{"id":93343,"date":"2016-12-05T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=93343"},"modified":"2016-12-02T16:43:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-02T16:43:48","slug":"mars-behind-the-scenes-on-national-geographics-docudrama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/news\/mars-behind-the-scenes-on-national-geographics-docudrama\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars: behind the scenes on National Geographic’s docudrama"},"content":{"rendered":"
If you haven’t seen National Geographic’s Mars<\/strong><\/em> docudrama then you are seriously missing out.<\/p>\n Intercuttng footage from a mission to Mars in the year 2033 and interviews with real-life figures like Elon Musk and Robert Zubrin, Mars is an interactive and exhiliting documentary-drama that aims to put forward an insightful what-if scenario should we attempt to colonise the Red Planet in the near future.<\/p>\n With Ron Howard serving as executive producer, creator Justin Wilkes taking the helm and Nick Cave and Warren Ellis on soundtrack duties, there is a whole host of creative talent on board. We were lucky enough to speak to Russell Dodgson – VFX supervisor at Framestore, who gave the show its jaw-dropping visuals – about the work that went into bringing Mars<\/strong><\/em> to life…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Firstly, can you tell us a bit about you work with Framestore on Mars<\/em>? So we worked on that with them over a number of months until we moved into production, at which point we supervised all of the shoots. That took place in Hungary over a number of months, and then two or three weeks in Morocco in the desert. After that we were responsible for all of the VFX editorial and supervision for the show, all of the shots, every aspect of that to delivery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Half of Mars is set in modern day, whereas the other half is in the future. What were your thoughts on hearing the pitch?
\n<\/strong>We were brought onto the project really early on, probably last November. Radical Media had this very large, ambitious project that they wanted to do, and they wanted us to consult with them on the script process to pare what they had at the time \u2013 which was this absolutely gargantuan epic \u2013 into a show that could be achieved.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s a very popular, interesting topic \u2013 Mars \u2013 it\u2019s very current, and in a lot of people\u2019s minds very important: where we are climate wise and Earth wise. At some point in the future we\u2019re going to have to reach out and try to extend our existence outside of Earth. It\u2019s nice to be involved in a project that has a lofty idea, but is actually based on a true need or work that is being done now. It makes it very interesting.<\/p>\n