China

Opening On Steroids: Fake Fireworks, Mimed Singing

This list of Zhang Yimou’s “Performance Enhancing” techniques to achieve that dazzling Olympics opening ceremony keeps growing. China lawyer Liu Xiao Yuan considers suing (Someone care translate it?)

Here’s a few of the complaints echoing around.

1- Mimed Singing
2- Fake Fireworks
3- Better production for US viewers
4- NEW ALLEGATION: The song “You and Me” closely resembles another composer’s work.
5- NEW ALLEGATION: Those Ethnic Minority children were actually Han Majority

1- Mimed Singing
The star singer in pigtails and a red dress, Lin Miaoke, did not actually sing “Ode to the Motherland”. While Lin mimed the song, another girl, Yang Peiyi, actually did the singing.

Yang was not allowed to sing because she did not look as “flawless” as nine-year-old Lin, musical director Chen Qigang told Beijing People’s Broadcasting Station explains in an interview translated by China Digital Times.

Why fake singing?
They faced a dilemma, because although Lin was prettier, seven-year-old Yang had the better voice, musical director Chen Qigang said.

This is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture. Especially the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely important, extremely serious matter. Then we made such a choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi.

2- Fake fireworks
Those dramatic explosions across Beijing were pre-recorded and digitally enhanced.

NBC, defended itself, saying their announcers had made it clear to viewers that the fireworks were fake. You judge:

“You’re looking at a cinematic device employed by Zhang Yimou here,” Lauer said. “This is actually almost animation. A footstep a second, 29 in all, to signify the 29 Olympiads.”

Costas responded, “We said earlier that aspects of this Opening Ceremony are almost like cinema in real time. Well this is quite literally cinematic.”

Why fake fireworks?

The Beijing Olympic Committee said it was necessary to replace live video with computer-generated imagery because the city’s hazy, smoggy skies made it too difficult to see.

They were concerned that the helicopter pilot who would have flown overhead to film the fireworks would have been “at risk by making him try to follow the firework route,” according to a quote from a committee member reported in a Daily Telegraph story.

3- Better production for US viewers
There is also grumbling in the Chinese Internet, CN Reviews reports, that US viewers got a better version of the opening ceremony.

4- The song “You and Me” closely resembles another composer’s work.
This composer alleges that this song resembles “You and I” from the opening ceremony, according to Isaac Mao (My Chinese reading skills not good enough.)

5- Ethnic minority children were actually Han Majority, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The children actually were members of the Han majority, an arts official said in an interview. Yuan Zhifeng, deputy director of Galaxy Children’s Art Troupe, said the children were drawn from the all-Han Chinese troupe. “I assume they think the kids were very natural looking and nice,” Ms. Yuan said.

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