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21/09/2011 In

Camilla and Andrew

Camilla and Andrew
Wedding Fireworks in Essex

I don’t know what it is about Essex, but fireworks seem to be very popular there, especially for private parties and weddings. Perhaps it’s just because much of the county is fairly rural, so there are more properties and venues with the space to put on a firework display. Perhaps people there just like a good party, and enjoy some dazzling entertainment. Whatever the reason, we produce a number of wedding firework displays and party firework displays in Essex every year. One such wedding firework display was for Camilla and Andrew’s reception at Hylands House, a beautiful Grade II listed stately home and estate set in 574 acres of historic landscaped parkland near Chelmsford, and managed by Chelmsford Borough Council.

Camilla had been given our contact details by the events team at Hylands– we are a preferred supplier for fireworks displays there – and asked us to create a spectacular firework display for her and Andrew’s wedding reception. So along went Glenn – Alchemy Display Director, Senior Designer, Senior Firer, Firework Geek Geezer, Display Design Legend and Essex Boy extraordinaire – in his turbo Fiesta with blacked out windows to meet Camilla at the venue and talk through the options for a spectacular wedding firework display. The wedding was to take place on a Thursday, which was great for us as summer weekends get booked very early, and meant that we didn’t have to wait until the weekend to get our own personal firework fix. (We briefly imagined a world where events took place evenly on all days of the week, throughout the year, where every day is “show day” with an audience of thousands cheering and applauding our displays and generally tickling our egos every evening…)

Back to reality, and show day for Camilla and Andrew and things were very straightforward – no FireOne, no chases of thousands of single-shots, no time-code link to a soundtrack – just a short, simple, pretty, exciting and value-for-money display. And when I say value-for-money, I mean VALUE-FOR-MONEY: I suppose that one advantage of a Thursday wedding is that prices are negotiable!

“Us and all of our guests were completely wowed by the firework display, and the finale was fantastic! I would recommend Alchemy without a doubt.” Camilla

Alchemy Fireworks useful links: Hylands House

21/09/2011 In

Anouska and Richie

Anouska and Richie
Wedding Fireworks to Music in Buckinghamshire

Hedsor House is a magnificent Manor House in Taplow, Bucks and a fantastic place for both a wedding and a firework display. We met Anouska at Hedsor to take the brief, introduce ourselves to the venue, and check the lie of the land. The firing site was agreed, and the music was chosen as Viva la Vida by Coldplay – a very contemporary choice, and one which is great music for a wedding fireworks display in both style and sentiment.

Anouska also asked us to commemorate the special occasion with a custom piece of lancework, featuring the initials of the couple either side of a heart, with the date (of the wedding, not the meeting) below. No problem!

As well as the fireworks, the lancework, the music, and the PA system, we also helped fulfill the couple’s request for help finding a specialist firework photographer who could take photos of their wedding firework display. We knew just the man. The man who has taken the majority of photos on this website, including those on this page, and who is long overdue a link and a glowing reference at the very least. The man is David Chang, and you can see his work on his Flickr page at ErhuDave’s photostream. We first found David when we saw the photos he had taken of our 2007 Sheffield After Dark display on Flickr, and since then we’ve commissioned him to take photos at many of our displays, and on at least 2 occasions he’s been known to take photos of two Alchemy Fireworks displays in the same day: you can’t photoshop commitment like that! Thanks for all your great work David – we’ll miss you when/if you go back to China, but we may see you when we go firework shopping!

21/09/2011 In

Leeds New Year 2008

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display 2008, Leeds, Yorkshire

Unusually for a New Year’s Eve display, Leeds Council’s city centre fireworks display s fired at 5.30pm so that it can be a genuine family event, and children who would be in bed before midnight still get to join in the celebrations and watch the biggest New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Yorkshire. For 2008 the display was fired from in front of Quarry House: the perfect firing position for the prime fireworks viewing area along the Headrow and Eastgate in the centre of the city.

Although the firework display was not set to music it still had a theme, and had been designed to depict the passage of the four seasons. Spring consisted of a carpet of green candles with brightly coloured pastel bursts above, summer was based on a palette of hot colours and palm shells. Autumn was a cacophony of crackle candles and shells along with red and orange falling leaves with the winter display culminating in an awesome Christmas scene of red, green silver and gold strobe.

Despite our meticulous planning when it comes to every fireworks display, the weather is one factor over which we have no control, and the Yorkshire elements were not kind to us. The fog had hung around from the moment we arrived on site in the morning and you could clearly see it surrounding the tops of the tallest buildings in the City centre. The show was always intended to be an aerial fireworks display designed to be viewed from across Leeds city centre, and with most of the material reaching heights in excess of 300ft it was disappointing that after so much hard work a lot of the display was lost in the mist. One effect that the mist did actually enhance though was our red and green lightning fireworks. The scattered flashes from these shells illuminated the mist, and in turn the entire Leeds skyline was brought alive.

Ian Cairns from Leeds City Council loves his fireworks just as much as we do. Ian, if you’re reading this, let’s do it again for New Year’s Eve 2009 – but next time we’ll bring the industrial fog-shifting fan with us!

21/09/2011 In

Birmingham New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display 2008, Birmingham City Centre, West Midlands

Walking through the deserted streets of Birmingham, at 8am on 1st January 2009 – what seemed like only a few hours after we had finished clearing up after the Birmingham New Year’s Eve fireworks display – the Alchemy Fireworks team seemed like the sole survivors in England’s second city. We felt tired, yes, but slightly cheered by the though that we felt a lot better than most of the people who had been partying in Birmingham city centre before and after the fireworks display at midnight.

That said, for much of the previous 2 days we would have happily exchanged below-zero temperatures and freezing fog for a comfortable armchair in the pub by the fire, and maybe a small beer…

Sadly the murky weather – which had lifted during the afternoon of the 31st – didn’t stay gone for long, and by the time midnight arrived (don’t forget the extra second Tinkerbell) the rooftop of the Hyatt Hotel was once again shrouded in thick fog – a cold white oasis of calm 25 storeys above the crowds in Centenary Square and along Broad Street, and the stunning views across the West Midlands that we had enjoyed whilst setting up the fireworks earlier in the day had disappeared. The aerial fireworks firing site on the top deck of the old Holliday Street Car Park was like a skating rink, and the fog meant that you couldn’t see what was happening on the other rooftop, even though there is only 100 metres between them. Still, the fog glowed, some moments were more visible than others, the noisy sequences were still effective and the crowd cheered – people in Birmingham do seem to love fireworks displays, and they had turned out in force despite the bad weather. Our decision to create a continuous firework display off the roof of the Hyatt (just in case strong wind meant we had to pull shells from the car park) proved to be a good call, if not for exactly the right reasons. Bring on 2009 – but with better visibility for a rootop fireworks display please Birmingham!

“Thanks for the show on Wednesday, I thought it was very good… it was a shame about the fog but we can’t control the weather and we still had 7,000 people out to watch.” Joan Durose, Head of Events, Birmingham City Council

21/09/2011 In

Bedford Festival of Fire & Light 2009

Bedford Festival of Fire & Light 2009

November 2009 saw us return to the Embankment in Bedford, determined to overcome the firework equivalent of “the difficult second album” syndrome. The previous year’s show had been really well received, and as the first company to return in successive years for this event we faced a new creative pressure: to prove that we could create a new theatrical fire show for the same brief and venue, but that was entirely different from the previous year’s show. We proposed a show based on that most traditional of festive tales, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, modernised and adapted to feature a floating bed for Scrooge, three 30’ tall spirits, and more than a cameo appearance from Father Christmas…

Gavin et al apart we had the same team as the previous year, plus the addition of Rob G, Nick, Jonty and Sally-Ann to bolster both the production and performance elements of the show, all under the technical, logistical and creative guidance of James and Rich from Relevent. Meanwhile Glenn and co worked their magic on the fireworks, including the aerial sequences that powered the entertainment between the more subtle and theatrical sequences.

With half an eye on the wind (autumn gales, lovely) the show started at 7pm bang on, by which time the audience was estimated to have reached somewhere near 20,000. And from the moment Scrooge climbed aboard his bed-boat until the moment that Father Christmas rewarded the changed ex-miser (and the audience) with a magical snow finale, the audience were engrossed. It was, again, a roaring success. And we’ve got a few months to come up with some ideas of what to propose for next year, although I do have a couple of thoughts germinating already…

21/09/2011 In

Stourhead Picnic and Fireworks 2009

Stourhead Picnic & Fireworks 2009

Stourhead’s Fete Champetre used to happen every two years but since the rainy summer of 2008 they have favoured a Picnic and Fireworks style evening rather than bringing in a huge infrastructure which could potentially damage the glorious landscaped gardens. It’s for this reason that we were back a second year in a row. The firing site here is wonderful – if a little cramped! To afford us more space I suggested mooring a boat a little way out on the lake to enable us to use fanned material which would simply not be possible from the island due to overhanging trees and vegetation. I think that Rob still curses me now for designing a show which would fire nearly 300 single shot candles in less than 10 seconds! The candles were mounted on 180 degree fanned racks which in turn were set onto the boat. Rob and Simon began the arduous task of wiring in candle after candle whilst Will and I escaped that and began setting out and loading the rest of the material.

By mid-afternoon the mammoth candle task had been completed and with a huge amount of muscle power we gently pushed the boat out onto the water and set it in position. It looked amazing with row after row of these single shot candles at almost horizontal angles and that was before any had gone off! Show set and everything tested we were ready for firing at 10pm. The candle sequence was approximately half way through the display and all eyes were set on the boat throughout the first five minutes waiting….then off it went! Chases from left to right, right to left, centre out and crossing over, simultaneous lifts with shell bursts over the top – in fact every conceivable firing pattern was used and it looked tremendous filling the entire width of the huge lake with some stunning reflections. It may have taken 2 men 4 hours to rig but boy was it worth it!

21/09/2011 In

Sheffield 2007

Sheffield After Dark Bonfire Night Fireworks Display 2007, Sheffield, Yorkshire

The After Dark fireworks display – or fireworks event, in fact – has everything. It’s a modern, fun, public Bonfire Night event, with all the classic elements that you would hope for: a big crowd, great music, a loud funfair, the smell of food, a big bonfire and of course, an awesome Alchemy Fireworks display. Scott Barton, MD of the Sheffield Events Co has run After Dark for more than 10 years, and knows what people want to experience at a Bonfire Night event. We worked with Scott to produce an upbeat soundtrack that would appeal to all ages, featuring songs that are recognisible but not clichéd firework music. “There’s such a fertile music scene in Sheffield that we also wanted to include some pieces by local artists, such as the Arctic Monkeys and Richard Hawley” says Rob Farrow, “It really helps give the show a sense of place and you can hear that the crowd especially love the tracks by Sheffield artists.”

As well as getting the right soundtrack, we have worked with Scott to develop the way that fireworks are fired at the venue. Axing big shells from a distant firing site, using a wider frontage for cakes and candles, and launching fireworks from the Cupola have all been successful measures to make the display more exciting and create a bigger impact. In addition, we rig a “VIP Bonfire Start”, so that the lighting of the huge Don Valley Bowl bonfire is a bigger and more dramatic part of the evening, erupting into life with crackers, flares, fountains and waterfalls. We’re proud to be involved in Yorkshire’s biggest and best bonfire night fireworks display.

“U R booked for next year!” Text message straight after the show from Scott Barton, Managing Director, Sheffield Events Company

21/09/2011 In

Trafalgar

Trafalgar Dinner Fireworks Display 2009

We love a bit of history at Alchemy, and this is one for the patriots and historians! The 1805 Club are a group dedicated to preserving the memorials of the Georgian sailing Navy, as well as promoting research in this field, and especially in Lord Nelson. One of their many fundraising events is a Trafalgar Dinner, held at the beautiful New House, Redlynch in Hampshire. It’s a unique piece of British architecture, a three-winged Jacobean delight with set in front of a sloping lawn… the perfect place for a fireworks display!

Now, this isn’t just any old firework display. There are certain traditions to uphold, especially when the man at the reins is 1805 Club Chairman Peter Warwick. Resplendent in an esoteric Black-Tie-and-Tin-Hat outfit Peter announces each of Nelson’s four major naval victories – St Vincent, Copenhagen, Aboukir, and Trafalgar- and each is accompanied by a hurrah and a salutary rocket! It’s a brilliant tradition, and a great prelude to the display proper.

“Amazingly, each year the Trafalgar display surpasses that of the year before. The guests love it. Not only is Alchemy creative and flexible with its display ideas, but the people are super to work with.” Peter Warwick, Chairman, 1805 Club

Alchemy Fireworks useful links: The 1805 Club

21/09/2011 In

York Maze 2009

York Maze Fireworks 2009

2 years ago York, the birthplace of a certain Mr Guy Fawkes, lacked a November 5th display. Noticing this, we put a call into the City Council who in turn approached local businesses with a hope of finding someone willing to organise such an event. Step up to the mark Mr Tom Pearcy and York Maze! York Maze is a maze created out of maize!

A sell out last year, Tom increased his capacity and sold out again this year – still receiving calls during the week leading up to the event asking if any tickets were left. Local radio station Minster FM organised an on air competition for their listeners and came up with a theme for the show (80’s!) and a selection of tracks from which we could create our fireworks soundtrack. These included Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, Fame by Irene Cara, Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and We Close Our Eyes by Go West. Programmed and fired using our digital FireOne system I could create some stunning on-the-beat hits of pyro and effects kept perfectly in time by running the whole show on time code. We got the evening off to a roaring start by providing effects to accompany the lighting of the bonfire. On the press of a button a lift of single shot comets erupted from around the base of the fire followed by red flares, Chinese cracker strings, a waterfall draped around the fire and a fountain to top it all off.

30 minutes later and it was show time. The CD started, the firing system began receiving time code and we were off! Even from the firing site I could hear the oohs and aaahs from the audience as the display worked its magic culminating in a huge lift of titanium willow shells. And the feedback from the client? ‘Book us in for November 5th 2010’! It’ll be a pleasure Tom!

Alchemy Fireworks useful links: York Maze

21/09/2011 In

Darlington 2009

Darlington Fireworks 2009

Darlington’s annual Firework Display is the Borough Council’s biggest event, with an estimated 40,000+ attending the free display in South Park. That’s a lot of people to entertain. 2009 was our first year working with Jeff, Marion, Phil, Mike and team at Darlington Borough Council, and it was an exciting and fun journey from pitching for the show to delivering the display.

We agreed early on to theme the firework display around the idea of Space, in part inspired by the 40th anniversary of the moon landings, but by chance the week of the display coincided with (the development of the American Aries Space program) so the Space concept was very much in the public consciousness (and the press) in the few days running up to the event.

The soundtrack duly evolved over a period of a couple of months, with input and comment from all parties until we settled on a definitive final version, featuring music as varied as The Prodigy, Audrey Hepburn, David Bowie, Lemon Jelly, Gustav Holst and John Williams – as well as a few familiar soundbites from Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 13. Local schools rallied round under the direction of the Council, and atop the bonfire was a space-suited guy complete with his own space shuttle!

On the day we used a combination of manual electronic firing systems and FireOne to add the split second moments of perfect synchronisation. The end result was, almost unanimously, the best firework display Darlington has ever seen, featuring glittering strobe shells, a lovely crackling sequence, and a full-on titanium willow and brocade crown finale.

“All the pre-planning that went into our event was realised with a display that was hailed by everyone as the best one ever seen in Darlington. It was fantastic to see Alchemy’s vision come to life on the night.” Jeff Dawson, Events Manager, Darlington Borough Council