Anybody catch the Beijing Opening Ceremonies?

NZA · 11th August 2008

What did you folks make of that? I'm still reeling. Does anyone know who provided the sound reinforcement?
I wonder how much, if any, playback was involved for the intermittent musical soloists.
I came away with the definite impression that the Chinese are really, really into cheesy synth pads. With their unlimited resources, incorporating a real orchestra would not have been a hardship. An aesthetic decision was made in favor of these generic "string" presets. Strange.

boojum · 12th August 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZA

What did you folks make of that? I'm still reeling. Does anyone know who provided the sound reinforcement?
I wonder how much, if any, playback was involved for the intermittent musical soloists.
I came away with the definite impression that the Chinese are really, really into cheesy synth pads. With their unlimited resources, incorporating a real orchestra would not have been a hardship. An aesthetic decision was made in favor of these generic "string" presets. Strange.

The fireworks were partly faked on the broadcast version, too. One wonders why. 1.3 billion people, lots of technical schools and money and to fluff like this.

Oh, well, it really is none of my business.

Cheers

NZA · 13th August 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sp...eremony&st=cse

YouTube - China Olympic Media Doctoring - Girl Lip Sync

So... I guess the it wasn't ENTIRELY playback. I wonder how this story broke. I imagine some media-control bureaucrat has been quietly executed.

synthoid · 15th August 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZA

What did you folks make of that? I'm still reeling. Does anyone know who provided the sound reinforcement?
I wonder how much, if any, playback was involved for the intermittent musical soloists.
I came away with the definite impression that the Chinese are really, really into cheesy synth pads. With their unlimited resources, incorporating a real orchestra would not have been a hardship. An aesthetic decision was made in favor of these generic "string" presets. Strange.

I ran into a fellow getting on the elevator of my building (I live downtown Beijing), and I asked if he went to the opening ceremony, and he said yes, that he was responsible for the sound system. I didn't have time to ask him much about it.

I don't know what fraction of the music was actually live, but it would shock me if very much of it was. I have seen (up close) big televised shows over here with lots of artists of all different kinds (singers, pianists, you name it) where none of the sound is live. Not all shows are that way; I've seen plenty of shows that were 100% live too, especially in smaller venues and at outdoor concerts, but for televised stuff, the rule is that nothing is live.

-synthoid

hanuman · 15th August 2008

I saw the opening with the family and it was sometimes visually awesome but that impression did not last. The music was safe, sometimes cheesy and seemed playback (the little girl who sang was confirmed playback.) The Chinese version of Liberace did not add anything. The 3D dancers and firework footsteps were unequalled and he sound was fine. (I remember a US (Atlanta?) opening with J-Lo and a lot of flaws. I do think it was nicer the the Greece openings (also theatrically) where a Dutch DJ turned the arrival of the athletes into a druggy dance party (Yes Tiesto, eat that!...) The development of visual and musical climaxes stopped quite early. Olympic Games should be a mix of Sports Technique and Arts and little of the latter was there.

11th August 2008	#1
NZA Gear interested Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 11 Thread Starter	Anybody catch the Beijing Opening Ceremonies? What did you folks make of that? I'm still reeling. Does anyone know who provided the sound reinforcement? I wonder how much, if any, playback was involved for the intermittent musical soloists. I came away with the definite impression that the Chinese are really, really into cheesy synth pads. With their unlimited resources, incorporating a real orchestra would not have been a hardship. An aesthetic decision was made in favor of these generic "string" presets. Strange.

13th August 2008	#3
NZA Gear interested Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 11 Thread Starter	Ha! I knew it http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sp...eremony&st=cse YouTube - China Olympic Media Doctoring - Girl Lip Sync So... I guess the it wasn't ENTIRELY playback. I wonder how this story broke. I imagine some media-control bureaucrat has been quietly executed.

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15th August 2008	#5
hanuman Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 900	I saw the opening with the family and it was sometimes visually awesome but that impression did not last. The music was safe, sometimes cheesy and seemed playback (the little girl who sang was confirmed playback.) The Chinese version of Liberace did not add anything. The 3D dancers and firework footsteps were unequalled and he sound was fine. (I remember a US (Atlanta?) opening with J-Lo and a lot of flaws. I do think it was nicer the the Greece openings (also theatrically) where a Dutch DJ turned the arrival of the athletes into a druggy dance party (Yes Tiesto, eat that!...) The development of visual and musical climaxes stopped quite early. Olympic Games should be a mix of Sports Technique and Arts and little of the latter was there.