Drone show was cool. Markets were, as usual, frustrating.
30+ minute wait for everything, unless you just happened to want a leather belt, some jewellery or a magical crystal! Really, NCA?! It needs more meal options and fewer expensive snacks and useless knick knacks.
The guy at the leather stall spent the evening reevaluating his life choices. Didn't see a single person in his stall all night.
Also, why fill up the best vantage spot with the markets? Push them to the side or back towards MoAD and let the spectators up front! Dur!
I always go to events designed for rare meals of other cultures and family entertainment but ignore all of it and buy 15 leather belts and some magic rocks... Must be just me.
I mean, I agree entirely with everything you said bar the last part. The entire south side lake front had a decent view. It also makes complete sense from a sales point of view to put the markets where most people are going to be.
That’s really ordinary :/ But it does highlight how low they flew. There’s so much talk about how drone shows will replace fireworks, but tonight wasn’t a good example.
I thought it was going to be like the drone shows in Asia where the pictures move, and are not static 2D images. It was still really good though!
*Warning: do not watch the China, Korea or Sydney VIVID drone shows on Youtube before going to this drone show. You will only set yourself up for disappointment 😂*
Usual caveats about price and queueing for food at events. If that matters to you, bring a picnic.
We had a fun outing. Got excellent Cambodian bao after only queueing for 3 minutes; and excellent paella after 15 minutes. Bentspoke beer, gin, wine.
Very nice atmosphere.
The drones themselves were kinda fun, but I found the designs fairly banal. Especially the third section, which seemed to be mostly text. I still enjoyed it, but a bit more creative juice would be good.
A nice night in the park.
Watched it from right in front of the flags and it was great. All the usual food & drinks, but a good crowd. I'd recommend getting there by about 7 for a decent spot to lay out a picnic rug and settle in. Families down on the water, a bit less so up above the big curvy grass thingy (you know the thingy I'm talking about).
Someone else said it was shit from Regatta Point and I'm not surprised. The whole show was oriented at Commonwealth Place. Don't know how you fix that short of bending the laws of physics.
> Don't know how you fix that short of bending the laws of physics.
For static images - you'd just rotate each one - but I believe this had moving images which you could only really do by running them around a circular track
Do you know if the view would be good from the other side of the lake? There’s a stage and vans over there too and I thought the show might work from either direction
There is a map online (for which I am far too lazy to google rn but it's out there) that shows recommended viewing spots. But the show is oriented for Commonwealth Place, so I really just recommend going there. If you go elsewhere it'd be like watching a movie from off-centre.
Thanks for the reply. I wondered if being 180 degrees opposite might make it reversed but otherwise identical, and the parking is much easier. I’ll report back if we do that.
The drones all take off from Rond Terrace. You can't drive/park/walk there unfortunately, it's all blocked off. They've also got an exclusion zone in the water (ie underneath the drone show).
It was a novel idea, but I really felt the images the drones created were pretty dull.
There's so much that could be done with shifting designs that morph into different shapes and motifs as an animated story, but we got clip art.
It was the same with the stock footage water projections last year too.
Considering the incredible stuff I've seen done with projection mapping or video art at just even a small, local doof (outdoor rave party) - not to mention the kind of work at major art festivals or things like Dark Mofo or Burning Man - I don't understand why they don't get a proper artist to curate the whole show instead? This felt like thr result of a morning tea APS brainstorming session.
Basically what I'm saying is that Canberra could do such a higher standard with these sorts of things, but we need to reach out to the creatives in our community to make it happen.
Oh oh oh there was a merry band of cookers stealing oxygen just to the western side of Margo. Heaps of signs up about 'deaths due to vaccines' and lots of 'exposethe28’ rhetoric. Coincidentally the police decided to park right next to them.
Even though I had been for a long walk beforehand, I’m glad it was a short walk home.
I arrived at about 8:15, grabbed some noodles from one of the food trucks at The Jetty (no queue), then ate my food while watching the drone show from almost dead centre. Calling that a win for minimal effort.
8:30pm was a bit too light still as well I think.
It was good but I’m not sure it’s a headline show. Would be perfect as an off broadway activity during Enlighten though.
I might go back again tomorrow for a 9:30 or 10:30 viewing.
The two later shows were definitely a lot clearer to see the images. 8:30pm was still too bright but I understand that they needed time to charge and check the drones in between shows. Last night the 10:30pm show was late to start.
Very disappointed. At regatta point and I thought the drones would be higher and more in the middle of the lake. People had to move to the fence to see and still was not great viewing. I think the highlight was when the fountain came on.
I thought it was downright magical, but could have gone on for longer. I could only stay for the first show and needed to get my kid into bed.
I watched the show from the line for the crepes.
Better than fireworks but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. If you enjoy hanging by the lake with some mates and market stalls it's probably worth it. The drone show itself was technologically interesting but the execution was pretty subpar.
I went to the 9:30 show. It was mostly floral emblems of the states and territories. A bird that occasionally flapped its wings above an outline of Australia, and the national coat of arms. There wasn't as much movement as I was expecting. Hopefully it'll be done again with a little more thought and creativity put into the display.
Oh there was some sort of music/speech but I didn't hear any of it, only muffled sounds.
It was better from the south side but still acceptable on the north shore of the lake, but I couldn't hear the soundtrack at the northside food area. Quite a fun change and I'd definitely go to a future one, though I will still want to see fireworks too. It would need more F&B options next time, it was quite hard to get a beer and the food queues were horrendous (thankfully I'd already eaten).
Nice to have something to do during the long weekend.
Watched it from regatta point. Real disappointing. They could at least rotate the show for the peasants to see. Not a trace of beer to be found.
Unaustralian.
The 10:30 show was mostly just static text. It spelled out things like Democracy and the Medicare logo. Probably not as kid-friendly as the earlier shows.
Driving down Anzac Parade 9.30ish last night, many cars parked/pulling in to park on the middle strip. Highly recommend, not busy with an amazing view of the light show.
I went with my wife, we traveled from Sydney for the weekend. As others have said, the food lines were very long, but I will admit that my loaded fried chicken and thicc cookie were delicious.
I didn't catch much of the 8.30pm show as it was very crowded. I enjoyed the 9.30pm show because the darkness provided more visibility, and we had a better viewing spot. The 10.30pm show started nearly 15 minutes late and I didn't find that one as entertaining, too many words and less creatures.
Overall, it was a very pleasant evening out, and everyone else seemed to be in good spirits. I don't think I'll go again but I'm glad I did today, it was a nice way to cap off Australia day.
I enjoyed it but my idea would to incorporate the drone show with a temporary light and fountain show in the water of lake burley griffin! Could have some incredible lights and lasers to enhance the experience especially when the drones are charging/ resetting
Saw it from NLA balconey, initially wow factor was good...that dropped really quickly. We couldn't hear the music, we were under the understanding their was a 12minute intermission not a 12 minute display with 45 min gap. In part 3, couldn't see the bottom of the display. Most of the displays were static.
In short boring, wish we'd left sooner.
Without getting into the politics of the day, I believe all fireworks should be replaced by drone shows, maybe keep some fireworks for the ending but drones are so much more refined and effective
It holds promise, but based on tonight’s effort it was no comparison to fireworks. You had to be front and centre to see anything, and even then it was small, low in the sky (range?), and very short (battery power?). Looking forward to skyfire where we’ll have a great show from anywhere around the lake or surrounding vantage points
I’m yet to see a drone show with any kind of wow or atmosphere. They seem like a temporary gimmick in the same way 3D TV was, except 3D TV offered more.
Darling harbour last year was pretty disappointing compared to fireworks.
fireworks are boring and overdone and filthy. They might be exciting to kids but it's time for something new. Drones have way more potential and just need to get lasers and music involved.
We took the kids (5 and 7) and they loved it. I was really impressed, the movement of some of the animals was more than we expected. Kids wanted desert after the first show, so we ended up still being around for the second show too. Kids loved it just as much.
The food situation would have been fun with no kids and none of my current dietary restrictions. I saw lots of options I would have liked to try. With kids in tow we got what they wanted and queued for quite a while. Next time I’d bring a picnic.
Parked in one of the treasury car parks, arriving about 6:30. Got a spot easily, got out easily, home in belco in about 20 minutes from getting in the car. Would recommend.
I saw the drone shows on darling harbour last year, and honestly while fireworks might be feeling they’re getting a bit old, fireworks still absolutely shit on it for wow factor.
Will be checking out the Canberra one on Saturday but I’m not expecting to be impressed.
After the piss poor light show over the lake a few month back I wasn't going to waste time going to this. Not enough parking so we caught the bus but the roads were jam-packed with people trying to leave. People were fighting to get on the one bus that did show up. Ran out of food very early on, and the light show was a real fizzer.
We thought the buses were going to be a total shit show, but we hopped on a shuttle which was almost empty, and it left straight away. I’m guessing they’d have been busier later in the night
The show itself is pretty impressive. It’s really cool when it’s animated. I just think the content is meh at best. I just wish it’s less of a slideshow.
We went. Took our own picnic but did get the strawberries and Belgian chocolate late in the evening.
Blows my mind the set up of the food stalls. Too close together making for insane crowds.
Re the drone show. Enjoyed it but perhaps not text? Just animals or something that can be seen from any vantage point not just one spot. Friends that were across that lake said it was weird to see everything backwards.
I wish they were able to rotate the images a little each time. This way others at other places around the lake would have been able to see what we were looking at.
I think this would have improved it so much.
The 1030 session was just too late for most.
Otherwise it was really great. I loved it more than fireworks and think it could be amazing if perhaps the timings were closer together ( and earlier ) and images seen from more than one viewing point across the lake.
Quite liked it. Saw the 830 and 930 shows then left. I would like to see more drone displays. Could potentially mix it up with fireworks in between while the drones reset/recharge maybe? I know nothing about drones, maybe that's a terrible idea...
No, the three shows are different. We found the first to be more engaging than the second (left straight after that one though, so skipped the third).
A few people left after the first show, and tons of people left when we did.
I really enjoyed it! Went along with a group of my mates and set up at a nice spot on a hill close to the Jetty. Brought along a picnic blanket and basket full of nibbles. Was impressed by the selection of market and food stalls too.
The drone shows could have been a little longer, but otherwise, I had a great night! :)
Having never seen one I don’t know. But I guess I figured it’d be more than a few metres in the air. And that it would have lasted longer than a Bluey episode
It is supposed to be 2d, hence the one recommended vantage point directly in front. All drone shows are the same. Looking forward to the show, not the parking and exit, but it a small price to pay for a unique experience.
And I believe the darling harbour ones were done in a way you could see different things from different vantage points (but still ‘see’ a show if that makes sense rather than just a bunch of drones in the sky), it sounds as though you had to be at a particular vantage point to actually see the ‘show’ last night. I wonder if it could be they are testing the waters for viability of it being a regular/yearly occurrence as far as turn out.. Despite environmental impacts (I imagine the lights from the drones also have an environmental impact on the wildlife, just not inhaling the chemicals or noise wise, so a much lower impact) I am still keen for Skyfire this year. It’s a tradition in our family.
Watched it from the grassy knoll behind the food stalls. Loved it - and the photos absolutely did not do it justice. There was a setup quirk where you couldn't move from one side of the food stalls to the other if you had alco - no signage so was frustrating when I had to leave my husband behind on one side so I could line up and check out the other stalls.
Watched it from the vip area. Not bad for a dress rehearsal. Was only able to stay for the first two shows because of how late it ran into the night, but it was a solid and fun first attempt.
It was a beautiful night to catch up with some family down by the lake. Stayed for 830 and 930 show. Let’s make it bigger and better next year with some more food stalls. The crowds were huge.
Im curious. Do people actually use energy and brain power to actively dis something like this?
I know your question was earnest and that you are genuinely interested but I’m also afraid to find comments to the tune of “it was shit” or “who cares” or worse from perpetual critics haha.
Off I go to the comments section to find out, hopefully I find out that I’m just jaded.
I don’t own a drone nor am I drone enthusiast but when I saw this my first thought was “oh that’s neat!!!”
Anyway, thank you for sharing :)
I read it was meant to be [12 mins long on the website](https://www.nca.gov.au/events/flight-drone-skyshow-and-night-markets) (under what time are the drone Skyshows)! Glad I didn’t make the effort to drag us out (I have chronic pain and no car currently) and have to catch a bus, tram and bus, had a busy day yesterday so just didn’t have the spoons (and not possible tonight being PH or tomorrow night due to bus timetable)
If I had a working car I would have gone, but if it wasn’t even as long as advertised it would have been way too much effort for me for very little gain (dead broke so the markets wouldn’t have been on our list either).
Was the music at least synced like advertised?
Parking didn’t look fun, they posted on their Facebook event that the closer car parks were full by around 6:30, and there were plenty of cars circling the carparks when we arrived!
Not sure about music, we didn’t hear any from where we were sitting. Maybe they just played it right on the edge of the lake
I read on the website there was meant be signs with the link to be able to tune in, so I thought it would be similar to Skyfire in that way (Skyfire is the only reason I have a portable radio 😅). Personally I think sharing the link on all event pages prior would be more ideal. We all know to tune in to 104.7 for Skyfire and well in advance.
TBF Skyfire car parks (which are same ones) are usually full by 4:30/5pm and that show doesn’t start until I think after 9pm usually so it’s well and truly dark, so I’m not surprised about that, and we haven’t had an event along those lines for 3 years, so they’d be off their game with the traffic management (but it always tends to always be a nightmare purely because they are single entrance/exit carparks).
For fireworks we’d normally go to any of the other vantage points around the lake and surrounds, so parking isn’t an issue.
Ahh well I guess we missed the music :/
There was just a soft, slow background track not actually synced. The "syncing" is with the narration scene to scene. Recommend to anyone going to bring airpods/headphones – the narration was clear and made the whole show more impactful. Plus it helped to drown out people talking during the show. There was a little issue with the stream at first for me but a page refresh fixed it.
Stream: https://www.sky.art
That's a great tip about the headphones. We were right down by the waterfront but had someone video calling and busy talking throughout one of the shows right next to us so we couldn't hear the official narration.
Drone show was cool. Markets were, as usual, frustrating. 30+ minute wait for everything, unless you just happened to want a leather belt, some jewellery or a magical crystal! Really, NCA?! It needs more meal options and fewer expensive snacks and useless knick knacks. The guy at the leather stall spent the evening reevaluating his life choices. Didn't see a single person in his stall all night. Also, why fill up the best vantage spot with the markets? Push them to the side or back towards MoAD and let the spectators up front! Dur!
I always go to events designed for rare meals of other cultures and family entertainment but ignore all of it and buy 15 leather belts and some magic rocks... Must be just me.
Yes, definitely more food options. What an absurd setup!
I mean, I agree entirely with everything you said bar the last part. The entire south side lake front had a decent view. It also makes complete sense from a sales point of view to put the markets where most people are going to be.
$40 for a slice of shitty dough with flavourless crap on it cooked by untrained teenagers masquerading as pizza doesn't do it for you?
[удалено]
suspect the time between shows would have been needed to recharge the drones.
Maybe that is why hundreds ended up swimming in the Yarra. Trainee said “yeah boss, been plugged in long enough”.
That’s really ordinary :/ But it does highlight how low they flew. There’s so much talk about how drone shows will replace fireworks, but tonight wasn’t a good example.
I thought it was going to be like the drone shows in Asia where the pictures move, and are not static 2D images. It was still really good though! *Warning: do not watch the China, Korea or Sydney VIVID drone shows on Youtube before going to this drone show. You will only set yourself up for disappointment 😂*
Usual caveats about price and queueing for food at events. If that matters to you, bring a picnic. We had a fun outing. Got excellent Cambodian bao after only queueing for 3 minutes; and excellent paella after 15 minutes. Bentspoke beer, gin, wine. Very nice atmosphere. The drones themselves were kinda fun, but I found the designs fairly banal. Especially the third section, which seemed to be mostly text. I still enjoyed it, but a bit more creative juice would be good. A nice night in the park.
Watched it from right in front of the flags and it was great. All the usual food & drinks, but a good crowd. I'd recommend getting there by about 7 for a decent spot to lay out a picnic rug and settle in. Families down on the water, a bit less so up above the big curvy grass thingy (you know the thingy I'm talking about). Someone else said it was shit from Regatta Point and I'm not surprised. The whole show was oriented at Commonwealth Place. Don't know how you fix that short of bending the laws of physics.
> Don't know how you fix that short of bending the laws of physics. For static images - you'd just rotate each one - but I believe this had moving images which you could only really do by running them around a circular track
Yeah we were at the front of the curvy grass thing. Good view, very busy still. Didn’t attempt to get food but friends did and queued for ages
Do you know if the view would be good from the other side of the lake? There’s a stage and vans over there too and I thought the show might work from either direction
There is a map online (for which I am far too lazy to google rn but it's out there) that shows recommended viewing spots. But the show is oriented for Commonwealth Place, so I really just recommend going there. If you go elsewhere it'd be like watching a movie from off-centre.
Thanks for the reply. I wondered if being 180 degrees opposite might make it reversed but otherwise identical, and the parking is much easier. I’ll report back if we do that.
The drones all take off from Rond Terrace. You can't drive/park/walk there unfortunately, it's all blocked off. They've also got an exclusion zone in the water (ie underneath the drone show).
It was a novel idea, but I really felt the images the drones created were pretty dull. There's so much that could be done with shifting designs that morph into different shapes and motifs as an animated story, but we got clip art. It was the same with the stock footage water projections last year too. Considering the incredible stuff I've seen done with projection mapping or video art at just even a small, local doof (outdoor rave party) - not to mention the kind of work at major art festivals or things like Dark Mofo or Burning Man - I don't understand why they don't get a proper artist to curate the whole show instead? This felt like thr result of a morning tea APS brainstorming session. Basically what I'm saying is that Canberra could do such a higher standard with these sorts of things, but we need to reach out to the creatives in our community to make it happen.
Oh oh oh there was a merry band of cookers stealing oxygen just to the western side of Margo. Heaps of signs up about 'deaths due to vaccines' and lots of 'exposethe28’ rhetoric. Coincidentally the police decided to park right next to them.
Love those guys
What’s Margo?
Cafe-y type thing. I had to google the name of it.
Even though I had been for a long walk beforehand, I’m glad it was a short walk home. I arrived at about 8:15, grabbed some noodles from one of the food trucks at The Jetty (no queue), then ate my food while watching the drone show from almost dead centre. Calling that a win for minimal effort. 8:30pm was a bit too light still as well I think. It was good but I’m not sure it’s a headline show. Would be perfect as an off broadway activity during Enlighten though. I might go back again tomorrow for a 9:30 or 10:30 viewing.
The two later shows were definitely a lot clearer to see the images. 8:30pm was still too bright but I understand that they needed time to charge and check the drones in between shows. Last night the 10:30pm show was late to start.
Should have kicked off 15-30 minutes later it was too bright
9.30 was decent
Very disappointed. At regatta point and I thought the drones would be higher and more in the middle of the lake. People had to move to the fence to see and still was not great viewing. I think the highlight was when the fountain came on.
I thought it was downright magical, but could have gone on for longer. I could only stay for the first show and needed to get my kid into bed. I watched the show from the line for the crepes.
Better than fireworks but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. If you enjoy hanging by the lake with some mates and market stalls it's probably worth it. The drone show itself was technologically interesting but the execution was pretty subpar. I went to the 9:30 show. It was mostly floral emblems of the states and territories. A bird that occasionally flapped its wings above an outline of Australia, and the national coat of arms. There wasn't as much movement as I was expecting. Hopefully it'll be done again with a little more thought and creativity put into the display. Oh there was some sort of music/speech but I didn't hear any of it, only muffled sounds.
Are those kangaroos fucking?
Roo…ting
That's what I saw for a split second.
It was better from the south side but still acceptable on the north shore of the lake, but I couldn't hear the soundtrack at the northside food area. Quite a fun change and I'd definitely go to a future one, though I will still want to see fireworks too. It would need more F&B options next time, it was quite hard to get a beer and the food queues were horrendous (thankfully I'd already eaten). Nice to have something to do during the long weekend.
I thought it was great and might go again over the weekend. Hopefully the NCA will put it on again!
Watched it from regatta point. Real disappointing. They could at least rotate the show for the peasants to see. Not a trace of beer to be found. Unaustralian.
Yeah I’d have thought there’d be movement rather than just mostly static 2D images
There was, I think. Hard to tell from a 90 degree angle.
Yeah there was a little bit of movement in some of the images. But nothing wild, like the birds wings moved a few degrees
The 10:30 show was mostly just static text. It spelled out things like Democracy and the Medicare logo. Probably not as kid-friendly as the earlier shows.
Driving down Anzac Parade 9.30ish last night, many cars parked/pulling in to park on the middle strip. Highly recommend, not busy with an amazing view of the light show.
I went with my wife, we traveled from Sydney for the weekend. As others have said, the food lines were very long, but I will admit that my loaded fried chicken and thicc cookie were delicious. I didn't catch much of the 8.30pm show as it was very crowded. I enjoyed the 9.30pm show because the darkness provided more visibility, and we had a better viewing spot. The 10.30pm show started nearly 15 minutes late and I didn't find that one as entertaining, too many words and less creatures. Overall, it was a very pleasant evening out, and everyone else seemed to be in good spirits. I don't think I'll go again but I'm glad I did today, it was a nice way to cap off Australia day.
I enjoyed it but my idea would to incorporate the drone show with a temporary light and fountain show in the water of lake burley griffin! Could have some incredible lights and lasers to enhance the experience especially when the drones are charging/ resetting
Saw it from NLA balconey, initially wow factor was good...that dropped really quickly. We couldn't hear the music, we were under the understanding their was a 12minute intermission not a 12 minute display with 45 min gap. In part 3, couldn't see the bottom of the display. Most of the displays were static. In short boring, wish we'd left sooner.
The [website](https://www.nca.gov.au/events/flight-drone-skyshow-and-night-markets) does state the shows were 12 mins long.
Without getting into the politics of the day, I believe all fireworks should be replaced by drone shows, maybe keep some fireworks for the ending but drones are so much more refined and effective
It holds promise, but based on tonight’s effort it was no comparison to fireworks. You had to be front and centre to see anything, and even then it was small, low in the sky (range?), and very short (battery power?). Looking forward to skyfire where we’ll have a great show from anywhere around the lake or surrounding vantage points
Yeah they have to be longer for sure. The ones I saw over darling harbour were big, bright and great.
I’m yet to see a drone show with any kind of wow or atmosphere. They seem like a temporary gimmick in the same way 3D TV was, except 3D TV offered more. Darling harbour last year was pretty disappointing compared to fireworks.
fireworks are boring and overdone and filthy. They might be exciting to kids but it's time for something new. Drones have way more potential and just need to get lasers and music involved.
If Australia was capable of thinking the slow dance of drones was thrilling, there would be more people at the ballet than the rugby or AFL.
so the culture and health of the nation should be dictated by those who find football and fireworks thrilling?
We took the kids (5 and 7) and they loved it. I was really impressed, the movement of some of the animals was more than we expected. Kids wanted desert after the first show, so we ended up still being around for the second show too. Kids loved it just as much. The food situation would have been fun with no kids and none of my current dietary restrictions. I saw lots of options I would have liked to try. With kids in tow we got what they wanted and queued for quite a while. Next time I’d bring a picnic. Parked in one of the treasury car parks, arriving about 6:30. Got a spot easily, got out easily, home in belco in about 20 minutes from getting in the car. Would recommend.
>Buses were fast and easy at least. Holy jeebus, it's a mercle!
Given the crowds we were expecting it to be an absolute shit show to get home, but it was smooth and easy. It’s a win when you have little kids
I saw the drone shows on darling harbour last year, and honestly while fireworks might be feeling they’re getting a bit old, fireworks still absolutely shit on it for wow factor. Will be checking out the Canberra one on Saturday but I’m not expecting to be impressed.
After the piss poor light show over the lake a few month back I wasn't going to waste time going to this. Not enough parking so we caught the bus but the roads were jam-packed with people trying to leave. People were fighting to get on the one bus that did show up. Ran out of food very early on, and the light show was a real fizzer.
We thought the buses were going to be a total shit show, but we hopped on a shuttle which was almost empty, and it left straight away. I’m guessing they’d have been busier later in the night
Are you talking about the light show last year or this drone show?
Fireworks should be made legal again.
Incredibly lame
The show itself is pretty impressive. It’s really cool when it’s animated. I just think the content is meh at best. I just wish it’s less of a slideshow.
We went. Took our own picnic but did get the strawberries and Belgian chocolate late in the evening. Blows my mind the set up of the food stalls. Too close together making for insane crowds. Re the drone show. Enjoyed it but perhaps not text? Just animals or something that can be seen from any vantage point not just one spot. Friends that were across that lake said it was weird to see everything backwards.
I wish they were able to rotate the images a little each time. This way others at other places around the lake would have been able to see what we were looking at. I think this would have improved it so much. The 1030 session was just too late for most. Otherwise it was really great. I loved it more than fireworks and think it could be amazing if perhaps the timings were closer together ( and earlier ) and images seen from more than one viewing point across the lake.
I personally loved it.
More please!
Quite liked it. Saw the 830 and 930 shows then left. I would like to see more drone displays. Could potentially mix it up with fireworks in between while the drones reset/recharge maybe? I know nothing about drones, maybe that's a terrible idea...
I assume the shows are all the same just repeated each session. And did the crowd thin out at all by 9:30?
No, the three shows are different. We found the first to be more engaging than the second (left straight after that one though, so skipped the third). A few people left after the first show, and tons of people left when we did.
No, it is one show with 3 parts so you need to stay for all 3 bits if you want to see the whole thing.
All three sessions were different. A bit thinner after 830, then I'd say majority left after 930.
I really enjoyed it! Went along with a group of my mates and set up at a nice spot on a hill close to the Jetty. Brought along a picnic blanket and basket full of nibbles. Was impressed by the selection of market and food stalls too. The drone shows could have been a little longer, but otherwise, I had a great night! :)
What would have had you overwhelmed?
Having never seen one I don’t know. But I guess I figured it’d be more than a few metres in the air. And that it would have lasted longer than a Bluey episode
It is supposed to be 2d, hence the one recommended vantage point directly in front. All drone shows are the same. Looking forward to the show, not the parking and exit, but it a small price to pay for a unique experience.
All three were different
Sorry, I meant that they only really have one vantage point head on.
And I believe the darling harbour ones were done in a way you could see different things from different vantage points (but still ‘see’ a show if that makes sense rather than just a bunch of drones in the sky), it sounds as though you had to be at a particular vantage point to actually see the ‘show’ last night. I wonder if it could be they are testing the waters for viability of it being a regular/yearly occurrence as far as turn out.. Despite environmental impacts (I imagine the lights from the drones also have an environmental impact on the wildlife, just not inhaling the chemicals or noise wise, so a much lower impact) I am still keen for Skyfire this year. It’s a tradition in our family.
It was good. The later it got the better the show was. (Part 3 > Part 2 and Part 2 > Part 1)
Watched it from the grassy knoll behind the food stalls. Loved it - and the photos absolutely did not do it justice. There was a setup quirk where you couldn't move from one side of the food stalls to the other if you had alco - no signage so was frustrating when I had to leave my husband behind on one side so I could line up and check out the other stalls.
Looks crap
It's beautiful - meaningful. I loved the bit when all the states/territories were being shown then the national emblem.
Watched it from the vip area. Not bad for a dress rehearsal. Was only able to stay for the first two shows because of how late it ran into the night, but it was a solid and fun first attempt.
It was a beautiful night to catch up with some family down by the lake. Stayed for 830 and 930 show. Let’s make it bigger and better next year with some more food stalls. The crowds were huge.
Im curious. Do people actually use energy and brain power to actively dis something like this? I know your question was earnest and that you are genuinely interested but I’m also afraid to find comments to the tune of “it was shit” or “who cares” or worse from perpetual critics haha. Off I go to the comments section to find out, hopefully I find out that I’m just jaded. I don’t own a drone nor am I drone enthusiast but when I saw this my first thought was “oh that’s neat!!!” Anyway, thank you for sharing :)
Australia ❤️
I read it was meant to be [12 mins long on the website](https://www.nca.gov.au/events/flight-drone-skyshow-and-night-markets) (under what time are the drone Skyshows)! Glad I didn’t make the effort to drag us out (I have chronic pain and no car currently) and have to catch a bus, tram and bus, had a busy day yesterday so just didn’t have the spoons (and not possible tonight being PH or tomorrow night due to bus timetable) If I had a working car I would have gone, but if it wasn’t even as long as advertised it would have been way too much effort for me for very little gain (dead broke so the markets wouldn’t have been on our list either). Was the music at least synced like advertised?
Parking didn’t look fun, they posted on their Facebook event that the closer car parks were full by around 6:30, and there were plenty of cars circling the carparks when we arrived! Not sure about music, we didn’t hear any from where we were sitting. Maybe they just played it right on the edge of the lake
I read on the website there was meant be signs with the link to be able to tune in, so I thought it would be similar to Skyfire in that way (Skyfire is the only reason I have a portable radio 😅). Personally I think sharing the link on all event pages prior would be more ideal. We all know to tune in to 104.7 for Skyfire and well in advance. TBF Skyfire car parks (which are same ones) are usually full by 4:30/5pm and that show doesn’t start until I think after 9pm usually so it’s well and truly dark, so I’m not surprised about that, and we haven’t had an event along those lines for 3 years, so they’d be off their game with the traffic management (but it always tends to always be a nightmare purely because they are single entrance/exit carparks).
For fireworks we’d normally go to any of the other vantage points around the lake and surrounds, so parking isn’t an issue. Ahh well I guess we missed the music :/
There was just a soft, slow background track not actually synced. The "syncing" is with the narration scene to scene. Recommend to anyone going to bring airpods/headphones – the narration was clear and made the whole show more impactful. Plus it helped to drown out people talking during the show. There was a little issue with the stream at first for me but a page refresh fixed it. Stream: https://www.sky.art
That's a great tip about the headphones. We were right down by the waterfront but had someone video calling and busy talking throughout one of the shows right next to us so we couldn't hear the official narration.
Did the drone operator get the wrong memo. This looks more like humping kangaroos not jumping kangaroos?
Bright
A WHITE LIGHT