Praise for the courses
April 26th 2008 Tin Town Missouri Class:
To: Aaron Mayfield
Subject: 2008 Shooters Certification Class
Aaron
At this time I would like to say that your Shooters class held on 4/26/08 was the best course that I have attended Jack and yourself did a outstanding job in the presentation of the morning class work The afternoon hands on training was the best I believe that the best training is hands on and you did show that sat I know I did learn a few things , you never know everything in the business and you always have room to learn more I have been in the fireworks field for over 40 years and I am still learning I know the 5 others people that I had attend your class came away with a wealth of knowledge and they where very happy that they attended.
Again many thanks go out to you, Jack and Dusty for an outstanding course
Vince Kolafa
April 19th 2008 Missouri City Texas Class:
To Aaron, Jack, Trevor and all the folks who helped out at Missouri City:
On behalf of OtherWorld Productions, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who made the Missouri City shooters school a success!
In our opinion, this is exactly what we envision a shooters school should be. We brought a new crew member with us to get a feel of what is involved in setting up a shoot, and were very impressed that he was able to experience and learn with "hands on" training. Sebastian and I have been to shooters schools with other companies that pale in comparison to the quality and caliber of your training day.
We firmly believe that you can never stop learning, and providing this type of atmosphere to network, compare, and share was tremendously satisfying to us. We felt so confident in the caliber and atmosphere of training, that many times throughout the day we were able to leave our new crew member and go network with other seasoned shooters, knowing that our "newbie" was actually receiving the hands on instruction he needed.
The price of admission is a small one to pay considering the fact that we now have a crew member who will arrive at his first shoot for our company armed with the basic skills that take up so much precious time when you are setting up a complicated show.
Kudos AMPyro! OtherWorld Productions is looking forward to working with you and the members of your staff who worked so hard yesterday to make this shooter's school enjoyable, educational, and a valuable networking venue.
Send em high, and light up the sky!
Deena Smiley
James Hamel 'Sebastian'
Partners,
OtherWorld Productions
I enjoyed the class and the demo. Thanks for coming all the way down here, and thanks for broadening my perspective on the potential level of choreography. I have only worked for one company, doing the same 2 shows every year and had not seen a show "put together" rather than just arranged by time.
Thanks again
Christopher McAllister
Fall 2007 Shooters Certification Class
This class was held on October 27th at our Class C building east of Pleasant Hope, MO. Click Here for directions.
This class was taught by the owner of AM Pyrotechnics, Aaron Mayfield. NFPA 1123 guidelines were covered, as well as advanced choreographic techniques and maybe some ancient Chinese secrets : ) As part of the course, students got to hand-fire some shells for hands-on experience and at the conclusion of the course we witnessed a demonstration of elaborate products. This demonstration consisted of two parts, the first showcased individual effects from rare shells uncovered by Aaron during his globe-spanning quests for the highest-quality products. The second part of the demo consisted of pre-packaged flights and scenes that can be used to create shows of outstanding beauty. We witnessed how it is possible to create a finale using only three multi-breaking salami shells from Italy, and how to fill the sky with long-lasting waterfalls made of fire.
April 14th, 2007 Shooters Certification Course
Our 2007 Shooters Certification Course has run its course, resulting in 73 certificates being issued. I estimate 150-200 people attended the class, most of which were there for the awesome product demonstration we shot that night. I was about a half mile away during the demo attending other matters but by chance I had a good line of site and could not stop watching till it was over. What struck me most about the demo was my lack of ability to name the colors that I saw. There was this one metallic orange in particular that gets my attention every time I see it. Closest way I could describe it is to say it resembled a neon orange sherbet push-pop my parents used to get from the Schwans Truck, mixed with a little dose of Ultra-Violet and some of those Gamma Rays that made Bruce Banner into the HULK. My childhood crayon set did not prepare me at all for this job.....
--Rob Wolverton, webmaster
March 25th, 2006 Shooters Certification Course
Our certification class was a success, with 32 shooters becoming A.M. Pyrotechnics certified and another 3 receiving PGI certification. Everyone got to hand fire 2 of our 3 inch AMPYRO Factory B Red Strobe shells, and view demonstrations of what not to do with shells such as loading a salute shell upside down in a mortar. (That mortar must have been blown 50 feet into the air!) We also simulated various ways a shell could malfunction, including duds, hangfires, and flowerpots. To convince those who underestimate the power of even 3 inch shells, we covered a mortar with a piece of plywood and fired a shell remotely. The shell left a circular smokin' hole in the plywood, reached its normal break altitude, and broke as if nothing ever got in its way.
The show after the class was flawless, and really highlighted the awesome quality of our product this year. It doesn't matter how many times I see one of Aarons shows, my jaw still drops at the sight of the beautiful pastel colors, the long-lasting waterfalls, and amazing cakes that are nearly a show in them selves. (I especially loved the 4 inch Multi Color Fish & Go-Getters chain of 8 that filled the sky)
Click here for a list of effects fired at the demo.