risk assessment that would give the College powers-that-be enough confidence in us to allow us fire from the rooftop of Tom Quad. (We must thank Simon for his help in smoothing the path of this proposal and obtaining this permission – and for his confidence in us too). Thus we were able to produce a spectacular low-debris display choreographed to Jupiter to mark the end of the Ball’s opening ceremony (I know, normally we’re involved at the end of an event, not the beginning, but these Balls go on all night)

The results, as regular readers will have come to expect, were spectacular, as was the feedback with Alchemy yet again singled out from all the contractors for individual praise from the event’s entertainments organiser: “Special thanks must go to Rob and Glen from Alchemy, whose astounding fireworks truly set the tone for evening.”

UK Festival of Fireworks 2011

Let’s be honest, there are now quite a lot of firework festivals and competitions in the UK. Some of them have been around for decades, and some of them have popped up over the last few years. We’ve always turned down invitations in the past, but when the organisers of the UK Festival of Fireworks approached us again this year we decided that it would be an interesting opportunity to try out some new effects, sequences, music and ideas. Firework displays – like all forms of art and entertainment – are subjective, and we were also attracted to the Festival of Fireworks by the fact that there’s no jury of “firework experts”, no voting, no winners and losers – it’s just 4 great 10 minute pyromusical displays put on by people who love spectacular fireworks and watched by people who love spectacular fireworks: what’s not to like?!
Alchemy Fireworks display director Glenn Plume decided that it was “in for a penny, in for a pound” and put a lot of time and effort into the entire process, from meticulously designing the soundtrack and show, sourcing bespoke material, and preparing every effect for maximum reliability; not to mention an epic amount of FireOne programming (1,000 cues). The soundtrack was varied: from a fun Wallace & Gromit intro to the powerful Canto della Terra, Requiem for a Tower, Reet Petite and finishing on the blistering Rocky training montage.
Thanks must also go to all our team of expert pyrotechnichians who worked so hard to take 2 trucks of fireworks and kit produce a truly spectacular end result. The feedback has been phenomenal and the video reflects all the effort that went in to preparing the display.

Calentita Fireworks 2011

We’ve produced a number of spectacular firework displays in Gibraltar over the years, but 2011 was the first year Alchemy and Gib-based Events UnLimited have been awarded the contract to produce the Calentita Night fireworks and laser display in Casemates Square. The event is a spring food and arts festival, and the fireworks and laser display is the finale, and draws a big crowd to the city centre. Our proposal was to produce a display choreographed to a musical selection inspired by the very principle that drives the whole event: that Gibraltar has been and continues to be a melting pot of cultures.
As the firing site is the same as for New Year’s Eve we already knew the limitations of the site, and the key is choosing appropriate calibre reliable material. There is almost no margin for error with tight safety distances and hazards on all sides. On New Year’s Eve the display is – as you would expect – quite short. A blast for 5 minutes to celebrate the end of one year and the start of the next. But Calentita is a much longer display, which really stretches the range of suitable material to avoid repeating effects during the show. It took all of our expertise to design a show that would be interesting and high-impact and last nearly 20 minutes while working within all the health and safety restrictions of the venue and the limited footprint of the firing site itself.
On top of this we also worked with a Spanish laser company to produce a show that seemlessly integrated the fireworks, lasers, lights and music to produce a son-et-lumiere that was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. And for all the restrictions and challenges of limited safety distances, it’s great to hear the audience reaction close-up, not only at the end but throughout the display. That’s one of the great things about working in Gibraltar – the people there do love their fireworks. And our end client was on the phone straight after the display to confirm to thanks us for a safe and spectacular job well done.

RHS Hampton Court Flower Show Preview Evening Fireworks 2011

The start of July saw us back in Surrey and back at the Hampton Court Flower Show for a spectacular firework display for the RHS’s Exclusive Preview Evening. The display was choreographed to a custom old school rock and roll mix, featuring classic retro hits from the 1950’s and 1960’s including Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley.
The punchy, staccato feel of some of the music itself to intricate split-second choreography with the fireworks, and (as our long-suffering team of expert pyrotechnicians had feared) it was something of a festival of single-shots and wiring in. The cue count was up in the high hundreds but as you’ll see from the video – it was worth it. But it does make you wonder what we did before digital firing systems like FireOne and Pyrodigital came along.
As Hampton Court is a sensitive venue for fireworks we were careful to design the display “from the ground upwards” so that even if the wind was strong (and in the wrong direction) there would still be a continuous low-mid level show that could be fired in most conditions. As it happened – or perhaps because of this sensible approach to risk management – it was one of the most calm and sunny days of the summer, and we were able to fire the whole display without any fallout ever being likely to travel beyond the agreed drop-zone.
As always though, it’s not about whether we think a display is good, it’s about what our client (and their paying guests) think. We knew that it would be tough to beat the feedback we received for our show here in 2010, when 78.1% of guests thought our display was “good or excellent”. That was already a massive 15.5% improvement on the company that produced the display in 2009, and 11.1% improvement on another company that produced the display in 2008. So went we met our client for a de-brief lunch it was with some trepidation that we awaited the stats for 2011 – we really shouldn’t have set the bar so high in 2010 😉 ! We need not have feared though. Huge credit must go to Alchemy Fireworks display designer Glenn Plume and all the team that prepared and worked on the display, because the feedback for Alchemy Fireworks was up yet again, with a whopping 79% of the RHS’s discerning guests rating the display as good or excellent. We’d better start thinking about how we’re going to beat it with the 2012 display!

Phil and Emma’s Wedding

Wedding Fireworks to Music, Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire

The brief: Alchemy Fireworks was asked to produce a spectacular wedding firework display for Phil and Emma’s wedding reception.

The location: The event was held at Luton Hoo, near Luton, Bedfordshire.

The display: This show was a rare “traditional” wedding fireworks display – no music, no lights or lasers – just 5-6 minutes of beautiful fireworks in all their glory. We structured the show into striking colour sequences so that it was stylish and harmonious; we can’t stand messy firework displays. You wouldn’t serve all the different ingredients of your wedding breakfast mashed together into a big pile of stodge, so why do the same with your wedding fireworks display? Not that it’s the clients fault, but you need to know that some firework companies produce firework displays that are the equivalent of baby food, and some firework companies produce displays that are the equivalent of haute cuisine. We like to think that an Alchemy Fireworks display is as creative as a Heston Blumenthal tasting menu, and as hearty as a Delia Smith classic!

The feedback: “The firework display was simply stunning.”

Mr and Mrs B’s Wedding

Wedding Fireworks to Music, Dartmouth, Devon

The brief: Alchemy Fireworks was asked to produce a spectacular wedding fireworks display for Mr and Mrs B’s high profile wedding reception.

The location: The event was held at a private residence in Kingswear, near Dartmouth in Devon.

The display: Alchemy were delighted to be asked to provide a spectacular wedding firework display for Mr and Mrs B’s wedding. It was a high profile event and the event organizers wanted to make sure that everything was just perfect, but they also wanted to know that they were getting value for money. We showed the client a full CGI visualization of the display so they could see exactly what they would get for their money, and exactly how it would be choreographed to their chosen music – 2 Kings of Leon tracks. Alchemy also organized the barge hire and liaison port authorities so that the firework display could take place safely on the River Dart eve amidst all the activity of regatta week.

The feedback: “the display was excellent!”

Stephanie and Philip

Wedding Fireworks, Aberdeen, Scotland

The brief: Alchemy Fireworks was asked to produce a spectacular wedding firework display for Stephanie and Philip’s wedding reception.

The location: The event was held at a private residence near Fyvie Castle, near Aberdeen in Scotland.

The display: Wedding firework displays are as popular in Scotland as they are in the rest of the UK. Firework displays are hugely popular in this part of the world, and Scotland has traditionally hosted some of the most biggest firework displays in the UK, including the Edinburgh Festival Fireworks Concert, and various spectacular firework displays for Hogmanay events in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Inverness to name but a few. Stephanie and Philip’s wedding firework display was a traditional aerial show; no music, just simply stunning fireworks.

The feedback: “The fantastic fireworks display was the perfect way to end the evening.”