Comments on: Man, Have These Guys Come A Long Way From The Days Of Wearing Chairman Mao Suits ….

By: Fred S.

Fred S. — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:03:56 +0000

This event is a great show of unity within a country that has difficulties getting local and central governments on the same page. The parade was a true show of China’s sheer numbers, power, and culture. The marketing of this event appealed to me. I enjoyed watching both this and the Olympic ceremonies.

By: Keith Cody

Keith Cody — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:48:37 +0000

That was a neat video. I went directly to the Vimeo page to see it in HD glory. (http://vimeo.com/6853452)

When you do events of this magnitude, the 2008 Beijing Ceremonies no longer seem so implausible. Now, they are just merely fantastic.

The effect that makes the people and cars look like toys is called “Tilt Shift”. Every manufacturer makes one for their DLSRs. A nice, inexpensive model is called the Lens Baby. (http://lensbaby.com)

I am struck by how Asian parade’s always feature lots of people. Western parades now-a-days feature lots of stuff, but not many people. I am thinking of the Rose Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade; the things are the focus, not the people.

America used to do large displays of national pride, similar to this; when she was still a developing country. In 1918, during the First World War and the beginning of America’s rise to power, thousands of soldiers formed symbols of freedom: The Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, etc. This video reminded me of these historical images. To see them: http://www.thinknice.com/thousands-of-soldiers-form-living-photographs/

By: Georgia

Georgia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:37:44 +0000

Their precision is amazing. Everything seems so perfect and crisp that it almost seems unreal, and how it was filmed magnifies this effect. I think they wanted to convey a country with quality in quantity. Everyone is a model citizen with striking colors. I feel like they also portrayed this message at the 2008 Olympics. Their use of the simple mirrors reminded me of a smaller scale of when they had the movable boxes. They took simple props and made them look magical by doing it on a large scale. It is obvious that China doesn’t want any public humiliations and will go to great lengths to avoid them. The 60th celebration was full of awe, power and perfection- and I wonder if the Chinese were happy with it.

By: Ashley Tyra

Ashley Tyra — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:18:10 +0000

An amazing take on China’s 60th anniversary National Day parade. The time lapse video does a beautiful job of capturing the event in a unique way, which also helps boost China’s image.

There are several moments in the clip where the parade looks almost toy-like. The slow motion additions of the tanks rolling by reiterate the role of China’s government. Amidst dancing and bright colors, the government’s presence still exists.

By: Daniel Fleek

Daniel Fleek — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:13:24 +0000

Wow even in slow motion all those people in the parade were almost perfectly synchronized. I guess that’s kind of a sign to the world about China’s efficiency. I thought the time lapse sequence during the military march showed the vastness of their military and the slow motion sections showed their precision. All in all, great camera work.

By: Charles Dornbush

Charles Dornbush — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:07:28 +0000

The beginning of the video is what a Westerner would expect: tanks, missiles, thousand of soldiers marching in the street. Very much like we’ve come to expect from North Korea or the Soviet Union. But as the video progressed we see something different: vibrant colors, people dancing, girls carrying machine guns.

I think this video represents China as a dichotomy: the strong, authoritarian state with the artistic, happy, creative people. This video represents everything that confuses Americans about China.

By: Kevin K.

Kevin K. — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:47:55 +0000

This video was beautifully put together. I loved the juxtaposition of China’s history — shown by dancing — and the raw power of military strengths.

Tanks, missiles, gun toting go-go dancers, and ordinary citizens marching together surrounded by a sea of proud Chinese. Sounds odd, but is profoundly accurate in describing China. They certainly know how to present their strengths to the rest of the world.

By: Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:59:41 +0000

Wow, I think there were more people in the parade than there were watching it! Agreed that they are getting better at marketing, rather they are improving at the concept itself or appealing more to individuals in western societies such as ours is unbeknownst to me. Would the Chinese want to appeal more to western societies, and for what reason?

By: Vladimir

Vladimir — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:41:08 +0000

Lots of tanks and missiles. They definitely wanted to show their power. More airplane flybys would have been cool. The women in pink and white seemed out of place for military part 1, but since they had guns they wouldn’t quite fit into artistic part 2. Maybe they were there for the transitional effect between the two parts and to get people’s attention. Having both parts gave the world the message: Don’t mess with us, but we have an artistic, traditional side too.

The video looked great, sped up so we could see more of the parade, but also slowed down so we could see the detail. I would also have liked to see a video in real time to hear the marching and accompanying music, if there was any.

By: Stephen Allison

Stephen Allison — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:48:39 +0000

Awesome parade, I dig their style.

I now want to buy an expensive camera for some reason…