Olympic Games - Case Study
Five hours of music, two symphony orchestras, two Greek popular orchestras, numerous choirs, ethnic groups and solo performers...
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games captured a global TV audience in excess of 4 billion.
Julian led the project for an 18 month period from June 2003 utilizing a production technique and workflow that could accomodate a continually changing brief, yet still deliver an Opening and Closing Ceremony soundtrack compatible with both a Greek music recording legacy and the requirements of a worldwide broadcast.
The 2004 ceremonies were the first to be produced by a non- indigenous company. Jack Morton Public Events, the producers, assembled a team from across the globe to assist Greece in creating what was universally acknowledged as "a triumph". At the time of the Opening Ceremony the core production team numbered 430.
State of the art technology was utilized throughout the production, from intitial music preparation through to major structural engineering, creating representions of both ancient and modern Greece, including flooding the Olympic Stadium, a 60-foot high cycladic head emerging from the resulting "sea", splitting to reveal two statues, then fragmenting into 18 sections depicting the Greek islands.
Despite the huge scale of the event the music still was able to visit areas of both intimacy and reflection.
With the links below it is possible to hear some of the traditional music that was recorded, including extracts that weren't in the ceremonies.
Listen:
Sera Dance MP3 (Stereo) 1.42MB
Sera Dance MP4 (High Definition) 2.25MB
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Byzantine Hymn MP3 (Stereo) 3.3MB
Byzantine Hymn MP4 (High Definition) 6.5MB
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Brass Band of Kozani MP3 (Stereo) 2.1MB
Brass Band of Kozani MP4 (High Definition) 3.8MB
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Images - Julian Scott
©2005
Olympic Stadium during Closing Ceremony
Olympic Stadium at sunset (click to enlarge)