# Olympic OS: Faked footprints. Who cares? (mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 11, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664 "2008-08-11T21:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/1 "2008-08-11T21:29:04Z")
It has come to light that the feed shown to the people inside the stadium, of firework footprints walking towards the stadium was faked and pre-recorded. You only have to give this a moments thought to realize that actually this makes a lot of sense. Why go to the expense of actually reproducing foot shapes in the sky with real fireworks in locations outside the stadium, when the people inside the stadium are only going to see them on a screen anyway! It makes a lot more sense to show them an illusion. And I think they more than made up for it (if there’s anything to make up for) by the things happening inside the stadium which seemed illusory but weren’t! ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/2 "2008-08-11T21:52:29Z")
I DVR’d the opening ceremonies and I actually remember them saying they were computer generated while they were being shown. If anybody thought they were real they must not have been listening to the host/mc/broadcaster/whatever-you-call-him. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/3 "2008-08-11T21:59:35Z")
Those were supposed to be real? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/4 "2008-08-11T22:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Those were supposed to be real? [/QUOTE] My thoughts at the time, too. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/5 "2008-08-11T22:31:37Z")
They were absolutely, absolutely beautiful. I don’t mind one whit that they were pre-recorded, as they were seamless with the rest of the presentation. And damn, those drums were awe-inspiring. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/6 "2008-08-11T22:31:45Z")
They announced that they were computer generated while showing them. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/7 "2008-08-11T22:50:38Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t fight the hypothetical] They announced that they were computer generated while showing them. [/QUOTE] Depends what commentary you were getting! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/8 "2008-08-11T23:27:21Z")
I heard that they did send up fireworks just like the ones they CG’d, but since they didn’t want to (a) take the chance that the synchronisation wasn’t going to work, and (b) didn’t want to spend the money necessary to set up a live aerial camera set-up to successfully track each successive footprint pass, they resorted to the pre-viz version for broadcast and for the stadium. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/9 "2008-08-12T01:37:05Z")
'zactly what I thought when hit with this breaking scandal today. BFD. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/10 "2008-08-12T11:54:00Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I DVR’d the opening ceremonies and I actually remember them saying they were computer generated while they were being shown. If anybody thought they were real they must not have been listening to the host/mc/broadcaster/whatever-you-call-him. [/QUOTE] Either that or they were watching from one of the countries where the broadcaster didn’t bother to mention it. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/11 "2008-08-12T12:09:35Z")
More opening ceremony shenanigans. Nothing very unusual as Hollywood did it a lot back in the day, just look at [Marni Nixon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marni_Nixon), but it still sucks to be the non-perfect kid with the great voice. > **[BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7556058.stm)** > > A girl who won national fame singing at the Olympics opening ceremony mimed while another girl sang, officials confirm. > [@](#): > > Wearing a red dress and pigtails, Lin Miaoke charmed a worldwide audience with a rendition of “Ode to the Motherland”. > > But the singer was Yang Peiyi, who was not allowed to appear because she is not as “flawless” as nine-year-old Lin. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/12 "2008-08-12T12:29:14Z")
Not sure how relevant this is here, one of the BBC commentators said “This is one thing that communism does well” (Paraphrased) edit: I still haven’t finished watching the OS on iplayer in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/13 "2008-08-12T14:22:32Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] Not sure how relevant this is here, one of the BBC commentators said “This is one thing that communism does well” (Paraphrased) [/quote] Special effects? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/14 "2008-08-12T14:26:01Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis] Special effects? [/QUOTE] Sorry, my bad. It was said in the context of the entire ceremony. So I guess it refers to “Ceremonies on a Grand scale” But I acutally think it would be more appropriate if the phrase was “This is something the chinese do well” ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/15 "2008-08-12T14:36:47Z")
**Olympic OS**. What does the OS stand for? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/16 "2008-08-12T14:43:23Z")
OS = Opening **S** eremonies? You know, it’s like Pet Semetary. Just when you think it’s dead, here it is again. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/17 "2008-08-12T14:46:45Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] **Olympic OS**. What does the OS stand for? [/QUOTE] I dunno, but I’m sure someone will come along soon to point out how much better some flavor of Linux is. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/18 "2008-08-12T16:16:29Z")
I can only imagine what this looked like on TV. All I’ve seen were unaltered photos of the fireworks and they were pretty stunning. Is either of these stories, together or in aggregate, a big deal? No. Performances of the Star Spangled Banner are supposedly dubbed all the time. But I’m glad it’s getting attention beyond the ceremony because these things are obviously part of the Chinese government’s efforts to impress the Chinese people with their amazing and flawless display of competence and power - and if people find out they’re faking parts of it, that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/19 "2008-08-12T16:18:59Z")
Ok then : **DOH!** **C** eremony! :smack: Olympic OC ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/20 "2008-08-12T17:09:42Z")
Sounds like some members of the press are making much ado about nothing at all to piss on someone’s Olympic parade. Lip syncing young girls and cgi’d footprint fireworks? Oh no! That’s surely an international incident of some major concern there. There are plenty of legitimate gripes about China but nitpicking technical details on an opening ceremony that were completely announced as having some pre-recorded moments (footprints) is pure nonsense. So far the press is 0 and 3 for me. The underage scandal, fireworks, and lip syncing is really grasping for straws. The underage scandal is the most legitimate concern out of everything but they still need to cough up firm evidence and or an official investigation by the IOC for me to believe any of it off hand. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664.md?page=2)