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 Le Maitre were called in by BMG Sony to provide a pyrotechnic reveal for Jamelia and Lemar’s duet at the 2005 Brit Awards. The pyrotechnics were used to mix between footage of the singers walking down a staircase on the video wall, and their appearance on the stage as a choir moved out of the way and the smoke cleared.
The pyrotechnic hit was designed to give maximum dramatic effect to the start of the performance. The technology of the firing system enabled the pyrotechnician to synchronise the cue with the band and the video using the time code generated by the drummer’s band sequencer. Once the controller was programmed, the cue happened precisely on time to within 1 frame of the video.
The hit started with a chase of twenty-six ½ x 15 Stage Gerbs from the outside of the curved stage to the centre. It was followed by sixteen 1 x 25 Stage Gerbs, ten Medium and Loud Report Theatrical Flashes fired from the downstage edge of the stage, and 30ft Mines fired from stage left and stage right. It took a team of 3 Le Maitre pyrotechnicians to set up the effects in just 5 minutes allowed between performances.
Le Maitre were also working on the effects for Green Day’s performance of American Idiot, having been touring with the band since January. Green Day’s show, designed by Pyrotek Special Effects Inc featured rows of Dragons, (the spectacular propane gas flames), which combined with the video wall to create the impression of the band’s logo burning, and a hit of Loud Report Theatrical Flashes and Fireballs at the end of the song.
If you would like more info on the show and the effects and equipment used, please contact Tim Haddon at tim.haddon@lemaitreltd.com.
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