PyroJam 2023 (official competition discussion topic)

DrewFinale 2023-01-09 02:34:15

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DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-09 02:34:15

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The PyroJam 2023 design competition is LIVE! This is your chance to see your show design brought to life in front of thousands of people and compete for $5,000 in prizes. New to PyroJam? Don’t wait to get started, the deadline to submit your show is March 4, 2023. Get all the details at finale3d.com/pyrojam. Have a question? Need some help? Post it here!

PyroJam 2023 FAQ:

1) I’m having trouble with the simulations for some of the effects in the PyroJam catalog, what’s wrong?

The PyroJam effect simulations were created using the 2022.12.19 beta release of Finale 3D. Please go to ‘File > View account details’ in Finale 3D to make sure you are running this release or newer. If you are running an older release, please close Finale 3D, then download and install the latest BETA release.

2) Which Finale 3D release do I need to download for the competition?

You need to download and install the latest BETA release of Finale 3D.

3) What kind of single shot racks are used at PyroJam?

The single shot racks used at PyroJam are produced by CraigCo. You can see the racks used last year in the PyroJam behind-the-scenes video.

4) Can 360-degree circle racks for single shots be used at PyroJam?

No, circle racks can’t be used in the PyroJam competition because firing positions will be placed on the ground. The only exception is a special selection of single shot effects which can be shot horizontally. For details, see: Firing effects horizontally.

5) What firing system will be used at PyroJam?

The StarFire firing system will be used at PyroJam. The system is capable of 1/100th of a second (0.01 second) timing resolution and can fire any number of pins simultaneously. Please keep in mind that you are only responsible for the artistic design. When you submit your show, you do not need to assign firing system modules or pins. If your show is selected to be produced, the firing system addresses will be assigned by the PyroJam organizers. You can see how this was done in 2022 in the PyroJam behind-the-scenes video.

6) Can liquid fuel mines be used in the PyroJam competition?

No, liquid fuel mines cannot be used in the PyroJam competition. When designing your show, please only use effects contained in the PyroJam catalog. This effect was used at PyroJam in 2022, but not in the competition shows. If you saw this in a video, it was from the opening or closing shows which are out of competition.

7) Can more firing positions be added to the PyroJam layout?

The PyroJam design template includes 53 predefined firing positions. You may use as many or as few firing positions as you like but modifying the layout by adding positions is not permitted.

7) When I import my MP3 soundtrack into Finale 3D, I hear audio artifacts like, static, crackling, popping, or clicking, how can I fix this problem?

To resolve this issue, encode or convert your soundtrack to WAV before importing it into Finale 3D. We recommend using Audacity for this process. When creating a WAV in Audacity or other audio editing software, the recommended sample rate is 44.1 kHz with a bit depth of 16-bit. WAV files with other sample rates and bit depths may not work properly in Finale 3D. For more details and a tutorial video, visit the MP3 audio issues forum topic.

P.S. If you’re new to the forum, don’t forget to head over to your My Profile and customize your Display Name and Profile Picture!

Tim Jameson

Joined:	Dec 2018
Posts:	55
Location:	United States

Newcomer

2023-01-10 10:48:00

Likes: 1

Thank you for starting this thread Drew so we have one place to put responses to any questions folks might have. I think it worked well last year and expect it to do the same this year.

I recently had a question about whether a previous finalist could participate this year. The answer is “yes by all means”. The goal here is to end up with the strongest shows possible so not only can a previous finalist (or even winner for that matter) submit an entry, no one is limited to a single entry. There is no limit to the number of entries someone can submit, we just have to have them in by March 4th 🙂

Good luck to everyone, we are super excited to see all the great show designs you submit.

Engineer Cat

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	31
Location:	New Jersey, United States

Newcomer

2023-01-12 00:06:30

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Thanks for the opportunity to use Finale 3D to enter the PyroJam contest. It’s a bit of a learning curve but figuring things out hour by hour.

I’m not finding the “Soft Breaking” items in the PyroJam inventory list. I think I know which ones are considered “soft breaking” but I don’t want to set angles wrong and be disqualified because of that. Any help locating those would be great.

I know the rules state you can use any music you want, but is there a possibility of getting disqualified because the rights to particular songs cant be obtained?

Thanks for the help.

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-12 00:40:14

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Hi Engineer Cat, welcome to the Finale 3D forum and welcome to PyroJam! Here’s a video to answer your questions:

Engineer Cat

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	31
Location:	New Jersey, United States

Newcomer

2023-01-12 02:37:08

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Thanks for the video and the answers Drew! My issue was I was looking for the word soft breaks in the item descriptions.

StarryNight

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	4
Location:	Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Newcomer

2023-01-14 13:40:21

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This competition is really awesome! I already have some questions:

Is it possible to use shells as groundshells?

I’m also wondering if these effects from the PyroJam Competition Catalogue are in the correct category:
6793: It is a shell, but has subtype “Cake”
SD065CK17-TD01: It is a chain, but has subtype “Shell-Ball”
WPL30SS-05-R: It is a mine, but has Type “Shell”

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-14 14:44:28

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Hi StarryNight, welcome to the Finale 3D forum!

When you say groundshells, do mean modifying aerial shells from the catalog so they explode on the ground? If so, sorry that’s not allowed in this year’s competition. It sounds like we might need to fix up a few items. Thanks for the heads up on those, we’ll take care of that right away. Otherwise, the catalog effects need to be used as they are. Making chains, breaking apart chains, and breaking apart cakes also isn’t allowed. We definitely don’t want to discourage creativity; we just have to be mindful of safety and the scale and complexity of the display set up.

Tim Jameson

Joined:	Dec 2018
Posts:	55
Location:	United States

Newcomer

2023-01-14 16:18:53

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StarryNight

Thank you for pointing out the errors in the catalog. They have been fixed and should reflect as such when you resync with the network. We appreciate your participation in the competition and wish you luck.

Engineer Cat

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	31
Location:	New Jersey, United States

Newcomer

2023-01-15 04:28:10

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I’m not sure if I should be posting this in another part of the forum but since I’m working on pyrojam content I figure this is the best place. I noticed this position showing in red and I’m not sure if that means their something wrong with my script, the position or something else,

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-15 05:27:24

Likes: 1

Hi Engineer Cat, there’s nothing wrong whatsoever. The red highlight in your screenshot indicates that the effect is angled to the right. If the effect were angled to the left, the highlight would be green. In this context, red is not bad, red is just a visual indicator of an angle to the right.

Engineer Cat

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	31
Location:	New Jersey, United States

Newcomer

2023-01-15 05:38:36

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DrewFinale wrote:

Hi Engineer Cat, there’s nothing wrong whatsoever. The red highlight in your screenshot indicates that the effect is angled to the right. If the effect were angled to the left, the highlight would be green. In this context, red is not bad, red is just a visual indicator of an angle to the right.

Ah fantastic. I’m suddenly noticing all these red positions and thought I messed something up.

I have another question relating to angles. Are parabolic comet curves not an option being they would have to go beyond the 20 degree limit to achieve them?

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-15 05:51:49

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Hi Engineer Cat, aggressively angled parabolic sequences of comets absolutely are possible. Take a closer look at the table on the competition page and you’ll see that there are no angle restrictions for the row of 19 “Front” positions. The only limitation is that the single shot racks will be placed on the ground, so you should not shoot comets at or below horizontal from the Front positions.

Engineer Cat

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	31
Location:	New Jersey, United States

Newcomer

2023-01-15 06:13:51

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DrewFinale wrote:

Hi Engineer Cat, aggressively angled parabolic sequences of comets absolutely are possible. Take a closer look at the table on the competition page and you’ll see that there are no angle restrictions for the row of 19 “Front” positions. The only limitation is that the single shot racks will be placed on the ground, so you should not shoot comets at or below horizontal from the Front positions.

Oh geez, I been pulling up that chart every 10 mins to make sure I’m placing effects in the right positions and complete missed that! I really appreciate the help.

I gotta say, this is the first time I’m using the software and although it looks complex, the more you play around with it the more things make sense. I’m sure there are shortcuts I’ll learn but the software is absolute fantastic. It’s the Pro Tools for pyros.

I’m guessing the license will expire the day after entries are due? When it does can I just purchase a Lite or Hobby license and when I log in it will only give me the options those versions have or will I need to download the other version?

StarryNight

Joined:	Jan 2023
Posts:	4
Location:	Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Newcomer

2023-01-15 11:52:03

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DrewFinale wrote:

Hi StarryNight, welcome to the Finale 3D forum!

When you say groundshells, do mean modifying aerial shells from the catalog so they explode on the ground? If so, sorry that’s not allowed in this year’s competition. It sounds like we might need to fix up a few items. Thanks for the heads up on those, we’ll take care of that right away. Otherwise, the catalog effects need to be used as they are. Making chains, breaking apart chains, and breaking apart cakes also isn’t allowed. We definitely don’t want to discourage creativity; we just have to be mindful of safety and the scale and complexity of the display set up.

Yes, that’s what I meant. Thanks for the quick clarification.

Josué Beauregard

Joined:	May 2020
Posts:	5
Location:	Canada

Newcomer

2023-01-16 19:05:09

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DrewFinale

Is that possible if I can update my show by changing placement and angles on any effects and fixing some errors before the deadline?

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-16 20:30:41

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JBPyro wrote:

DrewFinale

Is that possible if I can update my show by changing placement and angles on any effects and fixing some errors before the deadline?

The best thing is to carefully check your show before submitting it for the first time. But obviously mistakes can happen, and we don’t want show entries to be disqualified for a mistake that could have been fixed. If you find errors in your show, you may fix them and submit your show again using the show submission form any time before the March 4, 2023, deadline.

Josué Beauregard

Joined:	May 2020
Posts:	5
Location:	Canada

Newcomer

2023-01-16 20:46:10

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Thanks. And can you overwrite the show after I submitted?

DrewFinale

Joined:	Dec 2019
Posts:	468
Location:	United States

Silver

2023-01-16 20:55:09

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JBPyro wrote:

Thanks. And can you overwrite the show after I submitted?

If you submit a show with the same title and description, it will overwrite your previous submission. However, please keep in mind it is best to wait to submit your show until you are sure that it’s ready. We understand mistakes happen and we can accept a resubmission, but it will become difficult if we start receiving revision after revision.

Josué Beauregard