When you’re retelling one of the most legendary space missions in history, you need to do it just right. For the gripping new documentary Apollo Thirteen: Survival, which launches on Netflix on the 5th of September, doing it right meant creating a truly immersive storytelling experience, and building a visual package that seamlessly integrated with the documentary’s archival material. Enter: Revenant.
We worked alongside the team at Insight Film, Producers Clive Patterson and Hugh Davies, and Director Peter Middleton to deliver CG animation, high level compositing, and FX to the nail-biting story.
The film is a time capsule of rare audio and visuals from the shuttle, NASA’s control center, and the astronauts’ families. We worked to enrich this archival atmosphere and aid the storytelling in a historically accurate way with a blend of era-specific visuals and crisp, clean shape language. Delightfully grainy infographics reference those used at the time, and image transition shots move in the style of a carousel slide projector. The result is a seamless combination of the extraordinary archival NASA footage with our veracious and authentic visuals package.
“We had access to a wealth of original archives, including interviews, family photos, and detailed information about NASA’s computers. This provided us with a deep understanding of the technology of the era and the design elements associated with press campaigns during the incident. These insights formed a strong foundation on which to build the visual effects package, ensuring it was both authentically and respectfully aligned with the story. ” said Kev McCrae, Creative Director of Revenant. “Peter Middleton’s passion for the project was a significant driving force for our team, inspiring us to create visuals that were truly bespoke, original, and seamlessly integrated into the film. It was an absolute joy to work on this project with such a dedicated team.”
So, after going to space, where will we go next?

