[DOCU] "Passfire" van de broers Veverka

[Viva la Bang]

9 mei

Today's Passfire Update Part 2 - Paul Moulder from Bangkok Pyro Holidays has posted some behind-the-scenes "making of footage" of the Passfire team on location in Thailand.

Watch the Passfire team as we mount a GoPro camera to a girandola that eventually crash lands. We'd like to thank Paul for his gracious help and for putting this clip together.

The GoPro footage is spectacular, but you will have to wait for the finished film to see it and the other cinema-quality video of the event that we shot!

 

[Viva la Bang]

From today's Passfire shoot - a video still from a GoPro camera mounted on a 3lb Thai rocket in Sakgeow, Thailand.

The brown patch on the lower right is a sugarcane field that was just harvested.
10 mei

As you can see, this region of Thailand is quite rural and its low population density is conducive to the weekly rocket festivals held throughout the province.

The Passfire team heads to a large festival tomorrow.

 

[Viva la Bang]

11 mei:

From today's Passfire shoot - You wanted bigger rockets, and we bring them to you.

Here a team prepares a 500 lb (approximate - numbers vary on who you talk to) rocket by swabbing and wetting the bore to smooth the propellent grain.

The scraps of orange cloth aren't just rags, they are piece of the old uniforms of Buddhist monks who frequent these festivals. Using their robes as swabs is considered to bring good luck to the rocket and its team.

Today's record flight was over 380 seconds. That's more than six minutes from launch to touch-down!

A group of judges using binoculars are able to track the rocket during its (relatively) slow decent and rank rockets by flight time.

Rockets are designed so that when the motor burns out the weight balance has shifted enough that the rocket falls horizontally (rather than vertically like a spear) thus slowing its decent and lengthening the overall flight time.

The festival continues tomorrow and the rockets get even bigger!

 

[Viva la Bang]

Today's Passfire Update, Part 2 - You just saw a one-ton rocket being loaded, now here is a shot of it's smaller 500lb cousin flying past a GoPro mounted on top of the same launch tower.

But it get's better even - more amazing pics and an incredible story to come soon!

 

[Viva la Bang]

Happening now in Sakgeow, Thailand: loading a one-ton rocket on the launch pad. Passfire is standing by for launch. Ban Fai!

 

[Viva la Bang]

14mei

Today's Passfire update - Part 1: Last time we showed you a 500lb rocket whizzing past a GoPro camera.

This time we though you might want to see what it would be like to mount that camera *on* the rocket.

But with an average horizontal range of 5km from the launch site, how would we ever recover that camera and get back our footage?

Thanks to the advent of cheap GPS enabled smart phones, it is now pretty easy to buy your own GPS tracking device, even in a remote part of Thailand (and because they run on GSM/SIM cards in Thailand there are no pesky contracts to sign).

Here you can see the GoPro mounted on the side of the rocket while a Samsung Galaxy Y is tucked safely in the top of the hollow section of the bamboo shaft. A monk in orange robes oversees the process.

Because of the acceleration forces we needed to make sure the camera was mounted securely as possible, but we still wondered, would we ever see our equipment again?



Today's Passfire update - Part 2: The rocket has been hoisted up and mounted on the pad.

You are now seeing what the GoPro sees.

A heavy chain wrapped in brown backing tape provides the main load-bearing support for the rocket, while workers tie guides to the bamboo shaft below. Notice this worker has both hands free - he is not tethered -rocket prep teams have a lot of experience and good ones can get rockets mounted in about 10 minutes.

Today's Passfire update part 3 - And blast off! The rocket has cleared the launch pad and the camera has not been sheared off by any structural elements. Estimated acceleration is now around 2G's. The lens has not been fogged by rocket exhaust. Things are looking good!

Today's Passfire update part 4 - The rocket gains altitude and speed. The motor is still providing heavy thrust. People turn to specks on the ground.

Today's Passfire update part 5 - Camera recovery.

Without a working GPS trying to find this rocket in the sugarcane fields, teak plantations and hills that surround the area is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

But we drive around for an hour and try our best.

We try calling the phone, but it is off. Did the battery run out? Did it over-heat? Was it smashed to pieces?

Then someone answers.

A group of Cambodian migrant laborers found the rocket as it landed, and almost immediately removed the phone and camera.

After several hours of negotiation we are able to get the camera and phone returned, but not before this smiling gentleman took a few pics of him and his friends, who must have been quite surprised to see a 20-foot rocket land in the field where they were cutting sugarcane.

Who needs GPS anyway, sometimes low-tech does the job!

 

[Viva la Bang]

20 mei 2013:

Passfire has arrived in Malaysia to bring you some pyrotechnic treats. Stay tuned!

 

[smilli]

Ongelooflijk wat die crew allemaal niet aan bijzondere festivals ziet in een jaar tijd, pracht baan!

 

[Viva la Bang]

22 mei:

Today's Passfire update - Firework hunting in the jungles of Malaysia with Jeffry Bahary from RED FLAME Special Effects! Passfire joins some villagers searching for the right type of bamboo (or "buluh" in Malay - "bambu" is the Indonesian word) to make a "Meriam Buluh" or bamboo cannon.

Meriam Buluh are a traditional Malaysian firework used primarily around Ramadan.

Large pieces of thick bamboo are cut to length, hollowed out (except for the natural end cap) and then a small flash hole is bored in the side.

Calcium carbide is poured down the bore and then small amount of water is pored into the flash hole just before ignition. The reaction produces acetylene.

Depending on the fuel/air mixture the canons will produce a small whoosh to a loud crack.

Accidents do occur and Passfire does not recommend that you try this at home.

 

[Viva la Bang]

25 mei

Today's Passfire Update - Passfire is back in Japan to cover more of the country's expertly crafted aerial ball shells.

Passfire received a very special invitation from a family-run company that is commercially developing the world's only six-layer shell.

What do we mean by six layers? We mean six layers of stars and burst charge plus a final outer layer of stars precisely arranged inside a large ball-shell.

Because the product is still in development we have made a promise not to share any pictures or details of the process until the film's release, but the company has said we may share this picture with you of one of the shells being tested.

Look carefully and you will notice seven different types of stars in precise concentric rings - an example of the boutique ball-shell craftsmanship occurring in Japan's artisanal factories.

 

[Viva la Bang]

5 juni

Veverka Bros. Productions LLC is excited to announce that it will be attending this year's Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) Convention, "Boom & a Blast," in Butler County, PA, USA, August 10-16, to present a special sneak-peak of Pass...fire and ask YOU what YOU want to see in the film! We'll also be filming at the PGI and conducting interviews, so if you are interested in being on camera this is also your chance!

Please join us on Tuesday, August 13th at 2:30 PM or Thursday, August 15th at 1 PM for sneak-peak/seminar. We will also be available during other times to discuss the film & fireworks and conduct interviews.

If you have a chance please do attend this year's PGI - it's an amazing chance to interact with other fireworks enthusiasts and August is a beautiful time to visit Pennsylvania! Check out membership and registration information below.
http://www.pgi.org/

Gaaf!

 

[Viva la Bang]

8 juni

Passfire returns to Thailand! The team has just arrived and will be spending the next week with Paul Moulder from Bangkok Pyro Holidays and a group of visitors from Australia, including Steve Lawrence from Australia's Geelong Fireworks. We... will be attending another amazing Thai rocket and giradola festival tomorrow and then watching Paul and his team build Maltese-style canister shells. Here is a fun pic of a "line rat" whizzing past the beautiful Thai country side this evening.

 

[Viva la Bang]

10 juni
Passfire gets more international media attention! The Passfire team and Paul Moulder from Bangkok Pyro Holidays are interviewed by Thai TV 7 at a rocket festival in eastern Thailand this past weekend.

 

[Anaconda]

Vandaag een leuke postkaart mogen ontvangen van de heren Veverka uit Bali, Indonesië.
Dit krijgt iedereen die het project op Kickstarter boven een bepaald bedrag heeft gesponsord.

Beetje bij beetje begint hun film vorm te krijgen en ben zeer benieuwd naar het eindresultaat!

 

[Viva la Bang]

14 juni

From today's Passfire shoot - Hollywood style pyro FX in Sakgeow, Thailand. A charcoal/titanium/magnesium cremora blooms over the countryside.

Meanwhile the Bangkok Pyro Holidays crew has been busy building, filling, spiking and pasting European-style canister shells to be used in a show next week.

 

[Viva la Bang]

15 juni 13

Today's Passfire Update - Cylinder shells ready for lift bags and passfires, produced by the Bangkok Pyro Holidays crew.

Cylinder shells are highly labor intensive and save for a few specialty companies, they are rarely made commercially.

Unless you live in Europe, make your own shells or frequent PGI events, you are likely unfamiliar with the look of cylinder shells, but one of their defining characteristics is that multiple single shells (on right) can be joined together to create larger multi-break shells like the 3-break 6" shells seen in the middle of the picture. (The ball shell analogue of this is the "peanut" shell.)

Cylinder shells also have different burst characteristics - rather than being spherical and generally symmetrical from different angles, their orientation when they break, and the viewer's orientation relative to the shell, affect the way they are perceived, making each break unique.

They also lend themselves to the use of cut stars and pumped star rather than the rolled stars commonly used in ball shells.

Perhaps one of the most interesting differences is the way they are made: rather then being built inside two rigid hemispheres that are joined together as is the case for ball shells, they are built inside a flexible paper casing that gets its rigidity from then dense packing of the composition itself - secured firmly with tight windings of "spiking" (string) and then pasted to protect it from fire.

 

[Viva la Bang]

16 juni 13

Today's Passfire Update - A fuel mine in Sakgeow, Thailand, created by a licensed pyro FX technician.

Although no flash powder is involved, the concussion created a real thump and the smoke ring rose hundreds of feet in the air.

 

[Viva la Bang]

17 juni

Today's Passfire update - Passfire producer Jesse Veverka with his creations at the Bangkok Pyro Holidays workshop: a three-break 4" shell on the left and a single-break 5" shell on the right.

When not making shells, the Pyro Holidays team has been soaking up Thailand's jaw-dropping rocket and girandola culture. While Thailand's fireworks focus heavily on thrust, there is not a big emphasis on colors or effects.

Tomorrow is a chance for some fireworks cultural exchange when the team will put on a show with its handmade European-style canister shells for the Thai community - a chance for locals to see fireworks traditions from other parts of the world.

This is what Passfire is all about.

 

[Viva la Bang]

19 juni

Today's Passfire update - Bangkok Pyro Holiday 2013 came to a successful end with last night's show. Highlights included some multi-break six-inch shells, eight-inch shells, a six-inch salute and four-inch spiderwebs.

Both Passfire shells (see previous post) work successfully.

Here is a timelapse with focus pull of a single-break shell from the show.

 

[Viva la Bang]

25 juni

That's a wrap! Passfire has finished filming in Thailand, thus completing the first Asian circuit of production.

Passfire will begin filming in the United States in July by taking a look at America's fireworks traditions and attending the Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) and National Fireworks Association events later in the summer.

In the meantime, here is another picture of the fruits of the Bangkok Pyro Holidays team's labor - a two break shell.