Some Impressive Technology Helps You Feel the Weight of the New Film “Gravity”

Source: http://www.thenationsjournal.com/tech/some-impressive-technology-helps-you-feel-the-weight-of-the-new-film-gravity/

Gravity, out in theaters now, is more than a movie.  It’s a visceral thrill ride set in the emptiness of space, and every aspect of it is an impressive testament to the medium of cinema.  At a lean 91 minutes, this movie has your on th edge of your seat, immersed in every twist and turn George Clooney and Sandra Bullock go through.  Some impressive technology went in to making this possible, so let’s take a look at it.

1.  The 3D

3D has been an on and off trend in movies since the time they were invented.  3D is often touted as an extra level of immersion, but can come off as a gimmick.  Gravity uses it as a tool, instead of a gimmick.  The 3D in the movie is vital, allowing you to experience the vast emptiness of space.  The 3D is used to put the danger and floating space objects in your face as well, no doubt about that.  But for the most part, it serves to give depth to the big picture, emphasizing just how small and alone we are in the vastness of the galaxy.

2.  The Real Technology

We went to the moon in 1969.  In the 45 years since, we’ve made a handful of trips back and forth, and launched probes and telescopes and rovers to many far reaches.  The thing is, all of this is real.  The stuff of legend and magic even 100 years ago is now a routine occurrence.  Gravity takes place around satellites, space stations, space suits, jet packs, and a smattering of other space objects.  They were painstakingly researched and put on screen, and serve to impress us with their mere existence.  The things we’ve accomplished take center stage in the movie.

3.  The Behind the Scenes Technology

Gravity retains its awe inspiring traits behind the camera as well.  Since a movie couldn’t be shot in space without great time and expense, most of Gravity was shot in front of a green screen and filled in with computers.  This basically means that the director, Alfonso Cuaron, took his two actors and placed them in a digital playground.  He & his team had to construct the vastness of space, the Earth, the stars, the sun, the lights in the sky, everything.  They took their work, whittled it down, and carefully placed it in every frame, 24 per second, for 91 minutes of film.  That’s an impressive feat.

4.  The Music

Gravity boats an impressive score.  It’s heavy, well implemented, and inspiring.  The music has what can be simply called gravitas.  The best soundtracks serve to enhance the emotions we already feel, instead of telling us how to feel.  Think of the tension of the climactic battle of Star Wars: A New Hope, or the rise of wonder one feels as the Fellowship of the Ring makes its way across the open wild of Middle Earth.  The music of Gravity makes use of the bass and multiple channels of modern theater sound.  Combined with the 3D and its makes the film all that much more involving.

5.  The Magic of Movies

Movies are regarded as passive entertainment, but every now and again a movie makes an effort to actively involve you in the story and events on the screen.  A close comparison to Gravity would be 2001: A Space Odyssey.  2001 is a slow, contemplative movie about man’s place and evolution, as examined with speculative technology and different stories.  Gravity has similar themes, but with a narrow focus on one story, and a breakneck pace that forces both the characters and the audience to make decisions and come to realizations.  Movies can grab you and force you into a situation like that in a way that no other medium can.