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Ceremonies on UTube, Pt 2


baron-pierreIV

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Okay, got something really interesting that arrived on You Tube late last year. The very beginning moments of the Moscow Opening Ceremony and the broadcast of the 1980 Moscow Olympics with Australian commentary starting with the Olympic torch coming out of the Moscow town hall and passed onto to the runners. If you recall and noticed what Ikarus posted there, the beginning had that small circle (also appearing here) of the torch relay along Gorky St., with an entourage, as the countdown meanwhile took place at then-Lenin Stadium. Furthermore, there are some differences in the camera shots inside Lenin (now Luhzniki) Stadium compared to what we all saw in the Russian feed. Did the organizers had classical music playing in the PA system up to the countdown. Something tells me that, as 7 being the Aussie broadcaster for Moscow 1980, much of the broadcast crew did their calls in an Adelaide studio, as I remember Sandy Roberts recalling. Surely some of them were in Moscow's IBC like the opening ceremony commentators. This goes up to the Soviet national anthem, though not complete.

Also, remember the LA 84 marching band at the Opening Ceremony? I now got in its entirety the Sydney answer to it. Still have the 2-DVD set of the 2000 Opening Ceremony released in Australia. Hope there will eventually be a Blu-Ray version, but that's more of a rights issue. Those of you who have the DVD set will notice this band ends disc 1 at the 7:47 moment and starts disc 2 with Waltzing Mathilda in progress. Actually it goes to an aerial shot of Stadium Australia with the Olympic graphic of Sydney, Australia to start with. But in the set, it actually omits some music that went on before the LA 1984 John Williams score, and it was Bugler's Dream. Other than all that, the feed is exactly the same like it was on the Seven Network and the DVD. Taken from Germany's Phoenix Network, commentary and all, as it starts to go to the volunteers surrounding the pitch and the lengthy Parade of Nations.

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Is that really from the actual OC? I ask because I am surprised that YAMAHA was allowed on the sousaphones? ANd I had also seen footage where the sousaphones were covered. Otherwise, I don't know how YAMAHA was allowed to be seen on the instruments since there is the strict IOC rule that no advertising is allowed on any of the Olympic venues. But again, this is the 3rd instance where a Japanese company has sneaked in its advertising.

#1 - the Sarajevo torch said "Misuno"

#2 - I believe the blimp in LA brazenly said FUJI FILM (technically, it was not a stationary part of a venue)

#3 - this one? and

#4 - the big jumbotron screen in Athens also brazenly said "Panasonic"

I wonder if YAMAHA was an Official Sydney sponsor or not. And if not, therefore was exempt from the IOC rule and as such did not need to hide its corporate name.

I guess the IOC will make exceptions for certain parties.

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Is that really from the actual OC?

Of course it is. It's the original broadcast of the German network ARD and I remember seeing the Yamaha imprints on the instruments as well. What you saw with the imprints covered must have been some footage which was "censored" later. Or those were only particular instruments, while they forgot to cover the imprints on the rest of the instruments.

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  • 2 weeks later...

/\ Really ponderous...like their Handover in Vancouver. I know they had only about 4 weeks to put it together...but still, it's a little on the heavy-handed Russian-style. It brightened up a little when they did the participating nationalities and brought out all the flags. That had a far more international/entertainment flavor than the Tribute to the Tsunami Tragedy. I have a feeling the Sochi ceremonies will be rather "heavy."

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have a feeling the Sochi ceremonies will be rather "heavy."

Yes, especially heavy in terms of voices. The Russians love those portentous bass voices for the male announcers and that overly solemn way of speaking for all announcers, don't they? It all sounded like Moscow 1980.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm kinda surprised the Special Olympics weren't noticed by many as they're happening right now in Athens (despite the huge crisis Greece is living at least they managed to put a decent show). The opening ceremony was at the Panathinaiko Stadium, and it had a representation of the Oddysey epic.

As usual with special olympics ceremonies, many personalities from the world attended. There are not much videos yet but i'm sure they'll be posted soon (if Youtube copyright whoring doesn't mess up of course)

Another videos:

Vittorio Grigolo & Alkistis Protopsalti - "It's A Wonderful Winning World" /watch?v=E2n4QrcYfF0

Greek flag and anthem /watch?v=LyP-iZXi8Og

Music of the ancient pots /watch?v=t6tNXFfKJeU

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I'm kinda surprised the Special Olympics weren't noticed by many as they're happening right now in Athens (despite the huge crisis Greece is living at least they managed to put a decent show). The opening ceremony was at the Panathinaiko Stadium, and it had a representation of the Oddysey epic.

As usual with special olympics ceremonies, many personalities from the world attended. There are not much videos yet but i'm sure they'll be posted soon (if Youtube copyright whoring doesn't mess up of course)

Thanks, Ic.

My 1st reaction: where's the lake when you need it? Obviously, they were pointed to the wrong stadium!

2 others:

A recap of the 2007 S.O. in Shanghai w/ the Passing of the Flag (it's a reverse of the Athens 2004 to Beijing 2008 Handover - kinda weird to see it); and there is the Kennedy in-law, a certain Ahnuld Schwarnegger and I don't know what Colin Farrell is doing there?)

And then here is the Athens 2011 own Special Lighting of the Flame in their own backyard -- on a hillside in the shadow of the Acropolis.

Where are the problems of Greece? Just put on more & bigger Ceremonies!!! :D:lol:

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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^^ I always wondered ''what if the 2004 olympic ceremonies were held on the Panathinaiko instead of the Olympic stadium''.

Because of the attendance rules they couldn't use Panathinaiko back then (i think), although the stadium still managed to give an impressive ceremony back in 1997 at the IAAF Championships.

Papaioanu ceremony was one of my favorites, but i dunno...sometimes i feel there was much space than needed, and they never used the lake at its full potential.... Now that i think about it, Clepsydra could have worked far better if done on the Panathinaiko (people seats wouldnt be so far from the action like it happened to much who attended the OC)

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^^ I always wondered ''what if the 2004 olympic ceremonies were held on the Panathinaiko instead of the Olympic stadium''.

Because of the attendance rules they couldn't use Panathinaiko back then (i think), although the stadium still managed to give an impressive ceremony back in 1997 at the IAAF Championships.

Papaioanu ceremony was one of my favorites, but i dunno...sometimes i feel there was much space than needed, and they never used the lake at its full potential.... Now that i think about it, Clepsydra could have worked far better if done on the Panathinaiko (people seats wouldnt be so far from the action like it happened to much who attended the OC)

Panathinaiko is only good for a 1/2 hour show for a lot of reasons:

1. Pan does NOT have regular seating.

- The stands are plain MARBLE bleachers they way they were in 1896 (it is a national landmark so they CANNOT change the original setting). So even if spectators bring their own cushions, your back will KILL YOU after seating for 2 hours on those upright slabs, let alone 4.

- Being bleachers, it is just GENERAL seating, so you cannot sell reserved, numbered seats.

2. Its strange, 19th century "U" layout that is open only at one end. Spectators and performers/athletes in the field can only enter & exit from the open end.

- The restrooms of that stadium are a NIGHTMARE to reach. If you were seated at the deep end of the "U," you either have to climb all the way to the top to come down & use the restrooms on the side...or you walk to the open-end of the "U" to go to the loos. The location of the loos was PLANNED so poorly.

It is VERY senior-unfriendly which is why if you look at the crowds closely, they are all YOUNG people.

3. Because it faces a MAJOR Avenue, a major event there causes terrible TRAFFIC problems for the City because, I believe, they have to close it off.

4. Finally, the infield of Pan CANNOT handle 9,000 people on the field. Also, there is NOT much open space around the stadium to place service tents. The only open area is the concrete area in front (maybe 25 meters from the street)...But that is also the area where the public enters and exits; and where you have standby Emergency vehicles.

It's really just good for those SHORT Ceremonies (i.e., the turn-over of the Olympia flame to the foreign Org committees). And I think they just give away a lot of tickets to some events because it is a darn uncomfortable stadium.

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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^^ I always wondered ''what if the 2004 olympic ceremonies were held on the Panathinaiko instead of the Olympic stadium''.

Because of the attendance rules they couldn't use Panathinaiko back then (i think), although the stadium still managed to give an impressive ceremony back in 1997 at the IAAF Championships.

Papaioanu ceremony was one of my favorites, but i dunno...sometimes i feel there was much space than needed, and they never used the lake at its full potential.... Now that i think about it, Clepsydra could have worked far better if done on the Panathinaiko (people seats wouldnt be so far from the action like it happened to much who attended the OC)

This images prove you're statement is a little bit wrong.

Clepsydra was the best segment for those who were seated on the stands. Just look this pictures taken from superior ones, you can clearly watch all the dancers and the allegories

226121647_862348c5fb_z.jpg

Olympic Games - Athens 2004 por dtsiabai, no Flickr

Even the small paper boat was able to see it

226101147_2981a7cc3b_z.jpg

Olympic Games - Athens 2004 por dtsiabai, no Flickr

Now compare with Beijing 2008 OC and the scrolling paper at the center stage

000802c98ccc0a07a05901.jpg

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This images prove you're statement is a little bit wrong.

Clepsydra was the best segment for those who were seated on the stands. Just look this pictures taken from superior ones, you can clearly watch all the dancers and the allegories

226121647_862348c5fb_z.jpg

Olympic Games - Athens 2004 por dtsiabai, no Flickr

Where did you get that foto? Yeah ...but that one's taken from like only a dozen rows up from ringside. What about the view from the highest 15 rows? It really was an over-rated, 2nd-class show. And look at that lake w/ pieces of dead styrofoam. I mean it's like left-over pieces of the iceberg from the Titanic.

And they didn't have to use real people on those floats; they could've used mannequins. The Audio-Animatronics at the Disney Parks show more action than those "statues" of D.P. (This show gets lambasted in my book.)

Now compare with Beijing 2008 OC and the scrolling paper at the center stage

000802c98ccc0a07a05901.jpg

But the main movement in this scene are the 2008 tai-chi students. What's happening onthe center scroll is just secondary. You're focusing on the wrong thing.

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^^^ Mannequins? But using "actors" shows the human touch. Anyone can just slap on a couple of mannequins in costume, and use string and motors to make it look like their moving, but using people gives it a human touch and gets the Greek people physically involved. After all you're not paying them, they're just volunteering.

I liked the Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony. Beijing 2008 showed it's extravagant might, but sort of lacked the human touch, with the exception of the Paralympics Opening ceremony, where that blind guy played the piano to the old lady, now that was a nice touch.

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^^^ Mannequins? But using "actors" shows the human touch. Anyone can just slap on a couple of mannequins in costume, and use string and motors to make it look like their moving, but using people gives it a human touch and gets the Greek people physically involved. After all you're not paying them, they're just volunteering.

David, I was being facetious, partly. Of course, using "actors" was the right thing to do except they were also strapped into devices that helped keep them immobile. And the little "movements" they did...like move their arms 2 or 3 inches; flutter an eyebrow...gee, how does one see that if you're 150 feet away?? It somewhat works for the TV cameras but is a very poor concept for the "Live" paying stadium.

I'll quote from my own book from someone who paid to see the show and sat in the peanut gallery: They (the Clepsydra performers) looked like cheap plastic dolls on a tray moving their heads and shaking their booty. And if you used mannequins:

- you wouldn't have to feed them as you do with the volunteers; ;)

- they wouldn't have had to take out insurance coverage.

- They could've practiced 24 hrs of the day.

Anyway, the "tableaux" concept really is so...19th-century. And again, if you'll look at my book, there's a quote from Dimitris Papaioannou himself who said: "I was never really a fan of the Olympics." Huh? (So, in other words, it was just a job....whereas Vangelis really wanted to do it! ) :(

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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Where did you get that foto?

They're from flickr

Yeah ...but that one's taken from like only a dozen rows up from ringside. What about the view from the highest 15 rows?

The question is...

Clepsydra was CLOSE to the stands.

Anything close to the stands had better view than any segment played at the center field.

It really was an over-rated, 2nd-class show.

you said that because you prefer a carnaval style OC like...

Img214049634.jpg

And look at that lake w/ pieces of dead styrofoam. I mean it's like left-over pieces of the iceberg from the Titanic.

"those styrofoam" represent the white marble head broken in to pieces.....

Don't you think it should looks like wood or metal texture instead?!?!?!?!?!?!?

But the main movement in this scene are the 2008 tai-chi students. What's happening onthe center scroll is just secondary. You're focusing on the wrong thing.

Secondary?????

Beijing almost had all the segments started at the scrolling paper...

Remember the "Writing" segment showing people writing with their body on piece of paper...

And the "chinese type machine" segment?

Now I ask you the same question you made me. What about the view from the highest rows?

And they didn't have to use real people on those floats; they could've used mannequins. The Audio-Animatronics at the Disney Parks show more action than those "statues" of D.P. (This show gets lambasted in my book.)

The concept of clepsydra was to every alegories (cars) represent a picture, a moment in the history captured by a photograph in the past. All the sequence give an ideia of chronology. That's why this segmente called Clepsydra, an ancient clock.

here an classical image from Athens 1896...

athens1896.JPEG

This scene or picture was represented in the Clepsydra.

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"those styrofoam" represent the white marble head broken in to pieces.....

Don't you think it should looks like wood or metal texture instead?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I know what they represent. But they were supposed to be the Cycladic islands of Greece - so if anything they should've looked like earth and soil. But I think it was lightweight fibreglass...because it had 2 shells inside them PLUS they had to hang from those cables...so they could only weigh so much.

Secondary?????

Beijing almost had all the segments started at the scrolling paper...

Remember the "Writing" segment showing people writing with their body on piece of paper...

And the "chinese type machine" segment?

Now I ask you the same question you made me. What about the view from the highest rows?

Well, in ANY stadium setting, there will always be the close AND distant seats. The point is the MOVEMENT you bring to the show. The Clepsydra dolls only waved their arms or blinked their eyes or something MINIMAL like that. Beijing's show, the "Carnavale"/Atlanta show you picture have plenty of MASS MOVEMENTS with performers running & dancing all over the field. These are FULL movements performed a few hundred and thousand X over so they can be seen on a larger SCALE throughout the WHOLE stadium. You don't need binoculars to see the formations or patterns they make.

In the Clepsydra, those "mannequins" barely moved...and if they did, it was ONLY at that point when they passed the VIP box and when they got camera close-ups. In other words, one could've fallen asleep on such a motion-less presentation.

The concept of clepsydra was to every alegories (cars) represent a picture, a moment in the history captured by a photograph in the past. All the sequence give an ideia of chronology. That's why this segmente called Clepsydra, an ancient clock.

Clepsydra actually means an hourglass. And nobody else has done it that way...because it is a very low energy, weak show. See Chapter 6 in my book.

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Anyway, the "tableaux" concept really is so...19th-century.

the "tableux" was more than the concept, it was the element that give the ideia of "the history is running in front of us, the time is passing". It's so clear, so simple and representative. I think was the best way to represent the host country history specially if this country have a "rich history" like Greece.

They could made the parede without the "tableuax" but I think it would appear like any other ceremony in the past with those dancers forming figures and running around the stage.

And I don't care if look so 19th-centure concept, a good concept never is old.

And again, if you'll look at my book, there's a quote from Dimitris Papaioannou himself who said: "I was never really a fan of the Olympics." Huh? (So, in other words, it was just a job....whereas Vangelis really wanted to do it! ) :(

Vangelis?

Do you think people waking with a torch looks better than a giant marble head breaking into pieces rounded by a beutiful lake?

Well, if DP doesn't care about olympic...What's the problem???

Hi was payed to made the OC and not to love the olympics.

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Well, if DP doesn't care about olympic...What's the problem???

Hi was payed to made the OC and not to love the olympics.

Answer: first time I'm quoting from my book:

In the same above-quoted interview, Papaioannou also said: I was never a fan of the Olympics. Then Mr. Director, one has to ask: if that’s how you felt about the Olympics, why did you accept the assignment if it wasn’t your passion? Perhaps the responsibility might have gone to someone else who was truly passionate about the subject—and given it a far different take. In hindsight, it seems a pity that the Greeks and other Mediterraneans teach the world about passion, yet the visionary charged with telling Athens’ story to the world, concedes that he was not all that inspired by the task set before him.

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^^ I don't understand Papaioannu sometimes, i think he's might being too hard on himself...I mean, for being made by someone who criticized the olympics, the actual show didn't reflected those feelings at all.

There were scenes in Athens 2004 OC which looked like they had inspiration (the small paper boat which meant to represent Greece as a small maritime country, the olive tree floating over the lake (which seemed like an interpretation of the myth of Athena and Poseidon contesting over the patronage of Athens).

I don't think Athens 2004 OC deserves so much bashing. Although my main criticism is that the lake could have been used far better (and if you were on the upper stands of the stadium it would have been a pain to enjoy Clepsydra)

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Well, in ANY stadium setting, there will always be the close AND distant seats. The point is the MOVEMENT you bring to the show. The Clepsydra dolls only waved their arms or blinked their eyes or something MINIMAL like that. Beijing's show, the "Carnavale"/Atlanta show you picture have plenty of MASS MOVEMENTS with performers running & dancing all over the field. These are FULL movements performed a few hundred and thousand X over so they can be seen on a larger SCALE throughout the WHOLE stadium. You don't need binoculars to see the formations or patterns they make.

You're correct about mass performance, but I'm not totally wrong when I say about the fact the Clepsydra was close to the stands. The absence of expressive moviments was compensated by the fact the act was played close to the people.

But they were supposed to be the Cycladic islands of Greece - so if anything they should've looked like earth and soil.

they were representative elements like the small boat represent greece as a small country...

of course they use "metaphor" for discribe the greek islands

Clepsydra actually means an hourglass. And nobody else has done it that way...because it is a very low energy, weak show. See Chapter 6 in my book.

hummm that's the correct word, sorry my bad english...

But hourglass have relation with time and what they propose for...

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But hourglass have relation with time and what they propose for...

I understand what Papaioannou tried to do...but I just didn't agree with his execution. It was NOT the best use of the space. Here's another passage from my book:

An Absence of Synergy. No organic connection between the “lake” and the Klepsydra centerpiece of the show was really established. One phase existed and did not seem to have a need for the other. The “lake” was great for an initial, breathtaking impression…but it did not really set the stage for the tableau of Greek history. Similarly, the way the Klepsydra was staged did not seem to have a need for or coalesce with the water. The platforms came out, one after the other, and merely paraded on the perimeter, with no relation to the unique setting of an artificially flooded infield. There was no synergy whatsoever. Why was it necessary to create a “lake” when the ‘floats,’ to use a pun, merely skirted the lake’s circumference? Where were the pivotal naval battles of Marathon or Salamis? And the stage effects on the lake (the Cycladic head, the projections, the DNA effect) were all separate ideas disconnected to the eras recreated by the Klepsydra. It seemed like the Klepsydra was the Papaioannou pièce de resistance while everything else was a corporate Jack Morton concoction. So unlike Salt Lake 2002, only four years before, where the ice and dry stage around it were used to maximum effectivity.

Yes, the Klepsydra was a triumph of costuming, color and conception. It photographed well… but for a proscenium theatrical setting; not an arena. As it was, the parade made very easy viewing for the ground-level cameras and the VIPs in the Tribune of Honor; but for no one else. Once the historical characters came into view, tunics moved to and fro; a few clouds swayed to and fro; boxers boxed; fencers fenced–that was it--all for ground-level cameras. The world feed did not cut away to wide-shots because what would it have shown?

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