posted 01-10-2007 03:20 PM               

One of the defining passages in American history, the Apollo space program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Between 1968 and 1972, nine American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon, and 12 men walked upon its surface. They remain the only human beings to have stood on ground beyond our planet. For the first time ever, all surviving crew members from the Apollo missions tell their story in their own words.

Visually stunning original NASA film footage--much of it never seen before--is interwoven with riveting firsthand testimony. The result is an intimate epic that vividly conveys the daring and the danger, the pride and the passion of this extraordinary era in American history. Personal camera interviews expose the astronauts as fun loving, emotional, and very human. Audio recordings from Mission Control lend a strikingly fresh immediacy to well-known historic moments. Astonishing space shots capture the Earth in all its glory and reveal the Apollo program with a visual clarity and impact it has never had before.

Seamlessly melding the wonders of science with the drama of the human quest, filmmaker David Sington has crafted a nostalgic and inspiring cinematic experience that provides unparalleled perspective on the fragile state of our planet.

posted 01-10-2007 05:50 PM               

If you get a chance to chat with the director or producer on this one I'd love to know specifically what footage was "never seen before," and their documentation behind this.

I just discovered in some old emails early this year when the producers contacted me for material for this film and that Dave Scott was somehow involved. I believe it was financed by Channel 4 in the UK. They mentioned having our DVD sets and asked a lot of questions about some of the audio loops on our sets.

posted 01-10-2007 09:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by ColinBurgess:
Does anyone know about this new British documentary, which apparently covers the moon landing era?

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posted 01-11-2007 09:13 AM               

I'd add that over a year ago I was contacted by a production company in Canada that was doing some documentary with a lunar title. I cannot remember the specifics, although I might have some paperwork associated with it.

TV production companies are rather shifty, in my opinion. These guys wanted to use some photos that I had, for free. I told them that I don't provide material to commercial organizations for free (as a colleague once said, "tell them that they are not working for free, so why should you?"). They didn't like that, so they then went to a partner of mine and tried to obtain the same material from him, hoping that he had gotten it from me. It was pretty sneaky, if you ask me. Ultimately, after failing for many months to obtain the material otherwise, they came back and paid me. But I cannot remember what they were really working on other than that it dealt with the space race in the 1960s.

My colleague had a similar encounter with (I think) an entirely different production company. They wanted him to photocopy and FedEx them a 700 page document, promising to "reimburse" him after he had done it. They were also rather pushy. I told him to have them pay him as a consultant, because they were assuming that his time and expertise were free.

posted 01-11-2007 10:07 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spacecraft films:
The associate producer who contacted me on this project was Chris Riley. hmmmm...

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posted 01-11-2007 11:33 AM               

They seemed to have made extensive interviews with all the key players, and Dave Scott was involved in the production

I know they also spent a lot of time with Charlie Duke. And I was recommended to them by Alan Bean when they were filming him at work in his art studio.

posted 01-19-2007 09:25 PM               

Discovery Films Strikes Deal for Apollo Missions Documentary In the Shadow of the Moon

Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) and its Discovery Films unit have acquired rights to DOX Productions' and Passion Films' In the Shadow of the Moon. Discovery Films, the theatrical documentary unit of DCI, will have an equity interest in North American theatrical distribution, branding rights and exclusive North American television rights to the film. The announcement was made prior to the film's world premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema Competition on Friday, January 19.

"In the Shadow of the Moon captures a pivotal time in American history that touched and inspired the world," said Billy Campbell, president, Discovery Networks, U.S. "Incorporating drama, humor and the determination of the human spirit, In the Shadow of the Moon is storytelling at its finest and a perfect addition to Discovery Films portfolio of groundbreaking productions."

Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe each time an American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon. Only 12 American men walked upon its surface and they remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. Now for the first, and very possibly the last, time In the Shadow of the Moon brings together surviving crew members from the Apollo missions to tell their stories in their own words.

In the Shadow of the Moon interweaves visually stunning archive material from the original NASA film footage, much of it never before seen, with riveting first-hand testimony. Directed by award-winning filmmaker David Sington, In the Shadow of the Moon is an intimate epic, which vividly communicates the daring and the danger, the pride and the passion of this extraordinary era in American history.

"All of us at DOX Productions feel immensely privileged to have spent time with the Apollo astronauts during the making of this film. They are true pioneers and genuine American heroes," said Sington.

Beautifully shot in high definition, the film includes interviews with the astronauts including Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). The astronauts emerge as eloquent, witty, emotional and very human.

In the Shadow of the Moon features exclusive NASA film footage including astonishing space shots re-mastered from the original film rolls to reveal the Apollo program with a visual clarity and impact it has never had before. The mute 16mm rolls shot in Mission Control have been painstakingly lip-synced with the 16-track audio recordings of the mission controllers' voice loop to re-unite the pictures and sound of many historic moments for the first time, lending a striking immediacy to many dramatic scenes.

Discovery Films' In the Shadow of the Moon is produced by DOX Productions in association with Passion Pictures. The film's producer is Duncan Copp with co-producer Chris Riley and executive producers Simon Andreae, John Battsek and Julie Goldman. Editor is David Fairhead with original music by Philip Sheppard. The agreement was negotiated by CAA, Simon Andreae and Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.

Following its theatrical engagement, In the Shadow of the Moon will have its television premiere on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater.

posted 01-21-2007 06:22 PM            

The newly restored footage was nothing short of stunning and the documentary brought nearly the entire audience to tears.

posted 01-22-2007 03:29 AM               

"I have two moons in my head."

That's Mike Collins, the pilot of the command module for Apollo 11, at the beginning of the movie. The moon all earthlings know and the moon he circled.

"I didn't sense any invitation from the moon to come into its domain," Collins recalls. "It was a hostile place, a scary place."

Only 12 men walked upon its surface. Three of them are dead. One, Neil Armstrong, is something of a recluse. But the other eight? For the first and perhaps last time, a filmmaker gathered these most rare human specimens together and let them describe in their own words what it felt it like -- and what it meant to them -- to visit another world.

posted 01-22-2007 06:19 AM               

In the film, the producers include a clip from a 16mm camera that was mounted inside one of the Saturn rocket boosters. The camera captures the Apollo spacecraft in the moment of "trans-lunar injection," when it rockets away toward the moon. In the shot, you see Apollo fly away into a vast darkness, and then the booster begins to turn, and the Earth looms into view. Sington calls it the greatest sequence from space he has ever seen. He includes the entire two minutes.

posted 01-22-2007 01:11 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spacecraft films:
Will be interesting to see the interviews and some of the other ways the onboard film is used. I hope this particular shot is not used to represent TLI in the actual film.

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Sadly, I think some producers use whatever is visually interesting to capture an event, even if it has nothing to do with that event. I've seen the rolling re-entry footage from Gemini II used for a multitude of things, including TLI. Most of the time, it's used to represent a rock firing in space...even though it's nothing of the sort.

How many editors have seen that footage and said "use it" even though they saw the parachute deploy at the end of the clip (but edited out that bit, of course). Sadly, the "For All Mankind" film is guilty of this too.

I'd rather have them used the S-IVB footage, as it's the correct stage...even if it's not the correct event in the mission. Even better, of course, is to not show footage if such an event was never captured on film. Use animation or use interiew clips. Cernan does a great job explaining how he saw the horizon of the earth curve into a circle. Just keeping the camera on him while he explains it (then cut to footage of the Earth from after TLI) is more than enough.

posted 01-22-2007 03:18 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
I'd rather have them used the S-IVB footage, as it's the correct stage...even if it's not the correct event in the mission.

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With a Spacecraft Films product we know that what we see is from the correct mission and chronologically in the right order. In that respect, we have been a bit spoilt by Mark - it's now really easy to spot the wrong film being used, because we know from the SF sets where the film actually comes from. In the past it might have taken a real howler to be noticeable, whereas now it's easy to spot a lazy editor who can't be bothered to find the right shot. Or in this case, actually used the wrong shot to claim it as a scoop, when it is nothing of the sort. To have the shot of the S-IVB in the film they must have taken the original footage and cleaned it so that it is of reasonable broadcast standard. Be interesting to see how "similar" the cleanup of their copy is to the same footage in the SF Mighty Saturns set - a set that predates their film by at least a couple of years :-)

The documentary itself sounds good - so why do they have to spoil it with these nonsensical claims. I guess it's possible that the guys from the Washington Post misunderstood what was being shown to them, although the review reads as though, at the very least, the director was happy to string them along. I mean, if this was TLI, what was the film being shot from? A passing camera? The second stage has been dropped off an orbit back! Who are they trying to kid!!

posted 01-22-2007 04:20 PM               

You'd be amazed at the things (and some of the people who should know better) that have challenged me on the origins of some of the footage.

For example - there is footage from the Apollo 9 onboards of some sort of liquid dump (the constellation Urion?) that gets used all the time for oxygen coming from the Apollo 13 service module. There isn't any footage of oxygen escaping from the Apollo 13 service module. But this Apollo 9 footage has been used in at least one documentary as the Apollo 13 problem.

The Apollo 14 lunar liftoff footage is constantly used as the Apollo 11 lunar liftoff. Why? It is nice footage and has the flag fluttering. And there is no footage of the Apollo 11 lunar liftoff. Buzz started the camera a few seconds after liftoff. I can't tell you how many times I've been challenged on this (told that there really is footage of the Apollo 11 liftoff) because someone "saw it used on... PBS...The History Channel... the Discovery Channel... etc, etc." I even was challenged on this one time because it was in the movie "The Dish." (The Dish also used a J mission lunar liftoff during this sequence.) I love the movie, but that stuff isn't from Apollo 11.

posted 01-27-2007 11:46 PM               

The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's closing Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah... Awards were given to both dramatic and documentary films screening in the four competitive categories: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The films in these categories were also eligible for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences. The premier showcase for U.S. independent film, the Film Festival is an important new platform for international independent film and screens films that embody risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation.

...the World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was given to In The Shadow Of The Moon/United Kingdom, directed by David Sington. One of the defining passages of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet.

THINKFilm has acquired North American rights to In the Shadow of the Moon, a documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker David Sington that brings together the surviving crew members from the Apollo missions to tell their stories by interweaving stunning archival footage with first-hand testimony. The deal was announced by the company's President and CEO, Jeff Sackman, who plans to release the film in theatrical engagements in 2007 in association with Discovery Films.

In the Shadow of the Moon is an intimate epic, which vividly communicates the daring and the danger, the pride and the passion, of this extraordinary era in American history. Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe each time an American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon. Only 12 American men walked upon its surface and they remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. Now for the first, and very possibly the last, time, In the Shadow of the Moon combines archival material from the original NASA film footage, much of it never before seen, with interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). The astronauts emerge as eloquent, witty, emotional and very human.

In the Shadow of the Moon features exclusive NASA film footage including astonishing space shots re-mastered from the original film rolls to reveal the Apollo program with a visual clarity and impact it has never had before. The mute 16mm rolls shot in Mission Control have been painstakingly lip-synced with the 16-track audio recordings of the mission controllers' voice loop to re-unite the pictures and sound of many historic moments for the first time, lending a striking immediacy to many dramatic scenes.

"I am thrilled to be working with THINKFilm," says director Sington. "We share the same vision for this film and I am confident that we will be able to bring it to a very wide audience in North America so that everyone can share the magic of Apollo."

THINKFilm's Head of U.S. Theatrical, Mark Urman, adds, "Everything about In the Shadow of the Moon is grand — its emotion, its size and scale, and its audience appeal. We are excited to be involved with a film that has this much quality and this much potential."

And Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, U.S., says, "Discovery Films is thrilled to collaborate with THINKFilm to bring In the Shadow of the Moon's inspirational and important messages to audiences across the nation."

In the Shadow of the Moon is directed by David Sington, produced by Duncan Copp, co-produced by Chris Riley, executive produced by Simon Andreae, John Battsek and Julie Goldman, with original music by Philip Sheppard, cinematography by Clive North, and editing by David Fairhead. Following its theatrical engagement, In the Shadow of the Moon will have its television premiere on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater.

The deal was negotiated by Urman, Randy Manis, THINKFilm Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Business Affairs, and Michael Baker, THINKFilm Vice President of Acquisitions, and CAA and Submarine with executive producer Simon Andreae on behalf of the filmmakers.

posted 03-21-2007 09:09 PM               

Hot Docs lineup goes to the moon and back

Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary festival, opens this year with the Canadian premiere of In The Shadow of the Moon, a new U.S. documentary about the handful of men who have walked on the moon.

posted 03-24-2007 11:45 AM            

On March 31st and April 1st, "In the Shadow of the Moon" will be playing at the Regal Winter Park Village Theaters.

More details can be found here.

posted 04-21-2007 08:31 AM               

Some of my impressions... A very skilled and well put together film, best general NASA/Apollo doc to date. The Moonwalkers were very funny and engaging, their humanity really shines through. Mike Collins (particularly), Charlie Duke, Alan Bean came across well, although unfortunately John Young, Dave Scott, and Jack Schmitt seem slighted, and didn't have much face time... Most of the footage we've seen before via Mark Gray/Spacecraft Films, although some nice footage of the MOCR from Apollo 11/ Charlie Duke working as CAPCOM which I haven't seen before.

Some slight concerns about historical representation and accuracy (which Mark has taught us) of the footage which bugged me ; for example, Apollo 12 LM undocking DAC footage, Apollo 14 Lunar liftoff DAC footage used to represent Apollo 11, some purported TLI footage from the S IV-B which seems dubious. But these are concerns of us Apollo fanatics which doesn't seem to bother general observers.

posted 04-21-2007 08:42 AM               

And Apollo 14 used AGAIN for Apollo 11 lunar liftoff? They couldn't even be original in their misrepresentations.

So why should we care about this? The same reasons we care if a written history is historically accurate. If you were reading a book on some aspect of space history, and ran across facts you knew were false, you'd hold the rest of the work in question. How can things you don't know be trusted from the author? And you'd recognize that it was not something you'd want those who weren't as knowledgable about space history to consume... because then they'd have the wrong facts. Audiovisual history should be held to the same standard. If you're making a work of fiction, have at it. If you're making a documentary about real facts, accuracy should be paramount.

posted 04-23-2007 04:11 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spacecraft films:
I suppose they don't care about historical accuracy.

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As filmmakers we, as well as every one making a documentary on the Apollo years, have to deal with the problem of using the footage that exists with historical accuracy. When you have the bulk of in flight footage and DAC footage and transmitted "footage" from Apollo 14 on (I guess the J series), there is going to be a problem with the early flights when depicting specific events. One has to resort to some form of re-creation, animation, or other manufactured image.

If you have the wherewithal to create images as in "Magnificent Desolation", that's one way to solve the problem. If you have a limited budget, this compounds the problem, although may increase the creativity needed to find your solution.

Don't get me wrong, the responsibility of the filmmaker is to be true to the historical accuracy of the footage used. No contest. What is a problem is in the subjective, artistic, and emotional components of filmmaking - to be able to convey a "feeling" that is as important as the accuracy of the footage is also a valid approach - as long as the filmmaker informs the audience that this was done.

I know you will probably disagree. All I can say is that when we were screening early versions of our film, I informed the assembled that some footage was used out of context not as a malicious misrepresentaion of fact, but to highlight the story being told. We tried to be as historically accurate as possible with our footage while being true to the nature of each story.

posted 04-23-2007 05:13 PM               

And yes, we'll probably disagree on this issue. Unless the footage is identified in the film as being out of context, you're just not being honest with your audience.

There are other artistic ways of going about visually representing areas in which footage doesn't exist, through stills, training, testing and simulation footage, and/or identifying such. An example... for our Apollo 13 documentary we used footage from the tests done after the accident showing the SM explosion (instead of the oft-used Apollo 9 urine dump footage) and it is the most dramatic (and historically accurate) footage one could use short of having a camera following along. What's better than seeing the magnitude of the violence of the panel blowing off of the SM? But it took us a while to dig for that footage.

In your case, with a film that has extensive use of interviews, one should be able to choose timing on cutting away from interviews so as to be able to use footage in its proper historical context.

As an editor and producer I know that sometimes you'd rather not have to pull away from focus on an emotion or feel in order to inform the audience about a mechanical detail (If you do use footage out of context). My point is that you wouldn't deliberately mislead your audience through the spoken word, why is it ok to do so through visuals?

People really believe what they are seeing is being represented by correct footage. I have had extensive conversations with people who have challenged that certain footage came from a particular mission... "because it was on the Discovery/National Geographic/History channel." They believe that producers would not knowingly use footage of one event to represent another, and every time it is used incorrectly the problem gets worse. This isn't responsible when producing material telling historical stories, and "art" doesn't give one a pass on that responsibility.

As I understand your film, the focus is not linear concerning the missions, but if you're discussing a particular event on a particular mission, I believe you have a responsibility to be honest in your visuals. I certainly hope we don't see the Apollo 14 lunar liftoff for the Apollo 11 LM liftoff again (or "J" mission TV).

posted 04-24-2007 05:10 PM               

Many film makers go the easy route even when you tell them they are wrong. (I had those talks with the "Apollo 13" folks about the booster launch!). Sometimes they get lazy or cheap ("No one will notice that the paint scheme is wrong").

Other times they just don't have the time to do things correctly.

posted 06-15-2007 12:52 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by tedc:
For those in the Seattle area, this film will be shown as part of the Seattle Film Festival this Wednesday, May 30th.

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My movie buff sister has a review site. I wrote a review, but she won't officially post it until September when the movie comes out to the regular theaters. She does have comments about it in her film festival blog here.

posted 06-30-2007 11:51 AM               

Ron Howard Joins 'MOON' Mission

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard, whose "Apollo 13" remains one of the most popular and highly-regarded dramatizations of man's exploration of space, is partnering with THINKFilm to present the award-winning film, In the Shadow of the Moon, the definitive feature documentary about the Apollo space program and the first-ever landing on the moon. Howard's name, and the "Ron Howard Presents" credit will appear on all prints and in all paid advertising for the film, and Howard will participate in promotion of both the theatrical release and the DVD. THINKFilm will open In the Shadow of the Moon in exclusive engagements in New York and Los Angeles on September 7, 2007, with an aggressive national expansion planned throughout the month.

A rousing celebration of human endeavor, In the Shadow of the Moon begins in the early 1960's, with President Kennedy's stated ambition to put an American on the moon before the end of the decade, and culminates in Apollo 11's successful lunar landing and the extraordinary global impact that event had. Ten of the surviving astronauts who journeyed to the moon tell their stories in their own words, accompanied by spectacular NASA footage, much of it never seen before in a feature film, and all of it re-mastered for maximum visual and aural effect.

About the film, Howard says, "In the Shadow of the Moon is a spectacular film that should be seen by the widest audience possible. It is especially timely now, when we are all reminded how fragile our Earth is and how much there is for us to explore in the universe. I am thrilled to be able to support it in this way and to remind Americans in these dark times about what a truly incredible accomplishment going to the moon was."

David Sington, who directed In the Shadow of the Moon adds, "As a director, I am incredibly flattered that such a distinguished filmmaker as Ron Howard is willing to lend his name to our film in this way."

Howard saw the film shortly before its acclaimed world premiere at Sundance 2007, where it won the Audience Award for Documentary (World Cinema) and soon thereafter began discussions about how he could help the film reach the widest possible audience. Since Sundance, the film has gone on to win another half-dozen audience or jury awards at North American film festivals and will qualify for the Academy Awards as part of the International Documentary Association's DocuWeek Showcase in August. THINKFilm has had four Oscar nominations for Best Documentary feature in the past five years for Spellbound, The Story of the Weeping Camel, Murderball and Born into Brothels, and won the statuette in 2005 for the latter.

In the Shadow of the Moon, a THINKFilm release in association with Discovery Films, features interviews with astronauts Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17). The film is directed by David Sington, produced by Duncan Copp, co-produced by Chris Riley, executive produced by Simon Andreae, John Battsek and Julie Goldman, with original music by Philip Sheppard, cinematography by Clive North, and editing by David Fairhead. Following its theatrical engagement, In the Shadow of the Moon will have its television premiere on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater.

The deal with Howard was negotiated by CAA, attorney Jeff Sanders acting on behalf of the filmmakers and Discovery Films, and Randy Manis, Senior VP of Acquisitions and Business Affairs and Richard Rapkowski, VP of Business and Legal Affairs, for THINKFilm.

To watch the trailer of the film, please go to the USA Today website.

posted 09-06-2007 03:39 AM               

The film's soundtrack by Philip Sheppard has been added to iTunes (link requires iTunes installed) and is available on CD.

Reviews/Articles:

• USA Today:
  Astronauts recall time as men on the moon

• The New York Times:
  Film Takes Us Back 38 Years, to That First Walk

• New York Post:
  Lost In Space: For A Slew Of New Moon-Shot Films, Neil Armstrong Stays 'In The Shadow'

• Los Angeles Times:
  Astronauts shine 'In the Shadow of the Moon'

• Houston Chronicle:
  The Human Side Of The Moon

posted 09-06-2007 08:23 PM               

We have tickets pre-bought and are ready to go!

posted 09-07-2007 11:07 PM               

I wondered if the producers of this film had ever heard of Spacecraft Films and then I come here and see that they have.

posted 09-08-2007 09:33 AM               

For a while they went to "rarely seen" but now have reverted once again to "never before seen." It looks as though they did do some very nice HD transfers of some pieces of footage, though.

posted 09-08-2007 11:54 PM               

I am 45 years old and have never seen such response to a movie. Spontaneous applause.