BEIJING Olympics
/BEIJING Olympics
/Overview
OLYMPIC GAMES
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, and commonly known as Beijing 2008, was an international multi-sport event that was held from 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events.
The Beijing Olympics was watched by 3.5 billion people worldwide.
Services Rendered
01/ Visual Language & Art Direction
02/ Design Production & Execution
03/ Campaign Development
04/ Art Direction
05/ Video Production
06/ 3D & Motion Graphics
Opportunity
As recently as 2008 China was still a mystery for many around the world. The Chinese people viewed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games as a global coming-out event within which the country could introduce itself to the world. This was an unprecedented opportunity for all creative and production teams.
Approach
In early 2008 we starting working with Red Bee Media (UK) to create and produce the main opening title sequence for CCTV’s Olympics programming along with a comprehensive package of about 300 information graphics. The information graphics were rendered on an Orad 3-D real-time graphics system.
In addition to creating the main opening title sequences, we also were tasked to produce a second set of large scale visuals and motions to be played on the various jumbotrons and monitors throughout the various Olympic venues. This second set of content was created and produced in-house with the team who had long-standing relationships with CCTV.
Solution
The team created two sequences.
The first was an opening title sequence that excited the Chinese public about the coming 2008 Games and emphasizes its welcome to visitors from all over the world using the Five Elements Theory of Chinese philosophy. The five elements are used to describe interactions and relationships between things. The five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water— are believed to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe between which interactions occur.
The second was a sequence in which the core primary color of the Olympics Movement in the form of oil paints is set against a start white background upon which athletes compete in the respective sports.
OUTCOME
/Results
First Sequence
The CCTV title sequence pairs an athlete with one of the five Chinese elements - earth, water, metal, wood, and fire - before ending on Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium, the venue for tonight's opening ceremony.
The sequence opens with a sprinter coming out of the starting blocks in front of the new CCTV building, home to China's national public TV network.
The sequence continues with a long jumper, a diver, fencers, gymnasts, and a basketball player each performing their sport in turn. The five elements are interwoven among each of the athletes as they demonstrate their skills.
CCTV will be covering the Olympic Games across several of its nationwide channels including its dedicated Olympic Channel, broadcasting coverage to 380m households.
Second Sequence
We created a visual interplay between the Color & Symbolism of the Olympic Games; the Power & Grace displayed by each athlete; the Motion and Stillness that is inherent in all athletic movement; and the historic opening of China to the West are all key visual elements which, when used in a dynamic visual form, will excite viewers around the globe to follow the Olympic broadcast and become inspired to pursue their own dreams.
BEIJING Olympics Pre-Visualization
Sequence two pre-visualization.
/Challenges
/Solutions
01/ How to introduce China to the world.
We focused on universal themes and metaphors which had unique Chinese historical elements and facets of meaning. As an example, we all believe we are connected to a higher force; the Chinese believe in there are five elements in this connection to the universe, so we worked with this symbolism.
02/ Aggressive production timelines and immense pressure to deliver.
Our production timelines and the pressure to deliver were both factors we dealt with on a daily basis. Because of the long-standing professional relationships and open/creative structure between the teams in the UK and Beijing we were able to successfully deliver award-winning content on time and on budget.
03/ Creating content that appealed to both the Chinese population and the world.
Over 3.5 billion people worldwide watched the 2008 Summer Olympics. Of that, a full third of the total were Chinese. It was important that while the visuals and creative metaphors appealed to the global audience, they were still palatable at home in China. By staying true to grounding all creative concepts to uniquely Chinese elements, we were able to appeal to all audiences.
BEIJING Olympics Pre-Visualization
Sequence one pre-visualization.
Five Elements Theory of Chinese philosophy and the Olympic Movement. The five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water— are believed to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe between which interactions occur.
BEIJING Olympics Creative Pitch
Select pages from the creative pitch we did to the International Olympic Committee and Beijing Olympic Broad Casting.
We created a visual interplay between the Color & Symbolism of the Olympic Games; the Power & Grace displayed by each athlete; the Motion and Stillness that is inherent in all athletic movement; and the historic opening of China to the West.
.WORK /BEIJING Olympics