A number of international news outlets are reporting (and even MSNBC is acknowledging) that some of the fireworks you saw on TV during the Opening Ceremony were faked.
It was one the largest Olympic events ever. More expensive. More flashy. More fake.
Some of the fireworks, specifically, the giant footprints walking across Beijing, were computer generated. Animated ahead of time. The artists even made the pretend camera shake so it would look like everything was being shot from a helicopter.
NBC's Matt Lauer and Bob Costas vaguely mentioned that some of the broadcast was pre-fabricated... but it wasn't very clear to the average viewer.
(Commentary) As a journalist, the whole thing is very scary. It raises legitimate questions about what you see on TV. What do you believe? What is real? How overly-clear do broadcasters need to be when they're showing something that's NOT real?
You've come to trust Lauer and Costas... and NBC... to tell you the truth. Their faces are the living, breathing brands for NBC News and NBC Sports. Their credibility is the most valuable commodity they have. Hosting the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony may not fall under the category of "news" as much as "entertainment," but you still expect the same journalistic rules to apply.
It is very disturbing to me that NBC would allow faked video to be in its broadcast without making it exceedingly clear that it was provided by a Chinese animation firm. Viewers have been led to believe that the entire broadcast is being produced by NBC and that the network has control over what shows up on the screen. As it turns out, that's not the case.
From MSNBC.com:It would seem that NBC is walking a very fine, ethical line. In this case, they may have stepped over it for the sake of maintaining the illusion that the network is in control of the broadcast.
Because the only organization in control of all Olympics footage is Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, the feed went out to everyone broadcasting the event, including NBC, which has exclusive rights in the United States to show the games.
As a viewer and a colleague, I'm very disappointed in the ruse and the new blemish in NBC's reputation.
More articles about the fake fireworks:
nzherald.co.nz
The New Zealand Herald
Opening Ceremony's firework footprints faked
Telegraph.co.uk
Beijing Olympic 2008 Opening Ceremony Giant Firework Footprints 'Faked'
MSNBC.com
Part of Olympic Display Altered in Broadcast
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