"Wanna go to the movies tonight?" "What's playing?" "The Olympics!"

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are coming to local Cineplexes! There are 64 locations across Canada that are going to participate in this! I think it's a really great idea and I would think it would be an easy moneymaker for Cineplex.

They won't have ALL events covered, on the Cineplex website, it says "Each day, participating theatres will present CTV and RDS’s coverage of key Olympic Games events with a focus on events in which Canadian athletes are competing and/or medal events. When possible, participating theatres will feature the events of local athletes."

For more info, visit the Olympic Games at Cineplex website!

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Olympic Commercials

So I was poking around Youtube, and came across the account of vancouverite1989, who as graciously uploaded a number of Olympic-related commercials. A few of my favorites:

CTV: Believe in Vancouver 2010: For Our Country and Our City

I love the overall enthusism in this video. Kinda reminds you that not all of Vancouverites are protesters and wet-blankets.

Toursim BC: You Gotta Be Here

Absolutley amazing views of Vancouver and BC. Not 100% sure that the celebs here aren't green-screened, but still...love it.

Coca-Cola: He Shoots, He Scores

This is actually a re-hash of a commercial Coca-Cola rolled out for the Salt Lake City 2002 games. The text at the end used to read, "If we all cheer at the same time, they might just hear us all the way in Salt Lake"...or some variation there-of.

CTV: Olympic Rings

I'm not sure if I'm going to get a chance to see the rings at YVR, but I hope so. The shots of them up in the bucket give you a good feel for the scale.

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CTV Olympic Theme

CTV has recently released their 'Official Theme' for the Vancouver 2010 Games, unsurprisingly titled 'I Believe'. I'm not quite sure if this counts as the 'Olympic Theme' or not, but its certainly the song that Canadians will probably become most familiar with.

I'm not much of a music critic, but I like the instrumental version well enough...

There is also a version out there with lyrics. The English version is sung by Nikki Yanofsky, the french by Anne Villeneuve. I've embedded the former here. I'm not quite as big of a fan of the lyrical version, it seems a little cheesy, but really, its not horrible. It'll make for a good montage somewhere along the line I'm sure.

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Martin v. Murdoch

An annual tradition on the curling circuit, the TSN Skins game took place over the weekend. This time around, its notable in terms of the Olympics, as it featured two of the favourites for Vancouver 2010: Kevin Martin of Canada and David Murdoch of Scotland.

2010 Favorites? David Murdoch & Team

In their head-to-head semi-final, Martin jumped out to an early lead, before Murdoch stormed back and took the game. Murdoch then moved onto the final Sunday, where he defeated Randy Ferbey.

With the win, Murdoch continues his recent dominace of Kevin Martin. At the 2009 Worlds, Scotland upended Canada in both the round-robin and finals.

I’ve never been totally confident in Martin’s international record….so hopefully he can turn this streak around when it really matters.
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Second curling note for the day…CTVOlympics.ca has a really good feature up on broadcaster Ray Turnbull.

I’m very very glad that TSN will get the call for the Olympics this time around. Their coverage of curing is unsurpassed anywhere around the world, in large part because of the job Vic Rauter, Linda Moore and Ray Turnbull do.

I of course won’t catch too much curling on TV, I’ll either be at other events, or in the stands…but for the rest of Canada, it’ll be a big treat to have them calling Olympics.

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The Olympics on Twitter

So I finally talked Beth into joining Twitter, if really only so that she can add messages to the sidebar badge when we’re out at the Games. Her joining got me thinking about Twitter, and how useful of a tool it’s been for me in terms of following Olympic news. It’s been a good avenue for keeping up with official media releases, as well as first-hand updates from the athletes themselves.

Once the games start, I’m sure that its utility will only increase. It’s a great way for people to get the word out about events and updates in real time. However, one of the big drawbacks of Twitter is that its not always that easy to know who to follow…or even who has an account. So with that in mind, I suggest that you check out my Twitter List for all my Olympic follows at @scottdfraser/olympics. I think I've compliled a fairly decent list, but I'm sure I've missed a bunch. I always welcome suggestions! If you're looking for REALLY comprehensive lists, head over to @CTVOlympics/lists

If you're not into the bulk approach, below is a list of some of my favorites. Some post more than others, but they're all worth a follow leading up to the games!

Shamless Self Promotion
@scottdfraser - Me
@betzernicholls - Beth
@snowandscience - Ben

Official Media
@CTVOlympics – CTV Olympic Updates
@NBCOlympics - NBC Olympic Updates

Organizing Bodies
@Olympics - The International Olympic Committee
@2010Tweets - VANOC
@CDNOlympicTeam - Canadian Olympic Committee
@Followtheflame - Official Feed for the Torch Relay

Canadian Feeds
@MyTeamCanada - Hockey Canada
@MB30 – Martin Brodeur (Men’s Hockey)
@JoannieRochette - Joannie Rochette (Figure Skating)
@ChandraCrawford - Chandra Crawford (Cross-Country Skiing)
@Wick_22 - Hayley Wikenheiser (Women's Hockey)
@SamiJoSmall - Sami Jo Small (Women's Hockey)
@cindy_klassen - Cindy Klassen (Speed Skating)
@JennHeil - Jennifer Heil (Moguls)
@iamcrosby - Sidney Crosby (Men's Hockey)
@Cnezzy - Christine Nesbitt (Speed Skating)

Other Countries
@TeamUSACurling2010 - USA Curling
@Niccurl - Nicole Joraanstad (USA Women's Curling)
@ApoloOhno - Apolo Anton Ohno (USA Short Track Speed Skating)
@DoubleFaisal - Faisal Faisal (Iraq Skelton)
@USSpeedskating - USA Speedskating

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CTVOlympics.ca - Mobile Olympic Alerts

So, one of the biggest media-related items I’ve been waiting on has apparently been there all along!

While at the Games, I’m unfortunately probably going to miss a fair number of results…time spent at events, travelling to/from them, time wandering around etc etc etc. Now, I’m certainly not complaining, but all that running around is going to make it somewhat tough to stay on top of how Canada is doing at other events. As a result, I’ve been really hoping that CTV, as the official broadcaster, would have SMS Mobile Alerts.

CTVOlympics.ca Mobile Alerts!

So, when @CTVOlympics tweeted today asking for feedback on their social media approach, I asked what was up with the lack of Mobile Alerts….and apparently I’m just too slow to find them on CTVOlympics.ca Webpage…they’ve been there all along it would seem.

So, for anyone else out there looking for Mobile Alerts during the Games, head on over to CTVOlympics.ca, and sign up for an account. SMS alerts are buried in your profile, once you get it all set up. They could probably find a more conspicuous location for them, but at least they are there!!

Also - For any Americans kicking around, NBC is offering the same service, geared towards US Athletes, right here.

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Colbert on Curling

Stephen Colbert has been running a gag on 'The Colbert Report' over the last month or so, where he is continually trying out various Olympic Sports. It all started with his sponsorship of the USA Speed Skating Team, and has kinda gone from there.

Anyways, last night was curling....and to a guy like me, national USA exposure of Curling is a pretty big deal.

Comedy Central Video Link

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The Beauty of Vancouver

I seem to be on an NBC kick or something when it comes to videos. Anyways, check out this great vid highlighting some of the scenery in and around Vancouver and Whistler.

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National Post: How to go to the Vancouver Olympics for $999

So today in the National Post, there is a story on how to goto the Olympics on a budget. I think its pretty funny, becaue its almost exactly the way we're doing things for Jen and Beth.

Included in their recommendations are:

• Flying into Seattle from Buffalo or Detriot
• Then travelling via public transport to Vancouver
• Staying at a hostel

Pretty neat to know that we're apparently just a step ahead of the press, and that we're doing things 'right'. HA!

Anyways, check out the National Post article here...

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"We're Gonna Need A Montage"

Ahh...Team America: World Police...

Anyways, if there's one thing I'm a sucker for, its a solid montage. CBC has been the official Olympic Broadcaster for the past few games, and don't get me wrong, they can do a great montage. Many a time, I've teared up over a solid opening to Hockey Night in Canada.

But when it comes to the Olympics, NBC has to get the gold medal. I suppose they're not TECHNICALLY montages, but ok, its close enough...

2008 - Beijing

Beijing was almost a lock to win the 2008 Olympics, with the allure of having never hosted a games before to tempting for the IOC to ignore. II think NBC does a good job of capturing 'the moment' here, the idea that the Games would 'open up' China to the world a little...

2006 - Torino

Don't know why this one strikes me so hard, but I think it has something to do with just the importance that this montage portrays. It makes it seem like what is about to take place is so monumental.

2004 - Athens

So I wasn't able to find the full intro, but here is a promo spot from NBC for the 2004 Athens games....it gives you an idea of what they did I'm sure.

2002 - Salt Lake City

Not the best quality, but you get the idea. Its important to keep in mind that the '02 Salt Lake games came only about 5 months after 9/11, so it was something fresh in the minds of most Americans. Its certainly an interesting view into a mindset that is maybe a little forgotten now.

There is a better quality version at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyt0MI8OSdQ, although it has the first 20 seconds or so cut off.

2000 - Sydney

Unfortunately the embedding is disabled on this one, which is to bad, because I think its the absolute best of the bunch. James Earl Jones was pretty much born just to narrate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9JMyjTQxsg

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CTVOlympics.ca - Mobile Edition

The full version of CTVOlympics.ca is a pretty good website, with lots of media and content regarding the Olympics. Unfortunately, all that content creates a huge webpage in terms of bandwith, to the point that I really haven't bothered ever trying to get onto it from my phone.

Thankfully this past week, CTV seems to have put out a mobile edition of their webpage, which will be a big relief come games time. Its not an amazing mobile page, but its certainly appreicated.

Now the next step for CTV will be to offer mobile text updates like NBC is doing. Lots of time still (66 Days!) to add that, but it's the #1 thing I'd like to see from CTV at this point in terms of content.Common CTV, I don't want to have to sign up for American updates....

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'Follow the Torch' - CTVOlympics.ca

Can’t believe I didn’t see this before now, but you can follow the Torch Relay live on CTVOlympics.ca

In a very cool move, they’ve rigged a streaming webcam to the back of the lead vehicle, showing the torch-bearers and crowds as the relay progresses. There is also a couple chat windows and a map showing the location of the torch as the relay progresses via GPS.

The highlight of today will be about 5:30 EST, when Sidney Crosby will take the torch.

Check It Out

Also, a little bit on the technology:

When Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium and CTV News began planning their coverage of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, the question (a challenge, really) was: "How do we cover the relay every step of the way, live?"

There was a lot of shaking of heads. "Can't be done," some said. "Beyond our technological reach," said others. Current satellite trucks cannot transmit while moving and the cost of transmission 10 hours a day for more than 100 days would be astronomical.

Then someone suggested calling Toronto breaking news channel CP24, which had started experimenting with a new video transmission technology developed by Waterloo-based, Dejero Inc.

CP24 was sending back live reports from their news vans and going live from Toronto street cars using a box the size of a suitcase. Inside the black box (literally) is a maze of wires, circuit boards and processors that takes video from a camera, encodes it and sends it back to the station using cellphone carrier networks or Wi-Fi hotspots.

The result is near-broadcast quality video thanks to the magic of the software and the hardware configuration that's able to combine several cellphone network frequencies and any available Wi-Fi bandwidth to produce a high-quality picture.

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100 Days to Go!!

Onto the final stretch!

As of yesterday, there are a scant 100 days to go until the Games start. I’m trying to not really get too ‘into the mood’ until things get closer….100 days is still a long time to draw out anticipation. But it’s a big milestone, with a few notable unveilings that were attached to it….

Coal Harbour Olympic Rings

Yesterday VANOC floated out a second set of the large LED Olympic Rings into Coal Harbour. These rings are basically the twin of the set placed at Vancouver Airport about a year ago.

According to press, the location was chosen for a few different reasons including placing them against the skyline as a backdrop, their proximity to the media centre, and of course, by the need to ‘protect’ them from protesters. Pretty hard to access something in the middle of the harbour.

This second set of rings are supposedly going to feature in a light-show whenever Canada wins a medal.

Overall I like them, and their placement. We have to take a fair number of ferry trips across the harbour to get to the Whistler/Cypress transportation hub, so hopefully we’ll be able to see them somewhat up close.

NBCOlympics.com

Also yesterday, NBCOlympic.com got a large overhaul. I don’t like it quite as much as the VANOC web overhaul, or still as much as CTVOlympics.ca, but its still pretty good.

Biggest Con is the regional restrictions on viewing videos (ongoing pet peeve). Biggest Pro is the mobile alerts and widgets offered. I really hope that closer to the games CTV, VANOC or anyone ‘Canadian’ will offer up similar features.

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