The summit’s closing keynote ran on the harborfront plaza, which meant our mortar-to-spectator distance couldn’t be met from any point on land close enough to read well against the skyline. The site survey resolved it: a permitted launch barge anchored 640 feet offshore, satisfying NFPA 1123’s minimum spectator distance for the 6-inch and 8-inch shells in the finale while keeping the display close enough to the plaza to feel immediate.
The eight-minute sequence was built against the summit’s closing-video soundtrack, delivered to us three weeks out — the cue sheet follows the track’s actual tempo changes rather than a fixed BPM, including a deliberate four-second silence before the finale barrage that the client specifically requested to land as a held breath before the drop.
Low-smoke compositions were used throughout the first six minutes to keep the harbor view clear for the photography team stationed on the plaza roof, with full-density color reserved for the finale.
