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blueview

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Posts posted by blueview

  1. Would you know of any major productions he's slated to do in the near future? Think international significance.

    I know he's in charge of the production of "Cats" here in Manila but that's way below Olympic caliber.

    At first, I would dismiss him as someone who peaked in Doha 4 years ago but that was failing to account for the serious limits he had to contend with in Vancouver. One thing's for sure, he's a master at spectacle, but Vancouver's ceremonies would pale in comparison to Sydney and Doha.

  2. Overall, I felt like the closing was more satisfying than the opening.

    Thumbs up moments:

    -the kids and their snowboards, a more "humane" version of the printing block segments of Beijing.

    -the relighting of the cauldron and the spiel leading up to it is great. It made the malfunction am asset to open the ceremonies.

    -Michael Bubble and the tableau of Canadiana.

    -Furlow and Rogge's speeches

    So-so moments:

    -Sochi's presentation.

    -the post-ceremonies' concert

    Nevermind moments:

    -the comedians were a bit painful to watch. It's easier to defend allegory/spectacle than comedy in an international audience. I got the jokes but completely unnecessary.

    My verdict - better than the opening, slightly convoluted in the flow, but spectacular nonetheless.

  3. The best comment I heard so far with regards to the Niki Yanofski's version of the anthem was it sounded like the American Idol version of it. I don't know if they (the directors) were trying to portray "effortless" but it came out too rehearsed, amateur, tries too much.

    In contrast, Julie Anthony's rendition of Advance Australia Fair in 2000 was quite simple, powerful, without trying too hard.

    As to the video above, I am a big fan of the "transmoflection" look so I love the set-up, but is there smoke coming from beyond the curtains? is the cauldron still burning?

  4. my top three:

    1. Bang the drum - very celebratory although there is a palpable feeling of cheese. beautiful nonetheless

    2. Aboriginal Welcome - i really like this track, it has a nice fusion of chanting and classical music.

    3. Fire in the mountain - great track to open the ceremonies although what was actually happening even in the stadium and video was forgettable.

    Hmm, am not really digging the classical version of "Bang the drum" in the Canadian Athletes track.

  5. It had its highs and lows.

    No doubt that there were no lulls (except for the cauldron bit) and the presentation was seamless enough but there's just a disconnect - whether in the story or the allusions between how this one segment connects with the next. This is especially evident from the tree segment to the autumn and then to the peaks. The staging was seamless and the drapes did wonders in changing the scenes, it just felt like the segment performances itself didn't transition as smoothly as the set did.

    Th countdown was a big downer and I blame the camera handling in that. I mean, we were wondering how the countdown will begin and then all of a sudden projections of the numbers begin and the camera angles were all over the place. No focus, anti-climactic.

    That snowboarder was cool enough but he really didn't need to say anything anymore. He did his thing and he should have just faded away after the jump. Not unless he was someone famous that people would care who he was when he greeted the crowd.

    The French greeting of the FHFN with "wolf-boy" sounded forced.

    The maple leaves at least at the autumn segment were just so over-the top. Giant maple leaf cut-outs?

    I know that the roof of BC place was a saver since it rained that day in Vancouver but I sorely missed the pyro in this one. SLC had great dynamics between the set, the pyro, and the crowd. The pyro effects then although just simple "squirts" felt like they stretched the dimension of the stadium and it turned out very spectacular.

    It felt like the dome was underutilized, even if it had those cables and rigs, it could have been another dimension they could have worked on that would have made this ceremonies feel truly indoor and special.

    I never thought that I would be this underwhelmed, maybe because I had such high hopes, after all, I think vancouver has made really great choices (look, mascots, medals, etc) in the lead-up to the Games.

    Over-all IMHO, its not exactly forgettable but its a rather bland.

    • Like 1
  6. Im really not digging the cauldron.

    It's not ugly or anything but somethings is off. Comparing to past cauldrons - Summer or Winter, it feels messy.

    That shard in the middle specially with the indoor cauldron just looks forced and out of place. Maybe it should have been of a different design that the one outdoors.

    At least this two-cauldron strategy already gets a test-run here in Vancouver. It would be interesting to see the dynamics especially now Rio will have a separate venue for ceremonies.

  7. I have to agree to some comments that blasted "Bang the drum" song. It was actually nice and the music was catchy. the presentation was a bit weird though as it did look like something out of the closing with FHFN performers huddling around the stage like a mosh pit. I would have had them scatter a bit more (not just for that song but in some other segments as well) and start using colored lighting at least. It was drowned out as this filler segment to seque into the cultural performances.

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