It's no secret that designers often look to other disciplines for inspiration: even as we present our first Sustainability in 7 series and bring you the latest from Milan, we also like to put things into perspective once in a while. Filmmaker Christopher Riley's "First Orbit" fits the bill perfectly, lying somewhere between 105 and 106 à la Eames.
The premise is simple: tomorrow marks the 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's claim to fame as the first human in space. On April 12, 1961, the cosmonaut (not to be confused with the iPad accessory) spent 108 minutes in orbit, recording his experience on (audio) tape and just a few photographs. Riley sought to interpolate the visuals with the help of European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, augmenting the footage with a truly epic score by Philip Sheppard.
Read all about it: In a unique collaboration with the European Space Agency, and the Expedition 26/27 crew of the International Space Station, we have created a new film of what Gagarin first witnessed fifty years ago.
By matching the orbital path of the Space Station, as closely as possible, to that of Gagarin's Vostok 1 spaceship and filming the same vistas of the Earth through the new giant cupola window, astronaut Paolo Nespoli, and documentary film maker Christopher Riley, have captured a new digital high definition view of the Earth below, half a century after Gagarin first witnessed it.
Weaving these new views together with historic, recordings of Gagarin from the time, (subtitled in Englsih) and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, we have created a spellbinding film to share with people around the world on this historic anniversary.
Nowness offers another trailer:
Watch the entire film for free when it goes live tomorrow!
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