Apogee of Fear
Encyclopedia
Apogee of Fear is an unreleased science-fiction narrative motion picture made in space. Filmed by Richard Garriott
from a script and production elements he contracted from fantasy novelist Tracy Hickman
, the film's principal photography was accomplished during Garriott's time aboard the International Space Station
as a spaceflight participant
on October 12, 2008.
, Oleg Kononenko
, and astronauts Michael Fincke and Greg Chamitoff as the stars of the never-to-be-made film. Richard Garriott is billed as 'The Gunfight Participant' – a satirical nod to his official status as a 'Spaceflight Participant
.' These six were all the crew aboard the International Space Station during Garriott's time aboard. After this preview, the film proper begins.
A series of motion graphics under the credits leads us to a Soyuz spacecraft
departing the International Space Station
, bearing Garriott, Volkov, and Kononenko back to earth. Finke and Chamitoff wave goodbye but express their relief at Garriott's leaving as he was annoying them with his constant talk of computer games. Lonchakov insists that they all go back to work.
One week later, Chamitoff and Fincke are both missing Garriott. Chamitoff could no longer juggle
without Garriott, and Fincke knew Garriott was good at settling arguments about which of them was standing upside down. At this point Lonchakov points out that the oxygen use aboard the station is too high. Everyone theorizes wildly about the cause which universally involve interstellar aliens invading the station. A search of ridiculous locations on the station ensues during which the surprising nature of the alien is discovered.
The completed film is just over eight minutes in length. It includes numerous references to classic science-fiction movies including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet
and Galaxy Quest
.
. Once Garriott approved the script, the 'false preview' and 'opening credits' elements of the movie were produced prior to the flight and preloaded onto Garriott's flight camera. The opening credits were laid over graphics created by professional motion graphics artist Curtis Hickman, Tracy Hickman's son. Background video elements for the 'preview' were shot by Hickman at various locations outside St. George, Utah
. Green screen
elements of Helen Garriott — Richard's mother — were filmed in her home in Las Vegas
.
Project Icarus had some very stringent requirements: the film could not impact the crew work schedule, could not significantly add to the payload weight and volume restrictions, and had to be a fully executed and complete story. In addition to the video elements, Hickman produced a PowerPoint
presentation file containing the shooting directions and cue cards (both in English and Russian) which could be displayed on a laptop aboard the ISS
for the crew during filming.
on October 12, 2008, carrying with him a project code named Icarus: a project to create the first science-fiction movie ever actually filmed in space.
The original script was written for the equal participation of all six people aboard. When Garriott presented the idea to the cosmonauts and astronauts aboard, all were enthusiastic about the project but ultimately Volkov and Kononenko declined to participate for personal reasons although they still supported the project. This required Garriott to restructure the shooting of the script and the script itself while on orbit.
Scenes were filmed in sequence during the crew's personal time so as not to impact their work schedule in any way. The scenes were filmed over several days and thereby only took a few minutes to set up and shoot sequences on any given day.
immediately after his flight, he uploaded the HD video source files from his camera to a secure internet server, allowing Hickman to download them almost immediately to his office in South Jordan, Utah
. Rough cut
s of the film were completed within a week. The original film was produced in 16:9 widescreen
format at 1080i HD resolution. This was subsequently rendered down to anamorphic widescreen
NTSC standard.
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
from a script and production elements he contracted from fantasy novelist Tracy Hickman
Tracy Hickman
Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
, the film's principal photography was accomplished during Garriott's time aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
as a spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant is the term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew...
on October 12, 2008.
Plot
The film starts with a faux preview for a non-existent movie, The Magnificent Five Plus One, which promotes cosmonauts Sergey Volkov, Yuri LonchakovYuri Lonchakov
Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two career spacewalks.- Personal :...
, Oleg Kononenko
Oleg Kononenko
Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko is a Russian cosmonaut.- Personal :Kononenko was born June 21, 1964, in Chardzhou, Turkmen SSR. He is married to Tatiana Mikhailovna Kononenko . They have a son, Andrey Olegovich Kononenko, and a daughter, Alisa Olegovna Kononenko. Kononenko enjoys reading, and team...
, and astronauts Michael Fincke and Greg Chamitoff as the stars of the never-to-be-made film. Richard Garriott is billed as 'The Gunfight Participant' – a satirical nod to his official status as a 'Spaceflight Participant
Spaceflight participant
Spaceflight participant is the term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew...
.' These six were all the crew aboard the International Space Station during Garriott's time aboard. After this preview, the film proper begins.
A series of motion graphics under the credits leads us to a Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
departing the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
, bearing Garriott, Volkov, and Kononenko back to earth. Finke and Chamitoff wave goodbye but express their relief at Garriott's leaving as he was annoying them with his constant talk of computer games. Lonchakov insists that they all go back to work.
One week later, Chamitoff and Fincke are both missing Garriott. Chamitoff could no longer juggle
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
without Garriott, and Fincke knew Garriott was good at settling arguments about which of them was standing upside down. At this point Lonchakov points out that the oxygen use aboard the station is too high. Everyone theorizes wildly about the cause which universally involve interstellar aliens invading the station. A search of ridiculous locations on the station ensues during which the surprising nature of the alien is discovered.
The completed film is just over eight minutes in length. It includes numerous references to classic science-fiction movies including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
and Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
.
Cast
- Yuri LonchakovYuri LonchakovYury Valentinovich Lonchakov is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two career spacewalks.- Personal :...
as Himself - Michael Fincke as Himself
- Greg Chamitoff as Himself
- Richard GarriottRichard GarriottRichard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
as "The Spaceflight Participant"
Pre-production
Under contract with Garriott, Hickman quietly began development and pre-production under the cover title of Project IcarusIcarus
-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...
. Once Garriott approved the script, the 'false preview' and 'opening credits' elements of the movie were produced prior to the flight and preloaded onto Garriott's flight camera. The opening credits were laid over graphics created by professional motion graphics artist Curtis Hickman, Tracy Hickman's son. Background video elements for the 'preview' were shot by Hickman at various locations outside St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
. Green screen
Green Screen
The Green Screen international wildlife film festival is held annually in Eckernförde, Germany. The festival shows full-length and short nature documentaries about animals in their natural habitat. It is the only festival of its kind in Germany...
elements of Helen Garriott — Richard's mother — were filmed in her home in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Project Icarus had some very stringent requirements: the film could not impact the crew work schedule, could not significantly add to the payload weight and volume restrictions, and had to be a fully executed and complete story. In addition to the video elements, Hickman produced a PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
presentation file containing the shooting directions and cue cards (both in English and Russian) which could be displayed on a laptop aboard the ISS
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
for the crew during filming.
Production
Garriott, as a private space explorer, flew into earth orbit aboard Soyuz TMA-13Soyuz TMA-13
Soyuz TMA-13 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station . The spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket at 07:01 GMT on 12 October 2008. It undocked at 02:55 GMT on 8 April 2009, performed a deorbit burn at 06:24, and landed at 07:16...
on October 12, 2008, carrying with him a project code named Icarus: a project to create the first science-fiction movie ever actually filmed in space.
The original script was written for the equal participation of all six people aboard. When Garriott presented the idea to the cosmonauts and astronauts aboard, all were enthusiastic about the project but ultimately Volkov and Kononenko declined to participate for personal reasons although they still supported the project. This required Garriott to restructure the shooting of the script and the script itself while on orbit.
Scenes were filmed in sequence during the crew's personal time so as not to impact their work schedule in any way. The scenes were filmed over several days and thereby only took a few minutes to set up and shoot sequences on any given day.
Post Production
Upon Garriott's return to his quarters in Star City, RussiaStar City, Russia
Star City is a common name of an area in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center...
immediately after his flight, he uploaded the HD video source files from his camera to a secure internet server, allowing Hickman to download them almost immediately to his office in South Jordan, Utah
South Jordan, Utah
South Jordan is a city in the U.S. state of Utah. The city lies in the Salt Lake Valley between the peaks of the Oquirrh Mountains and the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains and is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
. Rough cut
Rough cut
In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The rough cut is the first stage in which the film begins to resemble its final product...
s of the film were completed within a week. The original film was produced in 16:9 widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
format at 1080i HD resolution. This was subsequently rendered down to anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
NTSC standard.