Pyrotechnicians work with explosives, fire and fireworks for entertainment purposes, including film, television, concerts and fireworks displays. They require knowledge of chemicals and fire behavior to ensure safety.
A pyrotechnician works with fireworks, fire and explosives for entertainment purposes. While a pyrotechnician may work on film and television productions, he may also do live work such as concerts or fireworks displays. Pyrotechnics refers to any type of explosive substance or controlled fire that can be seen during some rock concerts and action movies.
Many big-budget Hollywood blockbusters feature big action sets that involve huge explosions during battles with alien robots or high-speed car chases through a large city. Whenever there’s a burst of fire or a stream of flames shooting from an alien weapon, there was a pyrotechnic behind that effect. Like any other dangerous field of entertainment like stunt work, it takes a certain type of person to handle this volatile job. Most pyrotechnicians have firm nerves and the necessary calm to constantly deal with explosives and get around the high heat of fire devices.
There are also many pyrotechnicians who work with live entertainment. Typically, these individuals will find plenty of work performing fireworks shows for celebrations such as the 4th of July in the United States (USA) or other important holidays and occasions around the world. Especially prestigious events, such as those televised or for world leaders, will earn a pyrotechnician more money and also a lot of respect within the industry. Being a fireworks technician requires a greater understanding of how chemicals affect the color of firework explosions. This tech usually needs to know how to control the brightness of the explosions, the colors of the explosions, and even the patterns of the explosions.
A pyrotechnician can also find work doing live shows for popular bands, especially rock bands. Such work might include devices that fire bolts of sparks into the air to punctuate certain parts of a song or dance moves. Some extreme groups even integrated fire displays into their costumes with large jets of fire shooting from musicians’ helmets or even sleeves, allowing performers to effectively shoot fire from their hands. While these examples are somewhat rare, such performances require knowledgeable and certified pyrotechnicians to keep performers and audiences safe.
Firefighters also sometimes work with pyrotechnicians to create demonstrations of how fire burns to help educate the public about home fire safety. As someone who works with fire professionally, a pyrotechnician is intimately familiar with how fire can behave in a given environment and can use that knowledge to help keep others safe. Most importantly, pyrotechnicians are professionals with years of experience and not just someone playing with fire. It is a dangerous career and should not be attempted by amateurs.
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