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Olympic Opening Ceremony Fireworks Were (Partly) Faked
A complete newb writes "London's Telegraph newspaper reports that some of the fireworks which appeared over Beijing during the television broadcast of the Olympic Opening Ceremony were actually computer generated. But — hold on — it's not necessarily as bad as you think. The faked fireworks were actually set-off at the stadium, but because of potential dangers in filming the display live from a helicopter, viewers at home were shown a pre-recorded, computer-generated shot." To me, the reasoning behind the faked display is no consolation or excuse — it seems hard to swallow that NBC was unaware of this televised deception. I'm glad that it was good-naturedly "revealed" this weekend (according to that Telegraph article), but it's disheartening that such a large crowd can watch (in person, and around the world) such a display and have no reason to realize they've been duped. What about when weightier events are at issue? There's also a slightly more detailed story at sky.com.
I watched the opening ceremony on NBC here in the U.S. There was a part of the ceremony called something like 'A walk through Beijing'. It showed a fly-through video of Beijing with "footsteps" made of fireworks popping up along the street/path. Those footstep fireworks looked pretty obviously computer-simulated. All other fireworks shown did not have that simulated appearance.
It sounds to me like these footsteps part were all that was simulated.
Does anyone know if the footage we saw on NBC (of the whole ceremony) was from an International common video feed or did NBC have their own cameras there? I ask because at large International events like this, there is often a common video feed and the commentators simple talk about what they see on their screen (which is the same thing we see, minus the fancy NBC info graphics and overlays.)
(I wrote this looking at the subscriber early-post version. A link to a sky.com article was later added to the summary which answers my question.)
... just switch to a live video feed from South Ossetia?
Have gnu, will travel.
...my wife fakes her fireworks all the time and it doesn't bother me.
Error reading device 'Signature'. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
Hey captain obvious, I vividly remember the NBC announcer stating they were computer generated as it was happening.
Off your high horse please.
Unaware? obviously weren't listening during th broadcast. The NBC announcers were talking about how some of the effects were computer enhanced. They specifically said there were "digital pyrotechnics" used during the camera shot that zoomed across the city showing fireworks exploding all around.
What's the problem? You want a series of impressive images on your screen. What's the issue with having them in CGI instead of real-life fireworks? The end result is the same. I could get your argument if we were talking about some olympic discipline being duped, with doping, corruption or otherwise, but fireworks are just eye candy. How it gets to your retina is quite irrelevant.
And by the way, doing it in CGI is also more environmentally friendly: compounds used in fireworks are not always of the most benign sort.
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In other news, last year's Super Bowl was actually two guys playing Madden '08.
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
Ok? The idea is for the entire world to be entertained at which should be a truce among the nations of the world bringing its best athletes to the tables. Putting on a good show for the olympics is part of the drill.
I'm always looking for a good shot at China but I think this time around we should cut these people a break. They've done a good job with the Olympics so far.
This is my sig.
Slow day on Slashdot? I don't know where the conspiracy nuts get their information - were they actually watching the programme? The NBC commentator stated quite clearly that the 29 displays across Beijing that signified the 29 olympiads were simulated. They didn't got into detail about it but they certainly didn't hide it.
I watched the opening ceremonies twice and the commentators did state something to the effect of "They want this ceremony to be cinema in real time, but what you're watching right now is actually cinematic, it's all animation of these footsteps leading to the National Stadium." They did not outright say "hey this is prerendered CG" but they DID state that this was "true cinematics" and that it was animation.
They were well aware of it and did a poor job of communicating it to viewers. I can tell how most people would have missed it.
Back in 1992, the Olympic torch in Barcelona was supposed to be lit by an archer shooting a flaming arrow. Yeah... no. He shot it towards the cauldron, but it was set to be lit on its own via pyros. The flaming arrow passed way over the cauldron, safe from setting any of the audience on fire or perforating them, and the torch lit anyway.
OR MAYBE IT WAS AN OLYMPIC MIRACLE AND HE HIT IT
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Kurt Vonnegut: "If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind."
To me, the reasoning behind the faked display is no consolation or excuse
Then next time, Timothy, we'll let you fly the helicopter while fireworks are being shot at it.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Wait. Are we seriously going to complain about this? If this doesn't count as much ado about nothing, I don't know what does. This isn't manipulation of the media - this is simply enhancing the televised broadcast of a ceremony for the opening of the Olympic games. Good gawd, get some perspective.
DoD producing propaganda for foreign (wink) audiences. Good evidence just came out that the White House forged a war-justification document. Stovepiped intelligence. Hush money to truth-tellers. Known-false public WMD claims. "This isn't about intelligence, it's about regime change." "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out." Facts fixed around the policy. Leaks to "billboard" media to punish truth-tellers' families. Embedded reporters, sent home for publishing actual war photographs. Talking points piped from the White House to the top news corporations, often repeated as directives to the "journalists" who frame each day's news. Seven years of lapdog media pundits laughing along with the right-wingers who call for their assassination while they seriously discuss whether the 60% of Americans who still somehow hold political beliefs at odds with the ruling administration are traitors.
But the fireworks show China is deceptive.
The announcers for NBC said there were digital fireworks during the broadcast a couple times.
Just as long as the ATHLETES are NOT on steroids, and the COMPETITION ITSELF is real... that's all I care about.
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...the coziness between China and Iran. China shares advanced missile technology with Iran who reciprocates with advanced computer-generated rocket-launch capability.
ironic Pronunciation: \-rä-nik also i-rä-\ Function: adjective Date: 1576 1: relating to, containing, or constituting irony 2: given to irony 3: China, the inventor of fireworks, faking fireworks at the opening ceremony of the Olympics
When she was filming the 1936 Olympics (Olympia) she took aerial photographs by attaching cameras to balloons. The lesson for filmmakers today? If you can't risk flying people, use a drone. (Caveat: a number of the balloons crashed. But I like to think nowadays we could achieve better results.)
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
I hope all you "left-wing liberal freedom fighters" who are infuriated and want "something done" about this dastardly deception and corruption of our human rights recognize the similarities you share with those "right-wing religious zealots" who have the _exact_ same reaction to harmless nudity, language, or sexual situations on television.
And, as it usually the case, the "facts" are completely wrong here as well: the CG simulation WAS disclosed and nobody was "duped". This is just more of the up-in-arms reactionary BS coming from people desperately in need of something to get worked up about.
Maybe if the two sides would see how similar they really are, this kind of idiocy will stop.
But thanks, Slashdot - this is like the third story today that was either deliberately misleading or completely fabricated. Seems like the only people getting "duped" are those who believe Slashdot story summaries.
I went back and looked at what NBC showed on television in the United States of America.
The following is exactly what the commentators, Today Show host Matt Lauer and NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas, said:
At the time, I fully understood that I was watching a movie. It's not "news" to me.