In a peculiar way, Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity brings to mind the ending of John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon’s 1972 seminal student film Dark Star – where the characters of Talby and Doolittle are forced to fend for themselves following the destruction of their ship.

It’s not enough to wow people—you need a good story reason for the technology, which all of the above directors had in spades. This curious dichotomy also extends to Gravity’s creation, with Cuarón and his colleagues having to employ the very latest, cutting-edge filmmaking techniques and technologies at every stage of the production process to bring this surprisingly intimate and humanistic tale to life. Parks and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki had run tests with Arri Alexas cameras with 3D rigs, but the bulk and weight made achieving the fluid weightlessness Cuarón wanted impossible.Despite the occasional bolt or tear drop spinning towards you, most of the 3D on display here is subtle and far from gimmicky.

Because of the scene's choreography, I can understand why it looks like, to some, as though these two characters have stopped, when they're still arcing outwards at the end of the parachute straps.

When Kowalski asks Stone to let go of him because the rope will not hold them both, that could never happen because they are both in the same orbit around the earth. Now the couple’s only chance of survival is to reach the International Space Station before their oxygen runs out.

At the time of Gravity's release, Nolan was busy shooting his own space odyssey, Interstellar, with IMAX cameras. Parks — who is supervising the 3D on Doug Liman‘s Edge of Tomorrow — likens native and postconverted stereo to the creative choice between special (in-camera) and visual (produced in the computer) effects. If you are a California resident, California law may consider certain disclosures of data a “sale” of your personal information (such as cookies that help Motion Picture Association later serve you ads, like we discuss in our Privacy Policy here), and may give you the right to opt out.I saw it just before Christmas in Imax 3D and yes it was amazing, but I dare say it’s still impressive in 2D. We were able to make narrative use of 3D because Alfonso had integrated 3D with cinematography, visual effects and every other craft department from the outset,” Parks says.