Despite what director Zhang Yimou said about there being no actors or celebrities tapped for the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, Teens in Times (TNT) singer Ding Chengxin managed to get in on some of the fun. As he’s still studying at the Beijing Film Academy, the 20-year-old idol was able to volunteer for the Games as a student.
Blurred Cameo for the 24 Solar Term Video at the Opening Ceremony
A short video themed around the twenty four solar terms of the lunar calendar impressed many when it was first shown during the opening ceremony. The 4th of February not only heralded the start of the Games, but it also ushered in the “beginning of spring”. While it’s not obvious, Ding Chengxin appears briefly in a very blurred shot of a young man sharpening ice skates.
In a recent appearance on Day Day Up‘s episode which takes viewers around a behind the scenes look at the Winter Olympics, they reveal for the first time the clear shot of Ding Chengxin. Long Jiangbo, the award winning director of the three minute countdown video said the most important thing they wanted to convey was a true “sense of the people”. He shared that popular idol Ding Chengxin participated in the video as a student. He said, “It was quite beautiful when we shot it but during production, we deliberately used a blurred shot.“
He said if a celebrity is too popular, it would take viewers out of the scene. Long Jiangbo explained that it wouldn’t have the same impact in touching the right emotions the film needed to convey. That certainly makes sense as you’d want to put the spotlight solely on the athletes to celebrate all their hard work.
Although he wasn’t the only TNT idol to volunteer at the Olympics, Ding Chengxin appears to be the only star participating in both the opening and closing ceremonies. Bandmate Zhang Zhenyuan, a student at the Central Academy of Drama, also participated in the closing event.
Source: 1
Ash
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies were breathtakingly beautiful and meaningful, somehow seemingly merging the modern world with old culture and tradition and displayed with such grace, simplicity and artistry. Evoked so many emotions too. Had quite a few teary eyed moments.