Footprint Fireworks Faked Into Olympic Opening Ceremony

After the superb opening ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics, news of China's doctoring video footage is deeply disappointing:

A local Beijing paper has revealed that some of the amazing fireworks in the Olympics opening show were digitally-crafted fakes, inserted into the live TV feed. The Beijing Times quotes the head of visual effects, who says that the 28 giant footprints that stomped through the air above the city, ending at the stadium, were advanced CGI. Though the pyrotechnics really were set off, the airborne camera view that the rest of the world watched was fake. Why go to these lengths? Apparently the Olympic committee decided that to follow the real trail of firework footprints was too dangerous for a helicopter camera. Instead a team spent almost a year crafting the fake segment, paying attention to even get the smog lighting effects correct. [The Telegraph]

While some people seem to think it's not a big deal, I find it disturbing that China would falsify footage. Two things are particularly troublesome:

1) The officials who gave the go ahead for the doctoring of the footage apparently find nothing wrong in falsifying an image of their country displayed to the world. he meticulous detail involved in doctoring the video means much time, effort, and intention was put into this falsification. Decision makers had to know about this and give their approval. It raises the question of what else does China falsify to the rest of the world and serves to legitimize the distrust many feel towards China.

2) The footprint footage was such a minor part of the entire ceremony. To intentionally falsify something so minor in an event so major shows a serious lapse in judgement and a troubling lack of concern about truthfulness. People who lie about little things have a much larger incentive and greater likelihood to lie about the big things.

This falsification tarnishes an otherwise beautiful ceremony and all the work of those who put such great efforts into making it happen. As I wrote earlier, this is China's chance to be in the world's spotlight. This does not make them look good at all.