'Space cadets'
offered a share of Gagarin's limelight
AN independent filmmaker is offering British space
enthusiasts the chance to add their names to a roll-call commemorating Soviet
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (pictured) – the first man to venture into Earth orbit.
For a small sum star-struck cosmo-philes can get their name
included in the credits of 'First Orbit', celebrating the trailblazing
spaceman's historic 1961 flight. The film, put together from original archive
footage by London-based filmmaker Chris Riley, is said to be the first time the
story of Gagarin’s complete spaceflight has been told in his own words
(Russian).
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin inaugurated the era of human
spaceflight when he became the first man to be blasted into Earth orbit on 12
April 1961. The Soviet cosmonaut’s historic voyage in Vostok 1 lasted a ‘mere’
108 minutes. The flight was controlled by auto-pilot – at the time nobody knew
what effects spaceflight might have on a human being – and so Gagarin was only
permitted to assume manual control in an emergency. The capsule’s landing
system was deemed too rough for the cosmonaut to risk, so Gagarin ejected seven
miles high and completed his return home by parachute. Though he might have been more a passenger than a pilot during the flight, it did nothing to detract from the achievement as he stepped into the history books.
 |
| Sunrise over the South Atlantic |
Riley claims his film is already a global YouTube hit, with
almost 3.5 million views. Now, following a growing number of requests, the
producer/director is looking to release the film on DVD and Blu-Ray in 30
different languages later this year.
By selling spaces in the credits, Riley is looking to ‘crowd
fund’ the costs of manufacturing the new release. He has already sold a number
of film credits to people in 15 countries. Essentially, people buy credits to
become an associate or executive producer.
Film credits start from $10. Individuals who pre-order a
copy in either format will also get their name in the credits. There are also
corporate slots on offer, with this 'title sponsor' package set to cost
companies $15,000. Anyone interested in signing up to the roll call of funders
can buy their credits at the 'crowd funding' site Indiegogo.com.
“We’ve created a unique opportunity for people across the UK
to add their names to this historic film, and I hope people will join us in this
way to celebrate what Yuri’s flight still means to the British people,” said
Riley.
 |
| Chris Riley, director/producer, 'First Orbit' |
After completing his PhD at Imperial College, University of
London – where he worked on data from the Spacelab 1 project – Riley embarked
on a career making science documentaries for the BBC. He has worked with the
NASA film archive for the past 15 years on projects ranging from the BBC’s ‘The
Planets’ series to the feature documentary ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’.
Gagarin’s historic flight isn’t the only moving-image celebration
Riley has created. In the summer of 2009, his ‘Apollo Raw and Uncut’ marked the
40th anniversary of the first landing on the moon. The movie was
played at galleries in London and Montreal and it was the first time that the
entire 23 hours of the Apollo mission flight film had been screened in public.
The DVD and Blu-Ray editions of the film are planned for
release in April 2012.
MC
Category: NEWS
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment