[I]" If I were looking for challenges, I'd wonder if the field of performers was so big that there would be an audio delay for the audio cues. That sort of delay is regularly managed for big events but it's another bit of logistics you'd have to look at."[/I]

For the Sydney Olympics that was overcome by the performers having in ear monitors. That created one logistics problem, replacing a lot of AA batteries. I didn't go to the Olympics surplus auction but someone I know well did, there was a pallet of unused AA batteries up for grabs.

Bob.

For the Sydney Olympics that was overcome by the performers having in ear monitors.

It's no small feat to find that many monitors. There were a couple of shots in the making-of video that showed loudspeaker horns in the background and I know those are common in Japan, especially in small towns where they STILL use them to announce local things like lost kids, etc.

The advantage of in ear monitors is that the audience can't hear the cues, and they'd also eliminate a lot of echoing, but I'll bet they distributed loudspeakers instead. It'd be cheaper and with fewer fail points.

It would've been fun to be on any part of the planning of this.

Rob

Actually Japan and China churn out perfectly suitable "in-ear monitors" in their millions - Sydney Olympic Games and many other events I've worked on around the planet use really cheap FM Radio receivers with earpieces for the "mass" talent - these days they are probably cheaper than the batteries! Another advantage is that there are many "channels" available if required, so Stage Managers and crew can transmit instructions to many or just a few... Some events we had "live" orchestra - they received instructions, count-ins and click tracks on their own frequency.... All the artists get to keep them afterwards.

Figure 2400 monitors at somewhere between $10-$40 for each receiver and ear bud set. $24k to ~$100k. It might not be any cheaper to rent if the supplier had to buy them just for your job. However, if you could get them for cheaper than the batteries then lets say you could get them for $2 apiece, plus $2 for batteries with 4-5 sets of batteries so really $10.00 for bats (back to $24k just for the batteries)...

It really just depends on the budget. $30k is a substantial amount but there were plenty of other expenses and that sort of money could disappear among the costs of food, transportation, lodging, and umbrellas.

Rob

I saw two of the musicians on a Today Show segment, and now I'm beginning to think, based on their comments, that the last 20 seconds of umbrella work (the really complex stuff) was done digitally. I recall there was kind of a wink-wink reference to the final stuff in that interview.

If I had been asked to do the choreography without any special effects I think the only method would have been to equip each girl with a small synchronized computer that had a light that would blink on or off to tell her when to open or close the umbrella. I cannon imagine any other mechanism given the seemingly-random nature of individual events. This is much more complex than the card stunts once seen in football stadiums.

[I]"It really just depends on the budget. $30k is a substantial amount but there were plenty of other expenses and that sort of money could disappear among the costs of food, transportation, lodging, and umbrellas."[/I]

That's the thing. 2,400 umbrellas all of specific colours and pattern, food, costumes and I doubt all those dancers were working for free either.

As for the FM receivers, have a look at prices on Alibaba, I can buy things from China, batteries included, delivery included for a fraction of the cost of just the batteries down here. It's cheaper to buy another one than replace the batteries in many cases.

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As for the final part with all the dancers in frame, simple compositing takes care of the odd mistake. I'm actually surprised they employed that many dancers, one of each would have been enough then you just clone them.

Not to blow my own trumpet but:

]


Done a long time ago and I only had one candle.
With a few hours more effort I could have made it look a lot more convincing, with a simple expression in AE I could have added a camera move. Because a candle works OK as a planar object no CGI required. The same goes for the dancers when the camera is looking down on them.


Bob.

farss: As for the FM receivers, have a look at prices on Alibaba, I can buy things from China, batteries included, delivery included for a fraction of the cost of just the batteries down here. It's cheaper to buy another one than replace the batteries in many cases.

Exactly Bob! Probably cheaper than a bottle of water too! These things don't have to have great performance specs either, being close to transmitter. We let the artists keep them for health reasons: cannot re-use the earbuds, and the radios would need disinfecting after being worn by sweaty people!

"I'm actually surprised they employed that many dancers, one of each would have been enough then you just clone them."

Once again, OK Go's trademark is making videos in one take using nothing but a single camera, using CGI would not be true to their particular form of art.

Yeah, and Milli Vanilli swore they did not mime.

I am not trying to be rude John, just that having spent a life in that industry I am sceptical of those sort of claims.

[I]" having spent a life in that industry I am sceptical of those sort of claims. "[/I]

Have you ever worked in Japan though?
Precision marching and walking is an art form in Japan, precision is part of the culture. Much of Asia is the same, watch a North Korean military parade video, they are not just perfectly in step, they're precisely the same in every aspect.


This might help: OK Go Deconstruct

Honda paid for the music video so the budget could have been big.

Bob.

"I am not trying to be rude John, just that having spent a life in that industry I am sceptical of those sort of claims."

Yeah, and I've been in the music and video business since 1968. I've been following these guys since their first video on the treadmills. I've read various articles and interviews by those involved and I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that it was shot in one take with a single camera. That's what they do, that's what they've always done. It's too bad you can't just appreciate it for the amazing achievement that it is.

700 feet=210meters, maybe translation error.

Very, very cool video. I vote for NO CGI. Intelligence+transpiration.

Location (Google Earth)

35°28'15.59"N 140°12'25.71"E

One of the most impressive displays of precision, synchronized dance I have ever witnessed was the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were thousands involved and it was virtually flawless.

One of the most impressive displays of precision, synchronized dance I have ever witnessed was the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were thousands involved and it was virtually flawless.That performance was absolutely mind-blowing. I don't know if it can ever be topped.

In London, the Brits didn't even try to top it, and in that they succeeded. No offense (my wife is English, so I'm not an anglophobe), but it was one of the worst-produced opening ceremonies in the past thirty years. Did anyone rehearse?? Just a bunch of people walking around. Even without Beijing (and Sydney, which was also spectacular) it would have been lame, but by contrast, it was just terrible.

I just watched a few minutes of the Beijing video, and once again was blown away.

John, I agree, the London Olympics opening ceremony was purely awful, the only way it could have possibly been worse is if I had produced it.

What London lacked was what LA, Sydney and Beijing had, an Australian by the name of Ric Birch :)

For sure Beijing took the spectacle to 11, I still cannot figure out how many parts of it were done. I did feel that of all the ones in my lifetime Barcelona was the most engaging but then I've always been a fan of Dali, Gaudi and Lorca.

Bob.