Changing technology of the Celebration of Light
Posted August 6, 2011 12:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Tonight is the final night for the Celebration of Light this year. In the 21 years that it has been staged, the technology behind the fireworks has undergone a major revolution.
Producer Patrick Brault was behind the scenes all those years ago and he remembers the logistics of having to time the fireworks to the music.
“Back then, we were using push buttons and we had kilometres and kilometres of wiring on the barge which were co-manually controlled. We had a soundtrack that was on big reels.”
He says today, things are all controlled and timed with a computer that has replaced all the wiring. Brault is assuring us that people and not computers, still have ultimate control over the show, so they can fine tune timing when the weather isn’t cooperating.
He adds the event is fun, but there are some cons to the job. “It’s very loud. Very, very, very loud.” Brault explains the sheer force of the fireworks will rock the barge back and forth, usually causing chaos.
A winner will be announced after Canada wraps things up on English Bay. China kicked things off one week ago, while Spain lit up the sky on Wednesday.
