By a show of hands, who caught the opening of the Olympic games?

Well not me, since I was working all this weekend. But I wish I had caught it only to see the fireworks display…which was apparently 90% digital…

LINK: Part of Olympic display altered in broadcast

Part of the elaborate Olympics fireworks show broadcast to the world in the opening ceremony was altered, done digitally in 3-D computer graphics, according to several news reports.

While the dramatic display actually happened as portrayed on television, members of the Beijing Olympic Committee said it was necessary to replace live video with computer-generated imagery because the city’s hazy, smoggy skies made it too difficult to see, according to The Beijing Times, which first reported the story.

Now I don’t know about you, but this totally reminded me the scene in ‘The Running Man’ where Arnold’s death is faked all by a “pixel processing program”.

Ok, ok…maybe not to THAT extreme. But would you be surprised in 5 to 10 years if it did reach that level? I sure wouldn’t.

And I’ll bet ya James Cameron will have a hand in it. Just look at the tech achievements his band of artists have made already on ‘Avatar’ (be sure to click the link, because it’s a LONG article)…

LINK: A Brief Look at the Technological Advancements in James Cameron’s Avatar

On Avatar, the system Cameron has developed is called Facial Performance Replacement and it’s similar to ADR, but for CGI faces. “We changed the words and [actor Laz Alonzo] redid the dialogue. We didn’t have to recapture (his body performance) and he didn’t have to put the performance capture suit on again. We were just creating new words, and we were creating a new face.” Again, referring to the idea that Cameron is simply editing the film for the remaining 16 months, this technology allows him to change dialogue or facial reactions without reshooting any of it.