Gravity uses ‘Light Box’ to create illusion of space

Light Box used in Gravity

Reviewers and technologists are raving about the realism of Gravity , the movie starring Sandra Bullock as an astronaut stranded in space, as well as George Clooney. One of the key technologies behind Gravity’s amazingly detailed portrayal of space is the Light Box, an enclosure that allowed the technical crew of the movie to simulate the lighting of space, where the sun is the only source of light. The majority of the film was shot inside this box, crafting the very complex illusion that Bullock and Clooney were actually floating in space as well as allowing the actors to experience some of the isolation of space life.

The movie required intricate lighting and visual effects that would effectively simulate the complex colors and zero gravity of space, a problem that was nearly impossible to solve using the normal technology. While Gravity also received unofficial advice from astronauts, NASA workers, and others familiar with life in space, the realism of the movie comes from the Light Box.

 Light Box where majority of Gravity was filmed

Gravity cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and visual-effects supervisor Tim Webber came up with the Light Box, a 20-foot tall, 10-feet wide enclosure with 196 video panels, each containing a total of 4,096 three-sided, computer-controlled LEDs, in order to realistically portray the brightness and speed of light in space. Both the technology and what it achieved are stunning.

Actors and set pieces could be placed safely inside the Light Box, while those LEDs could be programmed by visual-effects technicians to project moving images of Earth and space and individual LEDs could be instantaneously changed for the rapid-shifting lighting the movie required. The images were projected inside the box, giving the actors real, tangible scenes they could react to as well as rapid lighting, a large step-up from the more traditional green screen.

 Bullock and Clooney on the set of Gravity

For many of her iconic scenes, Sandra Bullock was strapped inside the Light Box with a carbon-fiber harness molded to her body, a situation that definitely added to her performance in the film, according to the actress. This allowed Gravity’s technical and visual-effects crew to simulate Bullock spinning in space, when in reality it was the shifting light patterns of the Light Box that were spinning around Bullock as her harness was manipulated by carbon-fiber wires. The entire enclosure spun around her as she was strapped in, projecting motion, light, earth rises and stars onto her face and body in order to create the illusion that Bullock was spinning head-over-heels in space.

Without the Light Box, Gravity would not have one-tenth of its realism, because the enclosure allowed the crew to manipulate nuances of the space illusion that would have been lost or impossible for other equipment. It is definitely one of the most interesting pieces of technology to come out of Hollywood.

Sources:All LED Lighting, NBC News, and Space.com