Frequently Asked Questions:
During the season, we are asked on various occasions a number of similar questions by our clients in terms of what they can expect from a Komodo Display. The following is an example of some of the more common questions we are asked in relation to our professional displays:
Q: What do I get for my money and how long will the display last?
This is possibly the most common question we are asked by our clients & one of the most difficult to easily answer!
As a general guide, the more you spend the bigger and longer the display will be. At Komodo we work on a standard professional display costing £100 per minute in order for us to create a dynamic and spectacular show. We know that a number of our competitors offer cheaper displays that may last for longer, but here at Komodo we firmly believe that a well choreographed and dynamic display will be far more appreciated by your audience than a slow drawn out sprinkling of lower quality fireworks. In the fireworks business you really do get what you pay for!
Q: What happens to my display if it rains?
Unfortunate as it is, we are as yet, unable to control the weather! However, we have worked hard to ensure come rain or shine, your display will safely be fired when you want it to be. We have in place a host of measures to ensure that the rain won't affect your display, and as yet we have never had to call off a display because of the rain.
Q: Are there any additional costs ?
All of the prices quoted by Komodo Fireworks are totally inclusive, and cover materials, insurance, transport, display set-up, firing, de-rigging, our site surveys and risk assessments. There are no extra charges unless optional extras are added and these will clearly be identified on your booking form.
Q: Where are your fireworks from?
We have a range of well over 2000 different firework effects to choose from when choreographing our displays. The majority of which are sourced from China, after all it is the home of Fireworks! We also chose a number of product lines from selected European companies including Spain, Italy, Holland and Germany. We also get some of our specialist outdoor display shells and indoor products from Japan and Brazil. The important thing to recognise is that we only utilise premium products in Komodo displays, and go to great lengths to ensure we use only the best products available in your display!
Q: How long does it take to set-up the fireworks?
Our display teams are usually able to set up a display in a matter of hours. The actual set up time is normally dependant on the type of display and budget. The set up times required for your display will be clearly explained to you when you make your booking.
Q: Do I need to contact anyone?
The answer to this question is usually dependant on your event location. As a guide, the Komodo team will take care of liaising with the event venue and will inform all of the relevant authorities that a fireworks display is to take place. When your display is on private land, we would advise that it is only courteous for you to advise locals of your plans, particularly when livestock or horses are in close proximity.
Q: What fireworks will be in my display?
The type of fireworks we chose for your display will be based on a number of factors, including safety and the amount of space we have to perform the display. We will always aim to tailor make the colours scheme to your choice and include any specific effects you would like to see, as long as it is safe to do so. Our display designer will discuss your requirements during the design phase of your display, and you can have as much or as little input to the final show in terms of colour and effects as you wish!
Q: Are you Insured?
As a professional display company we carry a year round insurance policy to cover all of our display activities. We can also provide safety advice to people carrying out their own DIY fireworks displays.
Q: anything else?
Drop us a line, we are happy to help and answer any questions you may wish to ask.
The Fireworks
As a professional firework company who source our fireworks from a number of the very best premium suppliers, and we have well over 2000 pyrotechnic effects to choose from when designing our shows. The information below is intended to provide the newcomer with an understanding of the types of fireworks we use and some of the effects you may see in our professional displays:
Display Shell:
Probably one of the most spectacular fireworks used by professionals, aerial shells vary in size from 50mm up to 300mm in diameter and usually look somewhat like an onion! Display shells are fired from a heavy duty launch tube known as a mortar. The shell is fired vertically from a mortar tube and travels several hundred feet into the air before exploding into a canopy of stars and spectacular effects.
Roman Candle:
Roman Candles are utilised within our displays to create structure and to provide low to mid level effects. Candles or Roman Candles consist of a single cardboard tube filled with pellets or stars of pyrotechnic composition. A delay fuse inside causes a series of stars or other effects to shoot out from the Roman candle at regular intervals.
We use both single and multiple Roman Candle barrages in order to create a variety of effects and dynamic structure in our shows. The candle sizes we use vary from 14mm to 60mm in diameter, and generally the larger diameter, the bigger the effect and the higher it will go in a display.
Display Mine:
A mine is a dramatic firework which shoots coloured stars up into the air. The mine is loaded into a mortar tube which acts like a gun barrel to help project the burning stars up into the air in a column of stars and effects. Mines are usually used in professional displays in order to add a dramatic crescendo to a display, and are used by our designers for punctuation and dynamic effects in our pyromusical displays.
Display Barrage (Cake):
A Display barrage, more commonly known as a Cake, is a multi shot battery that consists of a number of closely grouped launch tubes and effects linked by a delay fuse. Our professional display cakes can range from 25 shots to over 600 shots, and come in a huge range of colour shapes and effects. A cake is a true display in a box!
Fountain / Gerb:
A Fountain produces a jet of sparks that rises into the air from ground level. In general there are two main types, cone shaped and cylindrical type fountains. The cylinder fountain produces a consistent height spray of sparks from the ground up to 20M in height. The cone type fountain gradually builds in height from a small jet to a large column of sparks. Fountains are often used to provide visual beauty in quiet sections of a display.
Waterfall:
A waterfall effect is a chain of special fountains designed to be hung upside down to allow their sparks to fall from height to the ground as a waterfall effect. Waterfalls can produce spectacular moments of beauty in a display, and we have a range of coloured waterfalls available to utilize.
Bengall / Strobe flares
A bengall or flare is a device that produces a very intense bright light in various colours. Because of the compositions used, the flare effect is usually accompanied by large amounts of smoke. This smoke usually helps to diffuse the bright light and our display designers utilize this to enhance the mood of the display. Strobe flares produce similar effects but burn with a noticeable strobe/ blinking effect.
Single Shot:
A single shot device is an electrically fired pyrotechnic unit that is most commonly used in our pyromusical displays. Each single shot is best described as a single tube that fires one shot when fired. By using single shot product in specialised racking, stunning effects can be produced that create dynamic beauty in our displays.
Rockets:
A rocket is an aerial firework that consists of a stick to balance and guide the rocket into wind when launched, a rocket motor unit to launch the unit high into the sky and an effect contained in the rocket head. Rockets come in a host of different shapes and sizes and must be fired from a suitable launch tube or rocket rack.
Setpiece:
A setpiece is a static firework effect used by our display teams in order to produce a whole host of pictures and text in fire! Setpieces tend to be made on wooden frameworks, where small coloured fireworks known as lances are attached to produce points of coloured light. By adding a series of lances, detailed pictures and text can be created by our display team.
Our Credentials
As a pro active and dynamic fireworks display company, Komodo Fireworks Ltd are active members of both the British Pyrotechnists Association (BPA) and the CBI Explosives Industries Group (EIG).
All of our display teams are trained in accordance with the nationally recognised BPA standards, and ongoing training throughout the year ensures our activities are controlled and as safe as possible.
We believe that by being accredited by national organisations within the industry should be a benchmark for all firework display companies to strive towards, thus ensuring the customer of a safe and spectacular fireworks display every time.
Become a Komodo Crew Member
As a continually developing company, the Komodo team are always looking for new crew members to join our display teams. We hold an annual new starters training course every season that is designed to give you a fun and informative experience of the world of a professional fireworks and the work involved in delivering our spectacular displays.
Our training scheme is based upon nationally recognized standards, and we aim to put all of our new crew members through the BPA training scheme during ongoing training.
So if you have an interest in fireworks, and would like to work alongside likeminded pyro enthusiasts as part of a friendly and supportive team, please contact us for further details.
