How did they do the firework footprints in the Beijing Olympics?

Question

They were cool, my dad recons they were computer generated though.

Answer 1

Its real.  There's amateur videos from different angles showing bystanders watching the footprint fireworks.

Answer 2

Maskddingo is right. They were not computer generated in real life. If you were in Beijing, you would have seen them. They are not that difficult to do. China invented fireworks and perfected it better than any other country. They would never fake any fireworks. The only computer generated fireworks were from the broadcasters showing it on TV because there was no way they could film it in the air with a helicopter without risking the safety of everyone involved. So, for the last time, NO FIREWORKS WERE FAKED. Whoever said 80% was fake is just plain stupid.

Answer 3

dad knows best!

Answer 4

Your father is correct.

Answer 5

They were made with a Chinese Computer Software Program called NiteLites (That's a translation), where graphic designers draw or pixelate an image they want, and the computer will generate the pin point position of the fireworks, and where to put them. Its really pricey though, so only large companies, or in this case countries, buy it.

Answer 6

They Probably were computer generated! Apparently 80% of the fireworks were fake!

Answer 7

All the fireworks were real.  Including the giant footprints.  For the TV, however, the footprints were replaced by computer generated images, as it was deemed too dangerous to film live by the helicopters, and also very difficult fo the helicopter to follow the fast moving footprints.

The fact that the footprints were computer generated, was published by the organizer themselves, so contrary to ignorant comments by some people, China was not trying to fake anything.

Answer 8

The ones you saw on TV were computer generated. However, they were real in person. Shaped fireworks is nothing new, or tricky. I've seen flowers, smiley faces, stuff spelled out at various fireworks shows. It's all has to do with the configuration in which you pack the fireworks material together in the shell. My guess is that in this day-and-age there are most likely computer programs that can tell you exactly how to pack a firework based on a shape you give a computer. Shaped fireworks are not really very impressive at all. That being said, the "footprints" idea, was an incredibly artistic and clever way to use shaped fireworks.