Sound engineer Yuli Chen takes us through three layers of security into the nerve center for the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Recording Studio/Home

8:10 a.m. Hear Hit FM half-dreaming. Remember my gf asked me to set the alarm 10 minutes early.
9:05 Say bye to my gf then go back to bed. Still have the track I was mixing last night in my head.
9:55 Finally wake up, run to the bathroom, read the latest NME.
10:06 Turn on my Neve console, listen to the mix I did yesterday for the opening ceremony. Director Zhang Yimou didn't like the new guqin sound (I moved the mics from six meters to 13 in the hall). I need to change back to the original one.
10:10 Load last night's Protools session and wait for Music Director Chen Qigang to arrive.
10:12 My gf calls, saying she just booked us plane tickets to see Bjork in Shanghai.
10:15 Get the sample library ready, check emails. Jay Messina (Aerosmith producer/engineer) replied, saying he's interested in mastering an album I recorded in Beijing last year.
10:30 The music director arrives. We chat about some opening ceremony stuff-totally confidential.
11:25 Satisfied with the samples, we burn a bunch of disks and start working on another part of the show. This time we are looking for more experimental-sounding stuff.

Lunch

12:55pm Upstairs for lunch with my grandma.

Production Center for the Olympic Opening Ceremony

1:30 The driver is waiting downstairs, Director Chen and I leave for the afternoon meeting with the other directors. 2:07 Must call the entrance manager 10 minutes before we arrive, it's easier to break out of prison than get into the Olympic Opening Ceremony Production Center!
2:15 Go through three security checks before entering the core zone. I'm 15 minutes early, so I wander around the open space. Dir. Zhang and Dir. Chen are inspecting a new model of drum they created specially for the Opening Ceremony. Suddenly I see a familiar face, Ma Yansong, founder of MAD, a leading Beijing architecture firm. Turns out he will be teaming up with one of the most secret departments to design the stadium flame torch.
2:25 On the way back from the bathroom, I chat with Dir. Zhang's assistant. She always tries out some French, but our conversation doesn't go beyond “Salut!” and “C'est Bon!”

The Big Meeting

2:30 Meeting starts. We talk about coordinating video/computer graphics, music and live/broadcast teams. We need deadlines for the final recordings so other crews can start programming and rehearsals. 4:15 Towards the end of the meeting, we are informed that we need to attend a rehearsal in Da Xin this weekend for one of the pieces we are working on. 4:20 Back to the studio, call my gf on the way. She thinks the track I sent is pretty well balanced. She asks me to do some grocery shopping so we don't starve tonight.

four

5:25 The lines are enormous, but I find one with only four carts!

Studio

5:40 Do the dishes and take out some scallops from the fridge to thaw.

THE VERDICT

We're officially jealous. Yuli gets to watch the biggest show in Beijing history from the privileged confines of the giant control facility. “The thought of working on one of the biggest shows ever produced in China turns even the toughest tasks into excitement! I gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience by working with today's top creative and technical professionals.”