miniaturesnickers Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 It's actually $100-million for BOTH the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, not just the opening.Beijing would be foolish to spend $100-million on the opening solely. I thought it was $100 million for the Opening, $300 million total? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniaturesnickers Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 The scrolls told the story. You didn't need another little boy or little girl to guide you thru the story.This time, the little boy (the little survivor) was guided thru the evening's journey. Generally I have trouble making a personal connection with inanimate objects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 (edited) I thought it was $100 million for the Opening, $300 million total? I should correct this. I think the $300 million (that I also heard) was WILDLY off. In another report, Zhang Yimou said that they didn't spend anywhere near the $180 mil spent for Doha's 2006 Asian Games Ceremonies. So that would lead me to guess Beijing's budget was around $155 million -- for both regular Os and the Paralympics. That makes more sense. And from that, I think I can extrapolate a more realistic breakdown: So I guess: $35 mil for the Paralympics and $120 mil for the regular. In the regular: - $10 mil for Medals Ceremonies and fireworks - $25 mil in talent and staff fees (I'd say $8 mil for foreign staffers, consultants; the remaining $17 mil for local staff) - the stage and all its technical wizardry: $25 mil - sets and costumes* - $22 million (*I think those 'taichi' segment costumes were used in the Special Olympics in Shanghai.) - $6 mil for photography, all the projected and computerized imagery - Cauldron portion costs: $5 mil - Food, catering, gfits for performers and other volunteers: $8.5 mil Again, these are just my low-ball estimates. Edited August 10, 2008 by baron-pierreIV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soaring Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 I thought the ceremony was magnificent. My expectations wee high, and I remained captivated all the way through. Just the size, beauty and precision of the entire event was mind boggling. I thought they were the best ceremony to date, even though Sydney and Barcelona cauldron lighting were on par with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianme17 Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 it was underwhelming - cold and possibly my least favourite after seoul and atlanta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huaiwei Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Generally I have trouble making a personal connection with inanimate objects. If you similar troubles making those connections with your cash, do let us know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim jones Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Yeah, I just don't get how people thought it was disjointed and just a series of isolated spectacles. For me the scroll and story telling theme was one of the strongest linking elements of any ceremony to date, and even carried on from the design of the torch right through to the cauldron. I thought the narrative worked extremely well. Personally could not believe how the artistic portion flew by . IF there was only going to be one perfect show in the history of Mankind we just saw it. No one will top this . A Sydney had it's charm and the torch lighting and Elevation will always be one of my favorites but Beijing has topped them all. THe flow of the opening was fantastic. The element that I have thought of that makes this very different is not having Original Inhabitants or Old Tribe of the host country. That often is a stayed old element. Carting out the people that the White People Conquered seems seedy in many cases. Technology wise there was not a great deal here new that was not available for Athens 2004. The key thing was how the Chinese Applied everything masterfully. THe Olympic rings rising off the Floor actually is very easy to do . THe Rings were a Fibre Optic Theatre Curtain probably by Rose Design and they probably had a long steel bar attached to the top that was either elevated via cables overhead of ground support from the Trap door in the middle of the field. The details and the design put into the Birds Nest provided the mediums for present this show. I can't image the time involved with the Media Servers for the Catalyst Projections. Again all standard stuff available for a few years executed incredibly. This opens the Olympics up to exotic locals simply because Beijing is proving that they can do it on par or much better then old stayed western places. London is going to be pale in comparison . Jim jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 London is going to be pale in comparison . Jim jones I cannot think that London cannot put on an equally impressive show. It just won't have the massiveness, the go-for-broke, every-detail-is-the-best-that-money-can-buy feel here, and the TOTALLY enveloping, state-of-the-art technology employed to both the vital show content and the auxiliary use of elements of the stadium. I think London (I believe hiring both Jack Morton AND David Atkins) will come up with something along the lines of Melbourne 2006 and whatever Vancouver will come up with. It's Delhi's 2010 CWG show that I am most interested in seeing how they will do. Of course, Mo Rush has promised us nekkid African ladies for RSA's 2010 show!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympics08 Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 I think the opening ceremony in Beijing WAS THE BEST ONE EVER! I'll try to tell you more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruling Czar Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 You want to see stunning? Try NK Ariang festival. 150,000 performers for the opening ceremony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 I think the opening ceremony in Beijing WAS THE BEST ONE EVER! I'll try to tell you more... That's OK. I think we've heard everything about it already on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafa Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 luckily RSA 2010 only has the shitty germany 2006 ceremony to compete with..but watch me...ours will be even worse than that. nekkid african dancers, "animal" "safari" scenes, " crappy music...im glad its just a 1hr ceremony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
typoprone Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 Some parts of it felt a little too orchestrated for my tastes, notably [...] the performers 'taking a bow' after each segment. It took me out of the moment when the drummers dropped their stoic, warrior-like appearances and began smiling and waving. It seemed suddenly out of character. This reply comes weeks too late, but I gotta say: come on! Like you say, they're PERFORMERS! Performers take a bow after a performance. Actors step out of character at the end of a theater performance, join hands and take a bow as the curtains close! What did you expect??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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