Chain of cannister shells, accounting for burn time of first fuse

[MikeG]

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For my finale, I plan to set off a chain of 200 1.75″ consumer cannister shells, all lit from one length of “master fuse”.  Once started, they should all launch at roughly the same interval, depending on how close I attach them on the “master fuse” and the burn speed of that fuse.  But the first shell will take about 4.4 seconds to launch, the burn time of its own fuse.  How do I account for the burn time of the initial shell, which will be lit from the master fuse which itself is being lit from an ematch, while keeping all subsequent shells at the same interval?

 

Another way of asking is how do I put a time delay between the firing of the ematch to the start of the chain, without effecting the spacing interval of the rest of the chain?

 

Thanks.

[NEC]

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Add shells to show, create sequence with the interval you want between breaks, select all events, create chain and add 4.4 pft to the VDL.  Should get you close

 

[MikeG]

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Unfortunately, changing the PFT just changes the aerial lift time of the shell, so it either bursts too high or too low.  And also once I create a chain, it tells me I am unable to alter the VDL.

[NEC]

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My bad, typed in a hurry on the road.  Play with LFT and DLY values and you should be able to get what you want.  I’m not at home right now but can put something together this evening late and post it here.  Could technically even modify the roman candle example here –> https://finale3d.com/documentation/prefire/ and chance the effect size to represent your shell and make it 200 shot 🙂

[MikeG]

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I’ll take any help you can give me!  I am admittedly new to Finale, but I have been working on this for hours with no luck, and I know this should not be that difficult of a problem.

[DrewFinale]

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Hey MikeG, for custom chains (where the shells are loose and you’re fusing/chaining them together when prep your show), the standard workflow is to add the individual shells to the timeline, then go to Script > Chains > Combine as chain.

 

The problem is that this workflow doesn’t support a delay before the first shell on the chain. But not to worry, there are workarounds. Here are a couple options for you:

 

Option 1) Create a special shell with a delay and use it as the first shell on your chain

 

To create an effect, go to Effects > Create effect

 

Example full VDL phrase for a 1.75″ Red Peony with a 4.4s external slow burning fuse: 1.75″ 6.50 PFT 2.1 LFT 4.4 DLY Red Peony

 

PFT = Prefire = total time from firing system ignition to shell burst

LFT = Lift Time

DLY = Delay

 

Adjust values as needed but make sure DLY + LFT = PFT.

 

Here’s a screenshot showing the special shell, followed by standard shells, arranged on the timeline.  To chain the shells, go to Script > Chains > Combine as chain.

 

 

 

Option 2) Create a dummy “Delay Fuse” effect and place it before the first shell in your chain

 

To create an effect, go to Effects > Create effect

 

Example full VDL phrase for a delay fuse effect: 1.75″ 4.4s Dark Ground Flare

 

Here’s a screenshot showing the delay fuse effect, followed by standard shells, arranged on the timeline.  To make the final chain, go to Script > Chains > Combine as chain.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for jumping in, NEC!

[MikeG]

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Thanks so much Drew!  That worked exactly as I wanted.

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