Have you ever dreamed of working behind the scenes at your towns Canada Day celebrations? how about working with a theater production or concert tour as a pyrotechnician?
Here is your chance!
Archangel Fireworks is holding the following two (2) courses:
Display Fireworks Safety and Legal Awareness Course
Date: Sunday October 5, 2014 10am
Location: 104 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg MB
Cost: $85
Pyrotechnic Special Effects Safety and Legal Awareness Course
Date: Tuesday October 7, 2014 6:15pm
Location: 104 Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg MB
Cost: $85
There is a difference between Display Fireworks and Special Effect Pyrotechnics. Before attending a safety and legal awareness course and applying for a fireworks operator certificate, please ensure that you are attending the correct course and applying for the certificate for the articles you want to acquire, store and use.
Special Effect Pyrotechnics are high-hazard pyrotechnics articles designed for use by professionals. These articles include items such as gerbs, mines, comets and crossettes. These articles would be used in theatre productions, concerts and on film sets. Certification for pyrotechnics also includes special purpose pyrotechnics manufactured for the film and television industry.
Display Fireworks are high-hazard firework articles designed for use by professionals. These articles include items such as aerial shells, cakes, roman candles, waterfalls, lances and wheels. This type of firework would be used for large fireworks displays that take place on Canada Day.
Please contact Archangel directly for more details and information regarding registration:
Archangel Fireworks Inc
Contact/personne-ressource: Ross MacKeen
Email/adresse électronique: ross@archangelfireworks.com
Showing posts with label Work for us. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work for us. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Pyrotechnically Speaking (Getting to know your pyrotechnicians at Archangel Fireworks) - Oh Canada!
When you are designing a show you often end up listening to that song over and over again, until it plays in a continuous loop in your head....have you ever had Oh Canada stuck in your head for three weeks straight? As patriotic as you may be, it will start to get to you.
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| Even our little Canadian buddy might not want to hear our National Anthem on repeat. |
Question # 8: If you could design a show to any song in the world, what would it be and why?
James: ‘One of These Days' and 'Time’ by Pink Floyd....or the whole 'Delicate Sound of Thunder' album! They have the perfect rhythm, guitar, and drumming to match fireworks effects to.
Leiah: ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ by Bjork would be fun, it’s really dynamic with lots of personality.
Ross: There really isn’t one particular song. I just wish more event organizers would recognize that this is what we do. When we suggest certain songs, it’s not because they are songs we listen to all the time; it’s because they work, and are good fireworks songs. One of my personal favorites is ‘Zooster’s Breakout’ from the Madagascar soundtrack.
Adam : “The Four Horsemen” by Aphrodite’s Child. Greek prog-rock masterpiece with dynamic movements and a wickedly epic finale.
Candice: 2:56 to 3:40 of the song “I’m kissing you” by Des’ree from the Romeo and Juliet sound track. I have always loved the instrumental section and with an unlimited budget I think it would be a very powerful section of a show. I have designed it in my car 1000 times with hand gestures. I always wonder that people think when I do that. I must look crazy!
Now that you are getting to know us, would you like to join the Archangel team?
Not only is Archangel Fireworks is HIRING for the fireworks season, the 2014 Display Fireworks Safety and Awareness Course has now been scheduled for May 25th 2014.
This is a full day course which is a pre-requisite to obtaining your display fireworks supervisor license from the Explosives Regulatory Division.
If you are interested in joining the ranks please contact ross@archangelfireworks.com
We also have two warehouse positions available and one part time showroom position. View the job postings here:
Do you have a question for the crew? Is there something that you would like to know about what it's like to be a pyrotechnician? If we use your question you could win your very own Archangel Fireworks T-shirt! Send your questions to info@archangelfireworks.com
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Pyrotechnically Speaking (Getting to know your pyrotechnicians at Archangel Fireworks) - War Stories
When you see a fabulous fireworks show, you probably aren't thinking about what the crew did that day to set it up, or what challenges they may have faced. Not everything always goes as smoothly as we would like, but we pull it off, we get through it and we create those fabulous fireworks shows despite what seem to be insurmountable odds. These kinds of setbacks happen in most jobs, but throw outdoor events, celebrating general public, weather, and explosives into the mix and you can find yourself in some pretty interesting situations. Get a group of us together and the stories start flying and we wear those stories like a badge of honour.
Question #7: What is your favorite story to tell when swapping
fireworks “war stories” with other techs?
James: When the Celtic Festival
ordered their show. They got a show that
would normally be shot in 17-20 minutes and requested it be shot in just over 4
minutes. We really burnt the sky that
night...it was quite cool.
Leiah: I was on my third show in as many days. This one was electrical and on a barge and the weather was not co-operating. The organizer decided that they wanted to postpone the show until the next day, honestly I was thrilled, I was exhausted and was looking forward to some food and getting a good nights sleep. The crew and I headed to the hotel and settled in for the night. At 9:30pm there was a knock on the door. The rain had let up and the organizer wanted us to go ahead with the show. We set that show up in the dark, holding our flashlights in our mouths, while the barge was being towed out to its anchoring spot. By the skin of our teeth we got that thing planted and fired. The finale was a massive amount of salutes and it shook the rain out of the clouds, the heavens opened up and it just poured on us!
Ross: When I first got into fireworks, I was working both at the mag, and helping the office guy for the summer. The company I worked for shipped product to a guy in rural Saskatchewan for his July 1 show. I answered when he called to confirm availability of certain colours and effects, and we were confirming the last details of his show before we shipped. I asked him if he needed any quickmatch or delay fuse. He said he didn’t know what delay fuse was, and I explained it was a fuse to tie shells together, it helped some people with timing of their shows. His reply to that… That’s what he used beer for. He bought a six pack. He knew how fast he drank a beer, and he would time out his show and put down the next beer where he wanted to be fireworks vs. time wise. He knew he had to shoot slower or faster depending on how much beer he had left and how far away the next bottle was. To this day I have no idea if he was kidding or not.
Adam: You aren’t supposed to talk about those, are you?
Candice: This story is entitled, “The night a lit the cake at the wrong time!”
It was my very first show as a member of an Archangel
Fireworks crew. I was terrified and so nervous; it was like I was on the worst
job interview ever.
The lead supervisor gave me very specific instruction as
I was to light the commercial cakes when he called my name. Instructions that
should have been pretty easy to follow.... Right?... Unless a flare detonates
in that same supervisors hand in the middle of the show. Needless to say, that
is exactly what happened that night. When the supervisor called my name, he was
not signaling me to light the next cake, he was trying to get my attention so I
would give him my already lit flare. I didn’t exactly get the message and
continued to light cakes.
Turns out, there was another Archangel Fireworks
supervisor in the crowd that night. When he came over following the show, the
first question he asked was who was lighting cakes at the wrong time. I was
mortified!
Kelly: I enjoy mentioning the snipers on the rooftops around my rooftop at the games. Talking about my other favorites often starts by making sure my audience should be privy to the stories.
Now that you are getting to know us, would you like to join the Archangel team?
Archangel Fireworks is HIRING for the 2014 fireworks season. We have two warehouse positions available and one part time showroom position. View the job postings here:
Do you have a question for the crew? Is there something that you would like to know about what it's like to be a pyrotechnician? If we use your question you could win your very own Archangel Fireworks T-shirt! Send your questions to info@archangelfireworks.com
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Pyrotechnically Speaking (Getting to know your pyrotechnicians at Archangel Fireworks)
So during this series we have talked about all the usual fireworks stuff, we know a bit about how we like to work and our show preferences. But that's a little boring. We wanted to know the exciting stuff, the stuff you don't usually get to hear about.
Question #6: What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you on
a site?
James: I was setting up in
Thunder Bay and was in the process of loading the shells in the guns when I
catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
I look up to a deer standing right beside me about 6 feet away munching
on some foliage. She was about to be in
for quite a surprise!
Leiah: I had a guy who needed access to my site to ask his girlfriend to marry him on the bridge where they had had their first date; we had closed off the bridge for the show therefore ruining his entire plan. He and I chatted for a bit and I allowed him to bring her just inside the ramp onto the bridge for his proposal, I couldn’t stand in the way of true love! (She said yes.)
Ross: We had a bridge closed down for a festival show, meaning people had to find an alternative to get across. Some dude thought it didn’t apply to him, so he punched our female security guard and sprinted past her. I saw this and yelled to the crew. Unbeknownst to the trespasser, three members of the crew were court bailiffs, including one who’s main responsibility was to teach self defense to the other bailiffs. Needless to say the dude didn’t make it into the actual loaded fireworks area. He was tackled, escorted out, and driven away by the cops. Only to see those same bailiffs on Monday morning to escort him into his court hearing. Apparently he had a meth problem; he plead guilty to trespassing.
Adam: After one show, I witnessed two young lovers in the throes of passion not 40 feet from me.
Candice: What hasn’t happened?!? Crowd control always makes a show interesting!
But if I had to pick only one story, it would have to be
my very first show on the Coast. So there I was, all dressed up in my turn out
gear on a boat off to the barge which was positioned in the middle of the cove
just off the Port Hardy coast line. I was a happy combination of excited and
terrified, it was awesome!
I was watching the
sunset from the edge of the barge, waiting for show time, when a humpback whale
breached about 50 yards from the barge.
We put on a terrific show that night but nothing could
over shadow what I had seen that afternoon. It truly was a memorable first
show.
Kelly: I was awarded my first international trophy
Now that you are getting to know us, would you like to join the Archangel team?
Archangel Fireworks is HIRING for the 2014 fireworks season. We have two warehouse positions available and one part time showroom position. View the job postings here:Warehouse Position
Do you have a question for the crew? Is there something that you would like to know about what it's like to be a pyrotechnician? If we use your question you could win your very own Archangel Fireworks T-shirt! Send your questions to info@archangelfireworks.com
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