July 4th 2009 Fireworks
PorkySwears -
168 views
- 5 days ago
July 4th 2009 fireworks. My camera shut itself off so I only have video of the last 4 minutes. But you get the idea. I was sitting too close to get the entire display in frame, so I just left it on the center of the bursts. Much better in person, of course.
Unlike last year's video, no editing was needed to remove "black sky" between shots. There WAS no black sky. With 240 shells, 12 cakes, and about 20 one-shot mortars, I intended the show to last about 15 to 20 minutes. But I mis-timed the fuses slightly and the show only lasted about 8 minutes. The pace did increase slightly about midway, but basically it was an 8-minute finale'. Better a short, exciting show than a long, boring show. Overall, the crowd really loved it.
I committed to a big cookout/fireworks show about three weeks before July 4th. At that late date, I couldn't find any suppliers who had mortar tubes in stock. However, I did find one who could provide pre-cut HDPE tubes with no plugs. Since the price was better in large quantities, I ordered 250 mortar tubes.
Little did I know what a nightmare turning 250 poplar plugs would be. It took a full week just to make the plugs. Good lathe practice and fun, but rather tedious.
The mortar racks themselves were easy enough to build, but the mass-production required and the time-limits made it challenging. The racks were all assembled by the morning of July 3rd, leaving the rest of that day to prepare a cookout for 40+ friends and neighbors. Oh, and I had never hosted a party before in my life. What an idiot.
Anyway, it all came together thanks to rescue by my parents, nephews, and friends. The food and fireworks were great. Next year, the timing will be better and I won't have a mountain of prep-work.
Lessons learned...
#1) We were no closer than 125 feet, but that was still much too close. We were pelted with debris which was distracting. The best views were across the street from my house in the front yards of my neighbors.
#2) Use fewer shells with better timing to create a more efficient display. Don't fire single shells while a cake is firing. You can't really distinguish the single shells so it's a waste. Better the let the cake finish then fire several shells close together.
#3) Once again, I completely underestimated the awful mess created by the shells. It took about 3 days to cleanup all the bits of paper and plastic. I need to find a nearby field next year.
Unlike last year's video, no editing was needed to remove "black sky" between shots. There WAS no black sky. With 240 shells, 12 cakes, and about 20 one-shot mortars, I intended the show to last about 15 to 20 minutes. But I mis-timed the fuses slightly and the show only lasted about 8 minutes. The pace did increase slightly about midway, but basically it was an 8-minute finale'. Better a short, exciting show than a long, boring show. Overall, the crowd really loved it.
I committed to a big cookout/fireworks show about three weeks before July 4th. At that late date, I couldn't find any suppliers who had mortar tubes in stock. However, I did find one who could provide pre-cut HDPE tubes with no plugs. Since the price was better in large quantities, I ordered 250 mortar tubes.
Little did I know what a nightmare turning 250 poplar plugs would be. It took a full week just to make the plugs. Good lathe practice and fun, but rather tedious.
The mortar racks themselves were easy enough to build, but the mass-production required and the time-limits made it challenging. The racks were all assembled by the morning of July 3rd, leaving the rest of that day to prepare a cookout for 40+ friends and neighbors. Oh, and I had never hosted a party before in my life. What an idiot.
Anyway, it all came together thanks to rescue by my parents, nephews, and friends. The food and fireworks were great. Next year, the timing will be better and I won't have a mountain of prep-work.
Lessons learned...
#1) We were no closer than 125 feet, but that was still much too close. We were pelted with debris which was distracting. The best views were across the street from my house in the front yards of my neighbors.
#2) Use fewer shells with better timing to create a more efficient display. Don't fire single shells while a cake is firing. You can't really distinguish the single shells so it's a waste. Better the let the cake finish then fire several shells close together.
#3) Once again, I completely underestimated the awful mess created by the shells. It took about 3 days to cleanup all the bits of paper and plastic. I need to find a nearby field next year.
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