dies such as 30 Rock to Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick. But the busy company jumped at the chance to work in a favorite genre. “All of our artists love science fiction,” said Phosphene co-founder and co-owner John Bair, who served as Europa’s visual effects supervisor. “Everyone’s grown up with it. The fact that this was a hard sci-fi film in the tradition of 2001: A Space Odyssey made it even more intriguing”—because the film’s effects not only had to entertain the audience but also needed to be scientifically sound. For example, what SF film doesn’t feature space shots full of dramatic backgrounds of stars? But Phosphene decided to stick to reality, in which a camera like the ones sending images back to the mission base on earth would not be able to pick up starlight. “Our cameras would be exposed for a single-point light source— the sun—and wouldn’t pick up any stars,” said Bair. “If you look at NASA footage, you never see stars.” NASA was also the touchstone for designing the surface of Europa. Bair’s team drew on data and images from NASA’s 1990s’ Galileo mission and added its own touch from studying photographs of glacial rock formations in Central Park. All together, Phosphene created more than 650 effects shots for the film, including a spacewalk sequence, exterior shots of the ship’s trip to the Jovian system, and extensive activity on the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon. The films’ score was provided by another space fan, Bear McCreary, whose work on Battlestar Galactica helped set the mood for that ground-breaking series. Bringing It All Home Europa Report, 90 minutes long from Magnet Releasing and Wayfare Entertainment, is rated PG-13 and was released for video on demand and online streaming services on June 27, and it garnered a theatrical release on August 2, 2013. In October, it appeared on DVD and Blu-ray and is also available for purchase or rental via online services such as Amazon Instant Video and Google Play. Europa Report received generally positive reviews upon its release, with numerous reviewers noting its dedication to staying on the reality side of science fiction and space fantasy. The film is not aimed at the audience member seeking a dogfight in space or magical spells from interplanetary wizards. But—to cite the old Microsoft joke— that’s a feature, not a bug. Intelligent science fiction films are all too few and far between these days. Notably, Europa Report is not a franchise anchor film from 68
Galaxis March 2014