3-D Fireworks

Have you ever heard of 3-D fireworks? Crazy, huh?
Visually, fireworks are already 3-D because they are in real life (I just LOVE the firework smoke smell, don't you?). Popularity of movies filmed with this technique have had a "come and go" popularity. Disney world tried adding a 3-D element to their "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" attraction, but that ended miserably with rats and a HUGE snake. I did NOT approve.

Still, when West Valley's WestFest announced the fireworks would be done in 3-D, I'll admit my curiosity was roused. I first wanted to see if it was all a cheap gimmick to take our minds off of a mediocre show. In past years, WestFest has had fantastic and lengthy fireworks displays, but cut backs and rising prices for gas and groceries made me wonder if they would cut back here as well. Nope. The show was long and filled with spurts of amazing displays.

Michelle, Rebecca and Dave came down from Layton. We grabbed our glasses and held on for what proved to be a spectacular show. Traditional techniques of filming and then merging two different colors (usually red and blue) to make the 3-D special effects were not possible in an outdoor fireworks venue. The glasses were made of special material that fractured the lights into rainbows, then multiplied them (possibly because we had two eyes). This is really a boring explanation to what was ultimately really cool. Considering all the rainbows, some may comment that this made watching fireworks even gayer, but I'll assume they mean that in the good way. The finale was especially breath-taking. I was able to capture a few pictures through the 3-D glasses. With only one eye, the effect is not the same, but gives you a good idea of what we were seeing. We will definitely use the glasses next week for 4th of July fireworks.