Olympics opening had fake fireworks footage for TV

Reuters

SEEING IS BELIEVING?: Organisers of the Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony have admitted they faked 55 seconds of a fireworks display for television coverage.

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Giant pyrotechnic footprints that marched across the sky in the countdown to the Bejing Olympics opening ceremony were faked for video coverage.

According to The Beijing Times what people inside the stadium and watching on television saw were computer graphics of the footprints inserted into coverage.

Gao Xiaolong, the head of the opening ceremony visual effects team, said it had taken almost a year to create the 55-second sequence.

Actual fireworks could be seen outside the stadium but it was logistically impossible to film them by helicopter, so the decision was made to recreate the effect digitally.

The last foot print was visible from inside the stadium and was captured on film.

Mr Gao said the animators had gone to the extent of getting weather information so as to recreate the night time smog conditions and camera shake was added to simulate filming 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."