In any case..I was excited to see the below news that Jacky will be releasing a 3D version of his concert because knowing him, he will try to make the DVD just as spectacular as the actual Live show was (though of course nothing beats watching Jacky sing live...LOL!). After reading this article, I really have to hand it to Jacky and his production team for the meticulous effort they put into filming the concert for DVD release -- I don't know about others, but I definitely appreciate the effort!
Of course, as a die-hard fan, I will be buying the concert DVD no matter if it's in 3D or not, so in a sense, I guess it really shouldn't matter as much to me -- but it's still heartwarming to see how Jacky (with the help of his concert organizers) once again channels his passion for his craft into creating the best possible musical experience for his fans! :-)
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Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2272
Article originally published on May 26th, 2012
Translation: llwy12
Concert Tour once again breaks records – Jacky Cheung to release 3D concert DVD
The Jacky Cheung ½ Century World Tour Concert 《張學友1/2世紀演唱會》recently held its finale performance in Hong Kong. The concert tour started back in December 2010 and a year and half later, in May 2012, it [came] to a close with a final count of 146 shows – which breaks the record for total number of [world tour] concert shows performed by a HK singer. Last year, in April 2011, Jacky had held ‘part 1’ of the Hong Kong leg of his tour at the HK Coliseum; this year (May 2012), ‘part 2’ was held at the Asia Expo Center – a venue that allowed for a wider stage, more far-reaching views, and better lighting effects. For the finale shows, Jacky invested a lot of effort and thought into the process – in a few months time, he will be achieving another ‘first’ amongst HK singers: he will be the first artist to release a concert DVD completely in 3D.
The name ‘Jacky Cheung’ itself is already a ‘beautiful voice, beautiful songs’ guarantee, however this time around, Jacky took his concert to new heights by incorporating elements that would allow audiences attending the concert to enjoy the best visual effects possible: a huge high-definition [HD] LED screen, multi-colored laser lights, a transparent glass stage, a heavy weight specially tailored outfit made of crystal beads, etc. For the anticipated release of the concert DVD, Jacky wanted the concert to be filmed using the highest level quality method possible – other than the usual HD and Blueray, what other option was there? After a little thought, an idea suddenly came to him – with the recent trend of many Hollywood grand productions being filmed in 3D, why not apply that same concept to his concert? With that thought, Jacky decided that he wanted to release a 3D concert DVD.
Filming in 3D is actually 4 to 5 times more expensive than filming in regular 2D mode – a 70 person filming crew had to be hired and from an equipment perspective, filming required 3 times the number of cameras that would normally be used. In addition, cameras had to be installed in various places throughout the arena in order to capture the performances from multiple angles. With everything that had to be done, filming only the very last show was virtually impossible – therefore, filming had to take place over the course of 3 shows, with the equipment running for 3 nights straight. The production was definitely taken very seriously.
Our [Mingpao’s] reporter watched the 138th show (a lucky number), which was one of the shows where the special filming took place. That night, a gigantic HD camera was set up in the arena’s control tower and each time concert producer Florence Chan (陳淑芬) had to leave or enter the area, she had to bend over slightly when walking in front of the camera so as not to block its view. She expressed: “A few nights ago, we watched some of the 3D trial footage of the concert and it truly did feel as though things were flying out at us from the screen! Definitely a very three-dimensional feeling.”
As soon as Jacky expressed his desire to film in 3D, Florence Chan immediately set the preparations in motion. Knowing that each shot would be very clear and crisp, which meant that even one speck of dirt would be captured by the cameras, Mrs. Chan had to arrange for an entirely new set to be made for the stage, with each crevice [of the set] carefully lacquered and polished to perfection. Even Jacky’s concert outfits had to be newly made, as there were quite a few heavy dance numbers scheduled throughout the show -- since Jacky usually sweats a lot during these performances, an additional 3 sets of the same-style outfits were made so that he could change into brand new outfits each night that filming took place. Mrs. Chan expressed: “With each white-colored outfit, we were afraid that even a speck of powder [from the makeup] on the collar would be visible!”
Due to all 10 of the finale shows being completely sold out, concert organizers specially added an additional section of seating in the hopes of reaching audiences who were not able to buy tickets earlier. These $200 HKD seats are on a slightly slanted incline on both sides of the stage and the view is partially obstructed majority of the time, however each time Jacky walks onto the suspension bridges on both sides to perform, the distance to him is especially close – definitely something for the fans purchasing these tickets to consider!
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