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Beijing Opening Ceremony (Read 674 times)
JVol44
Running Man
 posted: 8/11/2008 at 12:22 PM
Just curious - I thought that the ceremonies were unbelievable (maybe a bit too unbelievable according to this report.) Wink What do you all think??

Beijing Olympic 2008 opening ceremony giant firework footprints 'faked'
Parts of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on Friday were faked because of fears over live filming, it has emerged.

By Richard Spencer in Beijing
Last Updated: 6:58PM BST 10 Aug 2008

Organisers feared it would be too difficult to capture each footprint live so inserted computer graphics for viewers at home and in the Bird's Nest stadium.

As the ceremony got under way with a dramatic, drummed countdown, viewers watching at home and on giant screens inside the Bird's Nest National Stadium watched as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks processed gloriously above the city from Tiananmen Square.

What they did not realise was that what they were watching was in fact computer graphics, meticulously created over a period of months and inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

The fireworks were there for real, outside the stadium. But those responsible for filming the extravaganza decided in advance it would be impossible to capture all 29 footprints from the air.

As a result, only the last, visible from the camera stands inside the Bird's Nest was captured on film.

The trick was revealed in a local Chinese newspaper, the Beijing Times, at the weekend.

Gao Xiaolong, head of the visual effects team for the ceremony, said it had taken almost a year to create the 55-second sequence. Meticulous efforts were made to ensure the sequence was as unnoticeable as possible: they sought advice from the Beijing meteorological office as to how to recreate the hazy effects of Beijing's smog at night, and inserted a slight camera shake effect to simulate the idea that it was filmed from a helicopter.

"Seeing how it worked out, it was still a bit too bright compared to the actual fireworks," he said. "But most of the audience thought it was filmed live - so that was mission accomplished."

He said the main problem with trying to shoot the real thing was the difficulty of placing the television helicopter at the right angle to see all 28 footsteps in a row.

One advisor to the Beijing Olympic Committee (BOCOG) defended the decision to use make-believe to impress the viewer. "It would have been prohibitive to have tried to film it live," he said. "We could not put the helicopter pilot at risk by making him try to follow the firework route."

A spokeswoman for BOCOG said the final decision had been made by Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, the joint venture between the International Olympic Committee and local organisers that is responsible for providing the main "feeds" of all Olympic events to viewers around the world.

"As far as we are concerned, we let off the fireworks - that's what's important to us," she said.

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" - Steven Wright
greenrunning
posted: 8/11/2008 at 2:30 PM
modified: 8/11/2008 at 2:31 PM
The NBC guys clearly said during the footsteps that they were CGI. I didn't get the impression it was meant to trick people.
Ennay
Bif! Bam! Pow!
 posted: 8/12/2008 at 4:58 PM
They had an article about this in our paper this morning. Our local guy who was there. I think it was meant to trick people. I bet 90% of the people watching missed the blurb about them being enhanced and even those who caught it probably thought they meant color or contrast, not totally faked.
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Lisa3.1
posted: 8/12/2008 at 5:06 PM
modified: 8/12/2008 at 5:11 PM
fake or not, I have seen it in person a few years ago. not sure i understand why they would fake it if they are capable for real
joe_h
posted: 8/12/2008 at 6:34 PM
also a lip synching controversy
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/08/12/olympics-lipsynch.html

Olympic organizers reveal lip-synched child performance
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | 10:44 AM ET Comments89Recommend63CBC News
An official revealed that nine-year-old Lin Miaoke lip-synched her performance at the Beijing opening ceremony. (Zhou Liang/Xinhua/Associated Press)China's flamboyant Olympics opening ceremony on Friday has lost some of its lustre, following an official's revelation of lip-synching at the over-the-top event.

In an interview with Beijing Radio, Chen Qigang, the ceremony's chief music director, admitted that the pig-tailed, nine-year-old girl in a red dress shown singing was actually lip-synching Ode to the Motherland to audio of another girl, deemed not as pretty but with a lovelier voice.
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DrewEOB
Undertrained. LAME.
 posted: 8/12/2008 at 6:47 PM
They're just putting on a show, not a competition. However they choose to do it that makes us sit there and say "wow" is okay with me.

I guess I understand if it bothers you, though.
Drew

So much for my brilliance.
ʇuǝɹʇ
ʎǝʞuoɯ ʎʞunɟ
 posted: 8/12/2008 at 7:23 PM
Quote from DrewEOB on 8/12/2008 at 6:47 PM:
They're just putting on a show, not a competition. However they choose to do it that makes us sit there and say "wow" is okay with me.

I guess I understand if it bothers you, though.


You're gonna to be special, you sweet little toot toot. Well you can look as much, but if you much as touch,
You're gonna have yourself a case - I'm gonna break your face!
noʎ ɥʇıʍ ǝq ʎǝʞuoɯ ǝɥʇ ʎɐɯ
DrewEOB
Undertrained. LAME.
 posted: 8/13/2008 at 3:46 PM
Quote from ʇuǝɹʇ on 8/12/2008 at 7:23 PM:
You're gonna to be special, you sweet little toot toot. Well you can look as much, but if you much as touch,
You're gonna have yourself a case - I'm gonna break your face!


I missed another one, eh?

Crap, I just lost the game.
Drew

So much for my brilliance.
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