Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Jessica Alba stood before the massive LED screen, gazing at the simulated cosmic visuals captured by the camera reflecting in her eyes.

Since the eye's area is tiny, this shot didn't demand ultra-high resolution; even lower-pixel LED reflections maintained quality. These reflections weren't just for eyes—they enhanced other reflective surfaces like the spacesuit helmet or Hubble lens.

The next shot required intricate camera work.

"Leo, the shot starts in Jessica's POV, looking out from her helmet, with reflections in the visor, then through the glass to an external wide shot."

"POV effect?"

"Yes. After the disaster, viewers follow Ryan Stone in objective view until switching to her POV. I want to show her subjective experience, boosting immersion."

"OK, got it."

…

Gravity was essentially a one-woman show. For such films to succeed, the script needed clever twists.

Thus, Martin made Ryan Stone's journey home more perilous than Odysseus's odyssey—not quite 81 trials, but nine:

First trial: Ryan Stone (Jessica) is flung far from the shuttle by satellite debris. Survivor Matt Kowalski (Leonardo) rescues her.

Second: Oxygen running low, they race to the International Space Station kilometers away. Just as they near, they overshoot, crashing into it. Matt, to not drag her down, releases his tether, drifting into the void.

Third: Oxygen nearly depleted, Ryan blacks out but finds the station's hatch, opening it with her last breath. Inside, she curls like a fetus in the womb, safety enveloping her—and the audience.

Fourth: Regaining consciousness, Ryan calls for Matt, but the station's on fire. In a desperate moment, she escapes to Soyuz 2.

Fifth: As Ryan prepares to detach, the Soyuz's parachute snags the station. She spaceswalks to cut it free, dodging a debris wave at her brow.

Sixth: Back inside, Ryan discovers no fuel. Her only hope: Russia's Mir space station nearby.

Seventh: Ingeniously activating the soft-landing system for thrust, she glides toward Mir, ejecting at the last second with a fire extinguisher for reverse propulsion, successfully docking.

Eighth: Mir, hit by debris, plummets toward Earth. Alarms blare; Ryan enters the Mir capsule, blindly operating controls to separate the orbital module. Amid violent shaking, the craft enters the atmosphere, igniting like a red meteor streaking Earthward.

Ninth trial: The capsule splashes into a lake and sinks. Ryan must open the hatch before it hits bottom—water pressure would make it impossible otherwise.

Layered tension, inching toward death—these were Martin's hooks beyond VFX.

[GodOfReader: Yeah, i know that it's not the Mir space station.]

…

Jessica tumbled and rolled under the arm's control.

To her right-front, high-speed cameras on robotic arms hurtled toward her.

Of course, the heavy rigs wouldn't actually hit; it was visual trickery.

This was Jessica's sixth take. Earlier ones, she'd flinched as the "debris" neared her face.

She'd done similar before, but that first collision was from the side—less intense.

This was head-on.

Human instinct betrayed her; the rigs barreled at 40 mph.

Don't blink, don't blink, don't blink…

Under the lens, Jessica's eyes widened, her beautiful face twisting fiercely.

Too intense? Jessica thought.

Martin felt it was just right. Facing life-or-death, exaggerated emotion was natural!

The take nailed it.

Next: the film's opening—an 18-minute cosmic vista shaking audiences.

No acting—just pure visuals of space's grandeur.

"We need a fully articulated camera," Martin said after conferring with VFX. "I've had the team create a virtual environment. Now, figure out compositing the actors in."

He pondered: "Split this into two parts: 13 minutes establishing, then a 5-minute close-up, forming one long shot."

The challenge: seamless flow.

Long takes thrived on immersion. For Gravity, fewer cuts meant more interaction between viewer and character, like real-time witnessing.

To ensure natural camera motion, instead of keyframe animatics, Martin opted for a motion-capture system in a small capture volume.

The cinematographer could maneuver the mini-rig freely, controlling parameters and structure, with post tweaks for zero-G authenticity.

"This way, no cuts. We follow Jessica's motion in one frame. The opening's two shots merge into one."

The cinematographer mulled it over, awed. "Brilliant idea."