Kaboom! Pyrotechnics in the Modem Theatre
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Authors
Boutros, Tammer
Issue Date
2013
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Theater -- Tech
Alternative Title
Abstract
Pyrotechnics has always been a field of major interest to me. From a young age I
was fascinated by fire and its effect on the world around it. From the chemical
interactions of the fire itself and the fuel it was consuming to the effects it had on people
and the enormous variation of emotions it could evoke from fear to wonder, from anger
and rage to peace and comfort; all depending on the setting ·and purpose of the fire.
Growing up I was always told that this was a phase, something that little boys went
through and it passed as they grew up and went on to enjoy other things. With me
however, this fascination never seemed to pass. I started to get actively interested in fire
in junior high school and I started to carry out minor experiments to discover how it acts
and reacts; how it burns with different accelerants and different levels of oxygenation.
None of these experiments were really scientific. I didn't record any of my findings, and
as Adam Savage says "What's the difference between science and messing around?
Notes." Going into high school I knew that I wanted to find a career that allowed me to
continue this trend and that's when my interest grew from just fire to the field of
pyrotechnics as a whole.
When I started to investigate the field of pyrotechnics in a general sense it
occurred to me that the field was much larger than I initially thought. I always thought
pyrotechnics encompassed fireworks and Hollywood special effects. I didn't realize that
pyrotechnics encompassed everything that deals with fire or explosions; so everything
from lighting a match to launching a space bound rocket. Now this realization prompted
the question, well if I am to go into pyrotechnics, what am I going to do? There was a
stretch of time where I wanted to go into the FBI because MythBusters informed me that
they get to play with the best toys, which I'm sure is true. I also toyed with the idea of
working for the military as there is a greater demand and I would have the opportunity to
design and engineer large explosions on a regular basis. However, after much thought I
came to the realization that I would much rather blow up things than people. So even
though it will most likely be more difficult to break into, I'm going to throw my lot into
the entertainment ·industry for special effects and pyrotechnics. I would much rather see
my fire and explosions cause excitement and joy, rather than fear, pain and death.
The realization of preferring entertainment came to me by the end of my senior
year in high school. I had decided to entertain, why not try theatre? College bound, I
found a prominent liberal arts college that had reputable chemistry and theatre programs
and a welcoming atmosphere. After living in the Festival Playhouse and working in the
Dow science building for a good three years I find myself here at my senior year, looking
back on what I have done and where I am to go from here. I still fully intend on going
into the entertainment field of pyrotechnics, but I realized that I knew very little of its
history. This brings me to my S.I.P., "Kaboom! Pyrotechnics in the Modern Theatre".
Throughout this project I intend to investigate the history of pyrotechnics in a general
sense, touching off the classifications of explosives and different popular pyrotechnic
compounds, as well as its inception as a field and as a science. Subsequently I'm going to
see how it has evolved over the years, how different compounds have rose and fell from
popularity, and the driving forces behind these changes.
From there I would like to move onto pyrotechnics in the modem day with a
focus on the theatrical aspects of the field. I will begin with where the field is now in
respect to safety regulations, live theatre effects, film effects and display pyrotechnics.
Then I will move onto the current favored materials and favored effects. Finally, to cap it
all off, I would like to discuss both popular designs and author designed effects. In this
regard, I would like to explore the functionality of various kinds of compositions and
effects by creating them and seeing how they act in real world conditions. I would create
both live and dummy models of these effects to showcase both the design and function of
the device as well as the effect that it creates.
Description
iii, 56 p.
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