KEY POINTS:
The stunning footprints which made up the Opening Ceremony in Beijing were fake, not fireworks.
The footprints which erupted into the sky and appeared as fireworks were actually computer graphics, complete with invented smog and camera shake to make it look as though they were shot from a moving helicopter.
Viewers around the world watched as the giant footprints moved from Tiananmen Square to the Birds Nest. But what appeared as fireworks were actually computer graphics.
The digital additions were revealed in the Beijing Times on the weekend.
Head of the ceremony's visual effects team Gao Xiaolong said the 55 second sequence had taken the best part of a year.
The Telegraph reported that the team took great care in making sure that the fake footage and real footage were seamless. The team contacted China's meteorological society to get information on smog and its appearance at night.
The team also added a camera shake to simulate the effect had a helicopter flown over the city to shoot the spectacle.
"Seeing how it worked out, it was still a bit too bright compared to the actual fireworks," Mr Gao said.
He said most of the audience thought the sequence was still filmed live.
An adviser to the Beijing Olympic Committee has defended the use of computer graphics and said it would have been risky for a helicopter pilot to fly over the top of a fireworks display.
Feedback on the internet has been mixed. On Yahoo answers one poster wrote: "My opinion on this is who cares if the fireworks are real or not! China still put up a great opening show to feed the people appetite," and "i agree with you. so what if it's fake? it's not as if it's hurting anybody...".
Meanwhile on newsvine.com one poster wrote: "This isn't the only illusion China is portraying to the world. By the way the display was awesome even if it was fake," and another: "Plus there was no need to do this and it doesn't show China in a good light. It makes them look like they got caught in a lie and now have to admit it."
- NZHERALD STAFF
