Gravity

At Framestore, Sylvan was a senior lighting artist on Gravity. He developed the look of the International Space Station and lit a number of the film’s most recognisable shots, among them Matt (George Clooney) and Ryan (Sandra Bullock) parting on the tether, Matt drifting away, and Ryan falling back towards the station.

He also brought along a lighting technique he first developed for Poseidon at MPC in 2006. Parts of the scene were pre-rendered into 360° HDR lat-long images, which a custom shader then used to light the hero objects. The Arnold engineers, a very talented bunch, quickly added a new camera type at his request to make it possible. Much of the destruction and several key close-ups were lit this way, cutting render times by up to 70%. It’s common practice now, but it was fresh at the time. Gravity went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

A demanding show and a real pleasure, thanks to the lovely and talented Framestore team.