20 Things You Somehow Missed In Gravity
3. The Story Behind The Film's Opening Shot
Gravity's stunning 13-minute-long one take is a masterclass in seamless VFX work and precise cinematography, and its complete, immersive nature would have worked as a short story on its own. Therefore, it is no surprise that the process behind realizing it was painstaking, to say the least.
Despite having experience with long takes (especially the incredible one in Children of Men), cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki knew that this opening sequence would be the most challenging he had ever encountered.
Alongside the film's production designer, VFX supervisor, editor and sound mixer, the DP stated that the initial goal was to immediately grab the audience's attention and highlight the existential meaning of seeing the Earth through the character's eyes.
In addition to this, it was revealed how the shot selection, lighting, geography and limited soundscape all came together to create this incredible sequence.