From July 26 to August 11, 2024, Paris, with its city landmarks transformed into venues, hosted the epic Olympic Games. As the official cloud service partner of the Olympics, Alibaba Cloud teamed up with Jody Xiong, the visual effects director of the Beijing Winter Olympics, to bridge the worlds of sports, art, and technology through film, paying tribute to the century-old Olympic tradition at its closing.
Inspired by Paris, a city renowned for its classical sculptures, and the ancient, timeless art form itself—the symbol of strength and beauty much like the Olympics—Jody Xiong’s team conceptualized a “cloud-based” Olympics. By merging the idea of “sculpture” with Alibaba Cloud’s cloud technology, they developed the theme “Honor History, Create History”.
Drawing inspiration from the sculptures housed in Paris’s world-renowned museums, the film reimagines these timeless masterpieces, breathing new life into them through the power of Alibaba Cloud’s AI technology. Guided by a table tennis ball that breaks through the clouds—symbolizing the call of the Olympic values—the once-static sculptures are awakened, transforming into agile athletes who bring to life a unique cloud-based Olympics” across the iconic landmarks of Paris. In this creative homage to history, Apollo, the Sun God, wields a table tennis racket in a match against the Venus of Arles on the Arc de Triomphe table; The Eiffel Tower turns into a steel racetrack as Michelangelo’s Dying Slave breaks free from his chains to sprint with unbridled determination; Myron’s Discobolus spins, launching a discus that morphs into an angelic skateboard gliding over Notre-Dame; A pair of kayakers drift elegantly past the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, while the armless Venus de Milo dribbles a ball and scores with a spectacular bicycle kick into the mouth of the winged lion at Fontaine Saint-Michel; A fencer leaps off the wings of a peace dove, brushing past The Thinker as he glances back; Climbers showcase their prowess on the towering Horses of Marly and the draped Winged Victory of Samothrace provides the platform for a diver’s breathtaking leap. Witnessed by these iconic landmarks, athletes from around the world create their history. Presented in the monochrome tones of sketch and copperplate engraving, the film serves as both a tribute to classical history and a contemporary interpretation of the Olympic values, capturing the moment as new history is made at the Paris Olympics.
In addition to the film’s creation, Alibaba Cloud supported Jody Xiong in presenting the “Honor History, Create History” art installation at Shanghai’s esteemed UCCA Edge Museum. This exhibition highlighted Jody Xiong’s distinctive artistic interpretation of classical narratives within the context of modern Olympic scenes, with a focus on the intersection of technology and society. A striking 4.5-meter-diameter sculpture installation, which freezes dynamic scenes from the film, was brought to life using cutting-edge 3D printing technology. This piece honors historical tradition while imbuing it with a renewed vitality through the application of modern technology.
Jody Xiong also invited acclaimed painter Liu Shuang—the first Chinese artist to win the prestigious Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in the UK—to create an oil painting for the exhibition. This work reimagines the sculptures through the medium of painting, integrating the vibrant colors of the Olympic movement to encapsulate the essence of strength and beauty and pay tribute to the Paris Olympics.
The “Honor History, Create History” film was released on Alibaba Cloud’s official platforms and the BBC website, gaining widespread attention and sharing across global social media platforms, amassing tens of millions of views. Beyond celebrating the historic achievements of the Olympic Games and its athletes, Alibaba Cloud also made history by transforming the way the Olympics are broadcast. By enabling the 11,000 hours of live streaming through cloud computing, Alibaba Cloud ushered in a new era where the Olympic Games transition from satellite to cloud-based broadcasting, sparking national pride in the Chinese tech brand.
Credits
Director: Jody Xiong
Creative Agency: The Nine Shanghai
Executive Producer: Zhang Shuai, Ma Yan Zhao
Creative Director: Jody Xiong
Art Director: Jody Xiong
Designer: Jody Xiong
Copywriter: Candy Chen
Account Manager & Producer: Wang Qijing
Color Correction: Zhang Yingjie
Sound Mixers: Syn China
Visual Effects Company: Beijing Phenom Films Technology Co., Ltd，Senvision lab
Visual Effects Director: Wu Shijie, Liu Junhao
Visual Effects Producers: Yang Hua, Wang Lulu, Yu Xiaohan
Visual Effects Project Producer: Park Bokkyung and Shi Mengyangming
Production Director: Chen Yan
Project Guide: Pan Peisen
Project Team Leader: Wu Huan, Sun Guangming, Li Chuanhao, Ji Cheng, Liu Bin, Xu Sheng, Ding Fei, Pang Jiafeng, Xu Shihan, Jiang Lifang
Editors: Rong Yan, Anle, Wang Yu, Liu Yang
Art Institution: UCCA Edge
Curator: Johnson Zhang, Ye Shan, Jiang Lai
Sculpture Installation Artist: Jody Xiong
Sculpture Production: Yan Bingkai
3D Modeling of Sculptures: Liu Xiaoyan，Hu Mo
Oil Painting Artists: Jody Xiong，Liu Shuang
Oil Painting Drawer: Liu Shuang
Oil Painting Consultant: Chen Wenbiao
Photographer: Zhang Xinhua，Li Qiang
