Derrick and I knew it was meant to be when we saw that our flashlights matched our wedding colours – blue and green. I know, cheesy. But that was only the beginning…
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, each person who attended the Opening Ceremonies received a kit that was specific to their seat.
Each blue flashlight had a coloured decal on the lens. Mine was green, Derrick’s was blue. There were 4 different colours total. On the screen inside the stadium, we had to rehearse when and how to shine our coloured lights. Enthusiastic volunteers were positioned inside each section to guide and teach the crowd. Small circles, large arm circles, figure 8s and diagonal flashes were what we had to remember.
The effect was beautiful. The audience lit up like the northern lights and created an unforgettable scene like below. The crowd shrieked in excitement when the giant polar bear appeared from beneath the ground. I loved it!
The audience members with the white lights also got their own solo. The screen inside the stadium acted as the “conductor” and cued the audience as to when to flash their coloured lights. The volunteers showed us what action to make with our lights. It was like aerobics class – but armchair aerobics…
When K.D. Lang performed, our glowing candles came out. The crowd wasn’t supposed to bring their candles out till later in the song, but we all couldn’t help but pull them out as K.D.’s performance touched our hearts.
As for the ponchos that came in our kit, audience members either received a blue or white one. Derrick and I wore the oh-so slimming blue paper poncho (just kidding) and the overall effect made BC Place transform into a winter wonderland. This also made for a neutral canvas for cool projection and lighting effects – such as the flags seen below.
And the tribute to our French- Canadian heritage, the audience became the backdrop for maple leaves. Tension fabric displays are so versatile…
And the iconic silhouettes of athletes to represent each sport… The spot where you see the curling silhouette is where many of the athletes sat. Even they were able to get their ponchos on pretty quickly. How nice it was to have them enjoy the show and march in at the beginning.
For once, it was one of those shows that was worth seeing from afar – to see all the lighting effects projected on to the stadium floor. As high up as we were, Derrick and I still missed many of the effects the TV cameras caught. But I have to say, TV did not do the aerialists justice. The cameras showed waaaay too much of the harness and wires. You couldn’t see any of it from afar, so it really did seem like the people were floating.
Everyone’s talking about the torch malfunction. Who cares? It was so cool to be there…
My coworker went to the rehearsal and got so much snow in her purse and jacket. Derrick and I were lucky enough to not take any home.
I can’t imagine how long it took to develop the overall vision for the show – and to develop all the thoughtful details that made each performance enjoyable and emotional. Big applause to the artistic director(s)!
> Christine
{ images taken by Derrick }
