Roving Mars (2006)

Director:

George Butler

Writers (WGA):

George Butler (written by) and
Robert Andrus (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Short

Tagline:

A Whole New World Awaits.

Plot:

A pair of uncrewed vehicles transmit images from Mars. |

Plot Keywords:

Voice Over | Mars The Planet | Applause | Water | Atmosphere

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Introduction by
Steve Squyres	...	Himself
Rob Manning	...	Himself
Charles Elachi	...	Himself (as Dr. Charles Elachi)
Wayne Lee	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Beck Hofmann	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
George Butler

Writing credits (WGA)
George Butler		(written by) and
Robert Andrus		(written by)
George Butler		(narration)

Produced by
George Butler	....	producer
Tara Grace	....	associate producer
Frank Marshall	....	producer
Scott Swofford	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Philip Glass

Cinematography by
T.C. Christensen
Sandi Sissel
Matthew Williams

Film Editing by
Nancy Baker

Production Management
Rick Gordon	....	post-production supervisor
Scott Swofford	....	unit production manager

Sound Department
John P. Fasal	....	sound mixer
Steven C. Laneri	....	sound mixer
Michael L. McDonough	....	sound designer (as Michael McDonough)
Roger Phenix	....	production sound mixer
Roger Phenix	....	sound mixer
Ryan Purcell	....	foley artist
Gary Rizzo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Karl Rosengren	....	assistant sound editor

Visual Effects by
Johnathan R. Banta	....	digital supervisor: Sassoon Film Design
Aja Bogdanoff	....	digital artist
David Booth	....	scanning & recording: Fotokem Digital Film Services
Tim Enstice	....	digital production manager
Colin Feist	....	digital compositor
Jason Jue	....	digital compositor
Dan Maas	....	visual effects supervisor
Alan G. Markowitz	....	visual effects supervisor
Jeremy Nicolaides	....	compositing supervisor
John Niehuss	....	digital artist
Tom Piedmont	....	digital compositor
Benjamin Schweighart	....	digital artist
Jun Watanabe	....	digital effects artist
Justin Wick	....	software consultant

Camera and Electrical Department
Zep Christensen	....	first assistant camera
Rhett E. Fernsten	....	gaffer
Tyler Meiners	....	dolly grip
John Beck Hofmann	....	additional camera operator: documentary (uncredited)
Scott Hulme	....	additional camera operator: documentary (uncredited)

Animation Department
Eric DeJong	....	animator: space sequences

Editorial Department
Tina Ballou	....	post-production coordinator
Chi Yoon Chung	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Carbonara	....	assistant music editor
Susan Jacobs	....	music supervisor
Scott Johnson	....	music editor
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Michael Riesman	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Brett Miller	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Edwin Escalante	....	post production (as Ed Escalante)

Thanks
Daniel Holton-Roth	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Pictures (presents)
• Lockheed Martin (presents)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (in collaboration with)
• K-M Productions (co-production)
• White Mountain Films (co-production)
• Kennedy/Marshall Company, The (co-production)

Distributors

• Buena Vista International (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Maas Digital LLC
• Visceral Image Productions

Other Companies

• Crest Digital  post-production
• Michael McDonough Sound Design  sound editorial
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

40 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:G | Singapore:G

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Introduction by:[voiceover] Space exploration began with dreaming. Thousands of years of humans staring into the heavens and wondering, how did this begin? What else is out there? The earliest answers were given in myth and poetry. Now they are sought by space age technology. And while each mission increases our knowledge, it also leads our imagination further and further. How did life begin? Did it happen more than once in the universe? The answer may lie on Mars.

Soundtrack:

Glósóli

NASA hasn't looked this good since Apollo 13

This incredible, true science story was made and released on Imax, but I saw it on DVD. It is straightforward and, while interesting, it has limited entertainment value for those with little interest in the Mars Rover project. It is short and I felt that more could have been included and an effort could have been made to use more of a 'storytelling' approach. As well, writer/director/narrator George Butler could have used celebrities or strong personalities among the mission team, to create more interest. his choice, however, was to create a simple documentary, which is fine for space race fans, but of limited interest to others.

The feature tells the story of NASA's Mars Rover mission, which saw the construction of two incredibly complex robotic vehicles (The total technology involved in the rovers exceeds the brain capacity of any one person - best useless fact of the film) named 'Spirit' and 'Opportunity' and sent them to the surface of Mars, where they landed successfully in the summer of 2003. There is extensive footage of the surface of Mars, where both carefully accurate CGI and actual Rover footage, is used to give the viewer a nice visit to another world. Amazingly, the planned mission of 90 days has now gone on for over four years and continues to this day. They don't tell you that in the film. I became curious and looked it up for you guys.

This documentary is an excellent choice for educators and for those with an interest in the space program. Many others, who are less academically curious will not enjoy it and should steer clear. If it is your cup of tea, then check out the special features, as well. They share a lot more interesting information.

This work was first posted on realmoviereview.com