Thank you for starting this thread Drew, it makes things real simple having one spot for folks to ask questions about the competition.  As always, if folks have an IMMEDIATE need for an answer, make sure to mention me (by including @Tim Jameson) in the post so I get an instant email sent to me.  Good luck all!

The PyroJam 2025 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 1, 2025. Get all the details at finale3d.com/pyrojam. Have a question? Need some help? Post it here!   PyroJam 2025 FAQ:   1) 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. If you need a tool for audio editing, Audacity is a great free option. When creating a WAV file, use a sample rate of 44.1 kHz (44,100 Hz) and bit depth of 16-bit. WAV files with other sample rates and bit depths may not work properly in Finale 3D.   2) Do I need to include silence or a pre-roll at the beginning of my soundtrack? You may include silence at the beginning of a soundtrack but is not required.   3) Can my soundtrack include songs that are edited? Yes, you may edit, cut, trim, and mix songs any way you like. Use your creativity and all the tools at your disposal to make the best possible soundtrack.   4) Can I use copyrighted music in my soundtrack? Yes, you may use any music of your choice.   5) Can my soundtrack include a voice introduction? Yes, you may include a recorded voice introduction, but it is not required. If you include a voiceover introduction, please make sure that it does not identify you as the designer to ensure the impartiality of the judging process.   6) What are the requirements for show duration? Your show must be between 9 and 10 minutes. Show duration is calculated from the first cue marker to the last cue marker on the timeline. For details, see Show Duration in the PyroJam competition rules.   7) Can more firing positions be added to the PyroJam layout? The PyroJam design template includes 93 predefined firing positions. You may use as many or as few firing positions as you like, but modifying the position layout is not permitted.   8) Can 360° circle racks for single shots be used at PyroJam? Yes! New for 2025 — a dedicated tower has been added to allow single shots to be fired from 360° circle racks. For details, see the Show Add-ons section in the PyroJam competition rules.   9) Can liquid fuel mines be used in the PyroJam competition? Yes! New for 2025 — a new row of firing positions has been added for liquid fuel mines. For details, see the Show Add-ons section in the PyroJam competition rules.   10) Can I angle and rotate cakes? Yes, you may angle cakes left or right. Cakes may not be angled toward or away from the audience. You may also rotate cakes 180°.   11) Can I do “lettering shooting” or “matrix letters” in my show? Sorry, matrix letter shooting isn’t allowed in this year’s PyroJam competition. Effects my only be angled left or right, not toward or away from the audience.   12) 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 in the PyroJam documentary.   13) 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.   14) When I submit my show (.fin) file, do I also need to submit my soundtrack? No, the only file you need to submit is your Finale 3D show (.fin) file. This file contains 100% the digital assets that have been added to the show. This includes the effects, images, models, and music.   15) How do I refresh the PyroJam Competition catalog to get the latest updates? Each time you login to Finale 3D with an internet connection, the latest version of the catalog will be downloaded automatically. You can refresh the catalog without restarting Finale 3D by going to File > Sync with Network.   16) How do I update the effects in my show to reflect updates that have been made to the PyroJam Competition catalog? Select the PyroJam Competition catalog in the Finale 3D effects window. Then, go to the Effects menu on the main menu bar and select Update Per-show effects.     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!      

Another nice to have:   When opening a show and getting the notification that there are Updates to blueprints as well as missing blueprints, it’s an all or nothing option. I’d like to have the ability to only get the updated blueprints and not the “missing” as I’ve created a lot of custom versions and purposely removed all of the ones I do not want (ex: I only use 3 Avery labels so having all of the other options are just a distraction).   <edit>  If easier, have a column that tags a blueprint as “Default” or “Custom” for quick filtering

Thanks Drew I did know about the 44100Hz project sample rate but have been running the Audio box MP3 at 192 kbps on export will try using the 320.

  CLC wrote: Hello PyroExec I have come across this as well using Audacity for creating my mixes and exporting a MP3 file at 256 KBPS, if I dropped it down to 192 KBPS the clipping was gone.   Just keep in mind, if you’re formatting your soundtrack as an MP3 because your using the COBRA Audio Box, then it’s critical that the bitrate of your MP3 file is 320 kbps. Reference: https://help.cobrafiringsystems.com/hc/en-us/articles/5643587743643-Creating-and-Formatting-the-MP3-Soundtrack

Given how prevalent slices are becoming, it would be nice to have a parttype of slice for filtering purposes.  As it stands, slices are parttype cake with a LOT of subtypes  making filters for reports/labels pretty tedious to construct

Hello PyroExec I have come across this as well using Audacity for creating my mixes and exporting a MP3 file at 256 KBPS, if I dropped it down to 192 KBPS the clipping was gone.

Question regarding default pathnames. I organize shows in a directory structure as follows, with items in <> changing as needed: Parent Directory — <Drive Letter>Shows<year><showname> Do I need to manually create all of the possible sub-directories that may get used for default-pathnames to function properly for this feature work correctly or will they get created if not already existing?

Having a “Preview” option when creating/customizing reports and diagrams would be really nice, having the ability to customize everything is very helpful, but having to export a report, review PDF, go back and make adjustment(s) and repeating this cycle can get tedious and sometimes frustrating.

Hello all a bit new to the hobby but as I’m sure with must of you once I’m hooked I go ALL in. I can’t wait to see what Finale 3D has in store to improve my shows.  Thanks Jesse