Simulating Olympic Videos on YouTube

With the wonders of technology and the presence of so many talented techie people around, the creation and production of great videos on YouTube no longer comes as surprise. If you are a YouTube follower, you are well aware that the channel abounds with videos of all kind – great or otherwise, which are crafted by creative people using the digital technique called simulation. With simulation you will note that special effects can be achieved through photography tricks and the like.

Simulated Olympic Videos

Recently, the holding of the 2012 Olympics in London has encouraged more YouTube account holders to simulate the Olympics opening ceremonies and other succeeding events to come up with amazing videos. When viewing these types of videos, the impact of the simulation effects result to a different feel that usually heightens the viewing experience. However some YouTube followers have raised the question about the authenticity of the said Olympic videos. Because of the special effects employed in the simulation, they feel there is an element of deceit because the actual action is somewhat altered through the simulation method. There may not be a problem though with simulating the opening ceremonies of the games because the combined spectacle of musical numbers, choreographed dance and other stunning numbers in the ceremonies are ideal subjects for video simulation. In fact, with simulation, the pageant will even be highlighted for greater visual effects.

Videos of Actual Competitions

As already pointed out earlier, the video of the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics may be simulated for optimum visual results. However this may not apply to the main events such as swimming, gymnastics, track and field and others because the simulation method might jeopardize the conduct real event as it happened on its actual moment. Except perhaps when you want to achieve a special impact for, say, swimming, then you can, by all means put up a simulation video. This is usually done with archived games or those events, which have already concluded and ready to go to the files. YouTube users may want to work on the video and inject some artistic style on it by using slow motion, fast forward and stop motions, still photos and backdrop shots or whatever he wants to use to draw attention to the video.

Vimeo against YouTube

One fast rising Internet video channel aside from YouTube is Vimeo. If you browse on this site now you will notice that it has come up with simulation Olympics video. The videos are nice and cute and are good for entertainment and fun but they do not show the actual Olympics events as they actually happened. Anyhow, the purpose of the videos is not really to document the events but to present a fun alternative from the more serious video coverage on YouTube.

This year’s Olympics events are considered as the grandest games ever held since its founding in Greece many years ago. The grandeur of the events is even intensified with social media network coverage. YouTube is the best and most competent video channel that airs the events day by day. Whether or not the videos in this site are simulated, the channel still achieves its purpose of sharing with YouTube audience some quick snippets as well as completes visual accounts of the games. 

2012 Olympics: Greece’s Papachristou is Out

Twitter lets people say what’s on their mind quickly in 140 characters. There have been many times that controversial tweets were posted on the site that made some buzz online. Adding to the list is Voula Papachristou, a Greek triple jumper. The 23-year old athlete tweeted about the growing number of African immigrants in her country, which a lot of people found racist. Here’s what Papachristou posted on her Twitter account:

@papaxristoutj: With so many Africans in Greece … at least the West Nile mosquitos will eat homemade food!!!” Aside from this, she posted a comment made by Ilias Kasidiaris, a Greek politician, regarding the lenient policy of the country’s government when it comes to immigration.

Voula Papachristou

Reaction and Apologies

Papachristou’s post received comments and responses from several people who were offended by her tweet. She didn’t reply immediately to any of them until after a few days. She issued an apology on her account telling that she didn’t mean to offend anyone. Here’s the exact tweet she posted:

“I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.”

The controversial post reached the Hellenic Olympic Committee, who deliberated the issue and even consulted with some of the members of the Parliament of their country.  The said committee is the Olympics Federation of Greece. The verdict, Papachristou was removed from Greece’s Olympic team. She was preparing in Athens to compete for the London Olympics 2012 and was about to go there in a week to represent the country when the decision to evict her from the team was made.

Reason for Removing Papachristou from the Team

Aside from the racial issues on the tweet, the committee didn’t want any problems with the anti-racism groups that may show their protests on the game, if Papachristou was still in their team. The sponsors for the country’s team for the Olympics may not like this and may cost them their support. Because of the financial challenges that the economy of the country had been facing, corporate sponsors made possible the funding for Greece’s Olympics team. According to the official statement released by the Committee, Papachristou was removed from the Olympics team of Greece because of her tweets, which opposed the Olympic movement’s ideas and values.

Papachristou may have been sorry for her remarks but it was too late. It already cost her the chance to join in the biggest sports competition of the year. The Olympics is considered the biggest event for athletes. This is what every sportsman dreams of as it serves as the pinnacle of their career. Joining the Olympics does not only give them the chance to be known in their field of sports, but most importantly, they will be able to represent their country and bring pride and glory to their nation. Words when written or spoken cannot be taken back. So everyone must be careful with what they say or write, especially on popular sites like Twitter, as this may backfire on them.