Tag Archives: pyrotechnics

Matthew on tour with LabLive17

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Matthew has taken to the road with LabLive17 across the North of England.

Kicking off the tour at the Lancaster Grand Theatre, Matthew launched a brand new stage show about fireworks, which looked at how STEM skills are used in creating live spectacles in the sky and on stage. Featuring awe-inspiring pyro demos with seamless transitions between video and the live stage, the new show also involves members of the audience on stage.

Yes, that right – young people, flames and explosives on stage together, all thanks to Matthew’s meticulous show planning and attention to safety.

“True showmanship”

Sharron Pearson, Education Manager at Cheltenham Festivals described Matthew’s on stage presences as “True showmanship”, with the “flexibility and confidence to respond to particular audience needs.”

Matthew provided full Health and Safety management support for the two week tour. He presented shows in the first week and switched to H&S support for the tour in the south of England.

He has earned huge respect from science communication colleagues due to his proactive and can-do approach to Health and Safety. Matthew added: “Managing Health and Safety enables us to do exciting things and entertain audiences safely.”

Matthew appeared at venues in Lancaster, Hartlepool, Hull and Gainsborough. The tour was supported by EDF Energy.

Craig Dohring, station director at Hartlepool power station said: “This was a fantastic event and one which really showed the pupils how science is used in everyday life as well at workplaces such as ours.”

LabLive is a spectacular show for Y8&9 which brings all the fun of Cheltenham Science Festival to school audiences around the UK. It aims to engage inquisitive young minds through an interactive show where they will learn more about the benefits of studying science, technology, engineering and maths at GCSE.

To speak or not to speak?

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Two frequently asked questions come up regularly:

  1. “Why don’t you publish a list of your forthcoming firework displays?”
  2. “Why don’t you vlog or post photos from all of your shows?”

The presenter in me often wants to shout about and share my work. However, when I work on a firework display, I am engaged as a pyrotechnician with a professional responsibility for that particular display, on behalf of a client. The client is a paying customer and the priority for my team is to make the show happen.

If we are slowed down by the poor weather or traffic delays to get to site, then standing around and talking to a camera isn’t going to earn me any favours with my fellow crew members, yet alone the client. It is ESSENTIAL that you are a focussed team player in this job.

The success, safety and security of the event are all interlinked, which means that I am not always permitted to disclose where I am going to be at a particular time.

A lot of this depends on the client of course, along with the size, type and location of the display. Often, I will only show on-site footage and pictures, rather than how we got there.

Sometimes a display is a complete secret, to create a surprise for the audience. It is really special to be able to create a surprise like this, but can you imagine the fallout (no pun!) if I gave it all away on social media? It would be a total failure on my part! As such, I’ve spent many nights hiding in fields, on roofs and bridges whilst being unable to say anything public until afterwards.

Make no mistake, keeping quiet is really difficult when you enjoy what you do! It’s like an industrial sponsored silence, but it is all part of the challenge and enjoyment of working in live events.

But of course, many shows are in the public domain and some event managers actually build public engagement behind-the-scenes into the whole package. The launch of Hull City of Culture with Titanium Fireworks is an example of this.

I make a professional judgement, in conjunction with my firework colleagues, site managers and the client, to ensure that what I disclose from a firework site doesn’t give away any key secrets or compromise security. (HINT: We travel with and work with explosives. If you didn’t realise this, go and stand in the corner.)

Over the years, I have earned trust across the firework industry to strike this fine balance and showcase the skills and huge amount of work that goes on behind-the-scenes. Right now, as I write this, hundreds of professionals are working flat-out to pre-prepare the fireworks for displays across the UK as we head into the Halloween and Bonfire Night season.

So where will I be firing from on the main Bonfire weekend this year? A major racecourse and a scaffolding tower on a Somerset beach both feature in my schedule. There may be more, but you know, I couldn’t possibly say. (See above – you have actually read this post, haven’t you?)

I’ll be posting more updates on Facebook and Twitter over the next two weeks as we head towards Guy Fawkes Night 2017.

Stay safe out there!

Matthew helps launch Hull UK City of Culture 2017

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Matthew took part in a huge choreographed firework display to launch Hull UK City of Culture 2017.

Three and a half tonnes of fireworks were fired from two barges on The Humber in twelve minutes. It was a successful show which touched the imaginations of thousands of people.

The show was designed and operated by Titanium Fireworks Ltd, a provider of high-end large scale firework displays in the UK, including the London New Year fireworks on The Thames and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations.

Titanium Fireworks directors approached Matthew during Summer 2016 about working on the Hull show and, in particular, using his skills to engage audiences with some of the behind-the-scenes operations.

It’s the first time that a professional firework display of this scale has had such specialist coverage in the UK.

With his highly unique combination of TV presenting and professional fireworks experience, Matthew produced exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the show preparations. He talked about safety considerations, featured fellow team members and explained some of the technical aspects of the show.

Matthew says “The feedback, particularly via social media, has been tremendous. I think we captured the spirit of this special year for Hull.”

His content was shared by official Hull 2017 and Titanium Fireworks Ltd PR teams, helping to increase audience engagement in the lead up to the launch of Hull 2017.

Matthew’s passion for live broadcast shone through too, when he fronted a number of Facebook live videos as the barges moved into position on The Humber.

Matthew Tosh - fireworks in HullUnsurprisingly, his press and media skills were in demand; escorting TV news crews on site and providing interviews on behalf of Titanium Fireworks for BBC Look North regional news, BBC Radio Humberside and local newspapers.

In Matthew’s own words, filming on a fireworks rig of this magnitude isn’t straightforward. “Aside from the obvious safety issues, there are often many commercial, event security and creative sensitivities. What’s more, you don’t want to give too much away and spoil the show!”

But as Matthew consistently demonstrates, he finds that balance perfectly, using his enthusiasm, industry knowledge and occasionally witty style to ensure that the audience is engaged.

Between filming and editing, Matthew was able to assist with shell-loading and got thoroughly mucky on the de-rig.

Follow Matthew’s work on Facebook and Twitter.

Rising to the challenge at Cheltenham Music Festival

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“Is it possible to do fireworks to music indoors?” said the Music Festival Manager.

That’s precisely what Matthew has done in his latest project.

Chelt Music Festival 2016

As part of a concert entitled “Baroque Favourites and Fireworks”, Matthew was commissioned to design an indoor fireworks display at this year’s Cheltenham Music Festival.Barokksolistene and Matthew Tosh

The festival team approached Matthew in 2015 with an embryonic suggestion, citing it as being possibly too ambitious. Not one to be put off by such a challenge, Matthew worked with the production team and the venue managers at Cheltenham Town Hall to create a spectacular finish to an energetic performance by the Norwegian group Barokksolistene.

“A challenge with this sort of performance is ensuring that the performers are not put off once the pyrotechnics start.” said Matthew, following his introduction and briefing with the orchestra.

For many of them, this was the first time that they’d encountered pyrotechnics close up.

There are safety and practical considerations too as Matthew points out. “We don’t want to damage anything on stage and we certainly don’t want to make woodwind or brass players cough during the concert.”Waterfall units

Matthew’s preparation and careful choice of effects certainly paid off. The audience smiled and were visibly engaged as the fireworks began in the final movement of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Barokksolistene Musical Director Bjarte Eike insisted that Matthew took two bows to a packed out Town Hall following the finale, which included waterfall effects, mines, airbursts and fountains, all choreographed “in perfect time”, according to several of the string players.

The concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Presenter Fiona Talkington clearly enjoyed the spectacle. Commenting afterwards, she described Matthew as “a real pyrotechnic artist” as she recounted the cascades of colour and fountains rising on the steps in front of the organ.

Acting Festival Manager Anna Pickton said “What a fantastic and exciting element to have in a classical music concert. It added an unexpected ‘something extra’ to the evening.”Matthew Tosh in rehearsals

Le Maitre to sponsor flagship science show

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Le Maitre logoMatthew Tosh is delighted to announce that Le Maitre Ltd will be sponsoring a flagship charity science show during British Science Week (13-22 March). The show has been commissioned by the British Science Association (BSA) and Kids Company in association with the Science Museum.

Matthew was asked to produce a show that is a first introduction to the fun, creativity and wonder of science for children who wouldn’t have access to such opportunities. Known for his enthusiastic and engaging style, both with and without pyrotechnics, Matthew is thrilled to be able to help.

A range of effects from UK manufacturer Le Maitre will be used in the show to demonstrate exciting science in action and, in true Matthew style, he has a few tricks up his sleeves.
Matthew with VS flares“One of my aims is to allow audiences to appreciate the broader aspects of science and the skills you get from studying the STEM subjects at school. Many of these skills are used throughout the live events, stunts and entertainment industry, which can so easily be overlooked.”

“2015 is the International Year of Light, and so it is only natural that I should want to include the vibrant colours that Le Maitre pyrotechnics offer, especially with their terrific “VS – virtually smokeless” range.”

Le Maitre Virtually Smokeless logo

“Le Maitre is delighted to be supporting British Science Week at the Science Museum by providing pyrotechnics for the show. We have worked with Matthew on several occasions and he has a great way of getting kids excited about science. The children from Kids Company are in for a treat!” Says Sally Dobinson, Marketing Manager, Le Maitre Ltd.

Matthew will present the show to over 400 children from Kids Company’s London schools programme. Kids Company is a children’s charity that provides emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people.

The BSA is organising the event for British Science Week in partnership with the Science Museum. The BSA wants to increase and diversify the amount of people who participate in and enjoy science.

Matthew added: “Even if you don’t go on to study science beyond school, I want to ensure that people are excited and comfortable by science in use around them.”