The drummers, the acrobatics, the visuals, the effects, the precision and accuracy of the choreography, everything was orchestrated artistically under the helm of Chinese visionary and filmmaker Zhang Yimuo.
And so I was so eager to watch the London's Opening Ceremony. Danny Boyle must be really pressured to at least come up with a fantastic show and they were very honest on the night of Beijing Opening Ceremony itself that they wouldn't be able to surpass that, but at least, it's not impossible to put up a good show.
I watched it, intently and objectively. I got to agree with some of the reviews that it was disconnected at some parts. Some people were confused, but of course, the entire show wasn't intended to spoon-feed you, you might want to study a little bit of London's history at least to catch up with the scenes?
It was more human, it was like as if I was watching a film. The camera-works, cinematography and transitions were more into close-ups. Almost everything was in tight shot. In Beijing, almost 98% of the show was in EWS (extreme wide shot or the view is so far away from the subject), so that means they are trying to create a visual out of sheer numbers and the optical illusion it creates when they are moving simultaneously.
Beijing was all about precision and accuracy towards collective movement, London is all about the detail and realism.
I actually loved it, well the first 15-20 minutes because after the Industrial Revolution and the Pandemonium scene, the Healthcare Act and Mary Poppins scene onwards bore the hell out of me.
And this was my favorite musical score of the entire ceremony. It was so good I have to download it to my iPhone. Listen to the drum rolls on the first five minutes, then savor the amazing tune of whistle in the middle of the song (oh God it was so beautiful), and the climactic last minutes leading to a marvelous finale. This song is epic, this could fit my workout ambiance definitely.
