Framestore Defies Gravity For A Second Time

Up until last year, the mention of the word 'gravity' would conjure up images of apples falling on heads, the earth spinning on its axis and a bunch of people in fishbowl helmets floating around. Now, thanks to the talents of Alfonso Cuaron and the folks at Framestore, it's a parade of intricate tracking shots and Sandra Bullock in her pants (alongside a shelf-full of gleaming awards). However, not content with masterfully recreating weightlessness in the confines of a studio and computerbox, the Framestorers decided to actually experience the phenomenon for themselves, creating a joyful viral for Robinson's 'Squash'd' in the process.

Taking a team of eight up on the infamous 'vomit comet' plane (used to train real-life astronauts), the project saw Framestore Creative Director Mike McGee armed with a handful of Go Pro cameras and two high-speed cameras shooting at 2K, allowing them to slow down and zoom in on the all-important mixing shot. With only 12 takes to get everything, coupled with a startling 15 seconds of weightlessness per take, the film certainly was a formidable task.

We were wowed by the film, so decided to float a few questions past Mr McGee.



The new Robinsons 'Squash'd' spot sees you guys addressing gravity again. Aren't you sick of that particular force by now?

Haha. We're very used to trying to create zero gravity in a normal gravity environment, but what was exciting about this project was it was going into genuine zero gravity.

How did you get involved with the project?

I was taking the Gravity show and tell around town demonstrating the many creative technological solutions we developed, and we were challenged after one of these presentations to shoot something for real rather than creating it inside a computer. That became as much of a challenge as mixing the drink in zero G, seeing if VFX people could shoot something with no effects in it.



What was the process of getting the stunt put together? How did you choose the lucky participants?

We knew from our experiences of going into zero gravity on an aeroplane before that it is like the world's worst, or best, rollercoaster. I knew I wanted to shoot with high-speed cameras so we could slow down any moments that we had captured successfully. When we were casting, we had to choose performers and camera operators that had previous experience of zero gravity, so we weren't encountering the thing that the "vomit comet" is known for.

How much prep was needed for the shoot itself? How do you plan shots in such an unpredictable environment?

We actually looked at lots of NASA experiments that were executed in the ISS or in a zero gravity aircraft. There are examples of people tipping liquid from bottles or showing liquid floating around, so we understood how liquid would behave. What we weren't sure of was if we burst a balloon, would the water stay in one place? Would we have enough time to mix and drink it with a straw before it hit the ceiling or the floor, or gravity returned? So I drew the ideal storyboard and hoped we would get it all in a single take out of the 12, 15-second zero gravity dives we had.



Are there any key aspects needed when shooting weightlessly? We spotted a few cables that could get in the way!

This is all with hindsight, as it's only when you try and do things you realise. For example you start off lying on your back on the floor and an alarm goes off when weightlessness begins and everyone gets up into shooting position. If you push off the floor or a wall with even the slightest bit of pressure you immediately start to move away in the direction you push very quickly. Just standing up gave me too much momentum and I found myself horizontally stuck to the ceiling. My lighting guy ended up lighting a square patch of the ceiling beautifully instead of the water and my script supervisor, who was meant to be ticking the shots off, was facing the wrong way down the plane. You have to make sure everything is tied down like the cables and your spare water balloons and the things in your pockets, because anything that can float away, will float away. Even your coordinator if you don't have a tight grip on him.

The plane that takes you up is known as the 'vomit comet'. Did any of you experience any problems?

We were fortunate that no-one actually vomited. Since I'd been talking about the vomit comet tests we did for Gravity for three months at the presentations, I knew what to expect so took a motion sickness pill, which helped. The thing that did make me feel sick though was every time we finished a parabola without getting a shot we wanted. It was only on the final dive that we got the shot.



You guys are special-effects masters – how much of what we see in the spot is real and did you have to tweak anything?

Much to my amazement we did actually get the hero moment entirely in camera. The pricking of the balloon, the water exploding, squirting the juice and the guy getting his straw in and drinking did actually happen in one take. It was shot with two cameras and I have it as a single take on both. Unfortunately there was a stills photographer taking photos of the people behind us on the plane who were on a recreational flight. His flash was going off throughout our hero take, so a lot of the cuts in the film are to take out the flash frames.

Did the experience change your view on weightlessness? Do you need to re-address any shots in 'Gravity'?

Haha, my personal thought on weightlessness did change. I didn't realise how little control you would have over your direction and momentum – sometimes we would burst the balloon and because the plane was in a dive the blob water would drop straight to the floor, or hit the ceiling. On one shot it went straight towards the guy and by the time he got his straw out it completely custard-pied his face. As for any shots in Gravity, it was made as scientifically as we could, we had astronauts advise our animators on the effects of zero gravity. Artistic license has occasionally been taken, but Alfonso wasn't making a factual documentary, he was telling an entertaining story. Now I understand why we didn't shoot Gravity in zero gravity!



Speaking of Gravity, what's it been like at Framestore since the entire filmic world has given you a hearty pat on the back?

In the days after the BAFTA and Oscar wins there was an air of zero gravity around the office. For the guys involved in the project it was four years of hard work actually paying off and to have the acknowledgement of both academies certainly makes all those hours and hard work mean something. Alfonso fought to have our contribution to the film recognised by repositioning the VFX team to come at the beginning rather than the end of the credits. It's a hugely successful film with great performances and we're proud to have contributed to a real game-changing moment in the industry.

What's up next for you?

I'm directing a lot more projects. Off the back of Gravity we've had some offers come in from very leftfield sources, with some really interested collaborations coming in from beyond the traditional advertising circles.