Cake Simulation Standards Guide

Purpose

The purpose of this guide is to establish a set of clear, concise, guidelines for the development of cake simulations that ensures quality and consistency across the Finale 3D simulation design team. Further, this guide aims to provide tips, tricks, resources, best practices and procedures to help streamline the cake creation process to make it as efficient and genuinely enjoyable as possible.

Cake Sim Checklist

When creating cake simulations, there are many factors to consider. Some factors are critical to producing cakes that meet the Finale standard. These factors are listed in the checklist below. For details and instructions on each checklist item, read the subsequent sections of this guide.

Checklist Item Explanations

Effects Characteristics (Spreadsheet)

The Part Number, Description, Manufacturer, Size, and Number of shots for the completed cake must be (exactly) the same as reflected in the project spreadsheet.

Effects Characteristics (Demo Video)

Prefire

In Finale 3D, bursting aerial effects have default prefire times that are a function of their size. Due to variation in real-life effects, the default prefire times may not be sufficiently accurate. When creating a cake, measure the prefire of two to three shots in the demo video to get a good average. Aim for a prefire time that is accurate with 1/10th of a second. If the measured prefire time is different from Finale 3D's default, use the measured time when creating effects for a cake.

Overall Cake Duration

In the real world, the overall duration of a cake can vary significantly from batch to batch or even from cake to cake within the same batch. Since it's impossible to account for this variance when creating simulations, best practice is to rely on the duration reflected in the cake demo video. When measuring the overall duration of a cake, aim for accuracy within 1/2 second.

Segment Durations

If the time delay between every shot in a cake is fairly consistent (or would be consistent if there was no unintended variance in the fusing), then the shots for the entire cake can simply be spread out evenly on the Finale 3D timeline during the cake creation process. It's absolutely not necessary and not desirable for the timing of each shot to precisely match the cake demo video.

If a cake has changes in firing pace, or launches flights or sequences of effects interspersed with pauses, then it's necessary to measure the durations of the segments. When creating a cake in Finale 3D, spread the effects out evenly on the timeline based on the duration of each segment. There is no need to precisely align the timing of each shot. In other words, focus on the overall durations of the segments; don't worry about the precise time delay between shots within segments.

Firing Patterns

The firing pattern of a cake refers to its tube angles and firing order. Accurately capturing these characteristics is critical for producing a good-quality simulation.

The FinaleTools onscreen protractor is a great tool for measuring the angles of fan cakes. When setting angles in Finale 3D, use the 'Make into fan…' function to ensure the angles are symmetrical and evenly spaced.

When measuring shot angles in a demo video, focus on angles that are the result of the cake construction, and ignore angles caused by trajectory drift. For example, it's extremely common for volleys of shots from straight-up tubes to break at slightly different angles in the sky. Finale 3D naturally adds 'trajectory drift randomness' to simulate this behavior. Consequently, there is no need to add slight fan angles when creating cake simulations.

Angles

For fan cakes, use properly measured angles and spreads rather than rough estimates. The FinaleTools onscreen protractor is invaluable for measuring tube angles directly from demo videos. Be mindful, however, that demo videos are not always filmed perfectly head-on — a slightly off-angle camera perspective can make a fan appear wider or narrower than it actually is. Use good judgement when interpreting measurements from these videos, and cross-reference with any available product specifications when possible.

Objective VDL Characteristics

Pure VDL

Strongly prefer "Pure VDL" when creating cake effect simulations. Pure VDL is characterized by human readable words in the VDL column of the Finale 3D effects window. The presence of {SIM1} or long strings of characters inside curly braces like, {1KLUv/WCRALU...} indicates that an effect has been customized using the effect editor.

In some cases, pure VDL alone may not be sufficient to produce a good simulation. When this happens, it's acceptable to use the effect editor to customize an effect, but do so with good discretion. Keep customizations minimal and targeted rather than overhauling an entire effect. Customized effects are harder to maintain and adjust later, so reserve the effect editor for situations where it makes a meaningful difference in simulation quality.

The preference for pure VDL is intended to strike a balance between efficiency and visual quality. Pure VDL effects are faster to create, easier to modify, and more maintainable over time.

Shot Spacing in Segments

Shots within cake segments should be spread out evenly. See Segment durations.

Standard vs. Exact Syntax

When a selection of shots are combined to create a cake, Finale 3D will try to represent the cake using the 'standard syntax'. For example:

Here is the exact same cake as above represented using the 'exact simulation syntax':

Finale 3D uses the exact simulation syntax as a fallback when a cake has unusual timing or an asymmetrical firing pattern. Since most real-world cakes can be represented by the standard syntax, the presence of the exact syntax typically indicates a problem with angle symmetry or timing. However, sometimes the exact syntax is necessary to represent the shots of a cake. One such example is a butterfly slice, as shown in the photo below. Aim to create cake simulations that use the standard syntax whenever possible.

Subjective VDL Characteristics

Optimal Primary VDL

The selection of VDL effect terms and phrases should produce a simulation that is as visually similar to the effects in the cake demo video as possible. To differentiate between effects such as Falling Leaves versus Waterfall, or Peony versus Dahlia, a keen eye and a robust knowledge of VDL is required. A good resource to learn VDL is the Glossary of VDL Effect Terms.

VDL Adjustments

From one manufacturer to another, or even from one batch to another, real-life effects exhibit infinite variation. Sometimes the default characteristics of a VDL effect are a perfect match. More often, fine tuning is required. This necessitates the use of VDL adjustment terms like Big, Small, Dense, Sparse, Ragged or Uniform to achieve the same appearance.

Duration Adjustments

Each VDL effect has a default duration that is meant to represent a good average for an effect of that type and size. However, due to variation in real-life effects, the defaults don't always produce accurate results. Adjust effect durations as needed to create effects that are visually similar to the cake demo videos.

Duration for Multi-Part Effects

For multi-part effects where you want to control the duration of each part individually, specify an explicit duration for the primary part of the effect in seconds using the DUR term, and then use modifier terms like Long or Short (with additional modifiers like Slightly or Very) to adjust the duration of the secondary part independently. For example:

This produces an effect where the red peony has a specific duration of 1.2 seconds, while the white strobing lasts noticeably longer. This technique is useful when the primary and secondary parts of a real-life effect have visibly different durations.

Concise VDL

As a best practice, try to write VDL that is free from redundant or unnecessary terms. For example, it's not necessary to write Gold Trail when Gold alone already implies a trail. It's worth noting, however, that concise VDL is more of 'nice to have' and not nearly as important as other criteria like, duration, firing pattern, and visual similarity.

Outline of Steps to Create a Cake

Resources

Tips & Tricks

VDL

Effects

YouTube / Vimeo Keyboard Shortcuts

Finale 3D Keyboard Shortcuts

Single Shot Sim Best Practices

Use VDL when possible, but don't hesitate to use the Effect Editor to fine-tune single shot effects to match the desired appearance when VDL is not enough — using the Effect Editor is more acceptable for single shots than for cakes.

Comets and Mines

For single shot effects like comets and mines, use the Fireworks Timer extension to measure the burn time of the stars and set the duration accordingly. Pay attention to brightness and color and ensure that the effect sim matches the visual appearance, using adjustment terms as necessary (Bright, Dim, etc.).

For mines, pay attention to the number of stars and their arrangement. Some mines have many stars and some mines have few. Use VDL adjustment terms like Sparse or Dense with size adjustment terms like Small or Big to accurately represent the mine's star arrangement. If the mine has other distinct features that can't be replicated with VDL, use the Effect Editor to create a custom effect sim that accurately represents the mine's behavior and appearance.

Single Shot Shells

For single shot shells, use the Fireworks Timer extension to measure the lift time and star burn duration(s). Use VDL to represent the shell's behavior and appearance, but if necessary, use the Effect Editor to fine-tune the appearance.

In Summary