Movie Gadget Friday: Sunshine
By Ariel Waldman 
posted Jun 20th 2008 11:02PM
posted Jun 20th 2008 11:02PM
Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema.
Last month on Movie Gadget Friday we reviewed the rough and rugged modified gadgets of the post-apocalyptic era in The Road Warrior. Shifting from stick shifts to spaceships, this week examines the pre-apocalyptic adventure of a team of astronauts tasked with re-igniting the sun by delivering a massive payload in Sunshine. Based in 2057, this near-futuristic film has heavy influence from 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. With relatively unexplained artificial gravity, inner-spaceship scooters and gold leaf heat-deflecting spacesuits, many of the gadgets and technology are taken for granted in this 2007 release.
3D Projection Cube
Structured as a small room on board Icarus II, the 3D projection deck serves as a way to boost astronauts' spirits and calculate routes. Translucent walls with embedded light-emitting cells make up the entire cube of a room, allowing for an interactive 3-dimensional experience without the need for external projectors. It's unseen yet as to if this experience requires the use of optical tracking cameras for a gestural user interface. Specific cells have the ability to toggle on or off depending on the specific need of the projection. While this gadget realistically blows away any CAVE we've seen (guesstimating these visuals to be upwards of 100 million pixels), the tactile-keyboard-loving-geek in us is still unrealistically holding out for a touchable hologram to toy with. More after the break.
Icarus II Operating System
Tasked with being the main support and operating system for all astronauts on board, the Icarus II OS serves as a massive multichannel control panel. The system has little-to-no artificial intelligence personality (besides a dispassionate female voice), but uses voice interaction as a standard communication protocol. In addition to the many basic operations of the Icarus II system, features included are surveillance systems, oxygen garden control, video recordings to be sent back to Earth via a communications array, and brightness control inside the observation deck to protect astronauts from suffering permanent eye damage when staring into the sun. The Icarus II OS also maintains automatic authority over any manual orders given by the crew in times of emergency.
Walkie Talkie Nano
With a size seemingly comparable to that of an iPod nano, this two-way radio is easily attached to a necklace for ease of use. The device is minimalistic on both design and features, requiring no push-to-talk interaction with the inclusion of VOX (voice operated switch) technology. An LED indicates current usage while the speaker allows for two-way radio communications with the Icarus II OS. We're assuming that this walkie talkie comes equipped with some killer range and (fingers crossed) decent battery life. The gadget is great for on-the-go commands to the spaceship, but little else, similar to the various other portable devices we see throughout the craft.
Ariel Waldman is a social media insights consultant based in San Francisco. Her blog can be found at http://arielwaldman.com.
Last month on Movie Gadget Friday we reviewed the rough and rugged modified gadgets of the post-apocalyptic era in The Road Warrior. Shifting from stick shifts to spaceships, this week examines the pre-apocalyptic adventure of a team of astronauts tasked with re-igniting the sun by delivering a massive payload in Sunshine. Based in 2057, this near-futuristic film has heavy influence from 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. With relatively unexplained artificial gravity, inner-spaceship scooters and gold leaf heat-deflecting spacesuits, many of the gadgets and technology are taken for granted in this 2007 release.
Structured as a small room on board Icarus II, the 3D projection deck serves as a way to boost astronauts' spirits and calculate routes. Translucent walls with embedded light-emitting cells make up the entire cube of a room, allowing for an interactive 3-dimensional experience without the need for external projectors. It's unseen yet as to if this experience requires the use of optical tracking cameras for a gestural user interface. Specific cells have the ability to toggle on or off depending on the specific need of the projection. While this gadget realistically blows away any CAVE we've seen (guesstimating these visuals to be upwards of 100 million pixels), the tactile-keyboard-loving-geek in us is still unrealistically holding out for a touchable hologram to toy with. More after the break.
Tasked with being the main support and operating system for all astronauts on board, the Icarus II OS serves as a massive multichannel control panel. The system has little-to-no artificial intelligence personality (besides a dispassionate female voice), but uses voice interaction as a standard communication protocol. In addition to the many basic operations of the Icarus II system, features included are surveillance systems, oxygen garden control, video recordings to be sent back to Earth via a communications array, and brightness control inside the observation deck to protect astronauts from suffering permanent eye damage when staring into the sun. The Icarus II OS also maintains automatic authority over any manual orders given by the crew in times of emergency.
With a size seemingly comparable to that of an iPod nano, this two-way radio is easily attached to a necklace for ease of use. The device is minimalistic on both design and features, requiring no push-to-talk interaction with the inclusion of VOX (voice operated switch) technology. An LED indicates current usage while the speaker allows for two-way radio communications with the Icarus II OS. We're assuming that this walkie talkie comes equipped with some killer range and (fingers crossed) decent battery life. The gadget is great for on-the-go commands to the spaceship, but little else, similar to the various other portable devices we see throughout the craft.
Ariel Waldman is a social media insights consultant based in San Francisco. Her blog can be found at http://arielwaldman.com.
Amazing movie.
This movie was brilliant. There were so many reasons why it should fail, yet it passed with flying colors.
Lol?
The movie was pretty terrible, from the perspective of a physics student. None of the mechanics of the movie - from how the ship was designed, to the bullshit about the sun catching a Q-ball, made any sense at all.
"The movie was pretty terrible, from the perspective of a physics student."
I think I speak for everyone when I say...
Fucking shut up. God.
enneract, I am curious to know what physics you thought were bullshit?
I loved this movie. Not necessarily for a lesson in physics (I am thinking it was never intended to be such), but for the sci-fi elements, the amazing filming quality, and the music!
Only thing I didn't like about the movie is how the sun room actually let the entire power of the sunlight into the room, what's the point? It's f'ing dangerous and no reason for any of the humans on the ship to actually do that.
It failed... at the end. Why can't sci fi films end without some crazy stuff happening at the end. :-(
@ Mr. S.
Some crazy shit DID happen at the end. The guy and girl helped a huge ass nuclear bomb detonate in the center of the sun, thus brightening the world for the rest of us!
@Pochi
So a physics student thought a sci-fi movie did not make sense. That's not new. So you abuse him for not believing in god. A tech blog is not a place to vent your religious affiliation. That is for a religious blog.
Last time I checked, you can be of any faith as a physicist and physics is really important part of the device your reading this off of.
Literally the only movie not sold out in Times Square, only the front row was left, and the movie was basically rubbish. Hold the camera straight dammit! Stop filming it like you're embarrassed about it, even though we can tell why you should be...
@Chris
What the HELL are you talking about? That was an exasperated "GOD," like "oh my God." Not a religious statement. Jesus.
(try not to that that "Jesus" too far out of context)
I loved this movie until they had to put in a monster. Why can't the intricacies of interstellar space travel and the psychology of astronauts be enough to satisfy movie goers? This movie could have been the next 2001. Instead we got half a great movie, then an attempt at making an Alien movie.
But I enjoyed it none the less.
Yes indeed. This was a truly spectacular movie. I think the only reason that it didn't do super well at the box office was poor marketing. According to Boxofficemojo it only made 32 million worldwide which isn't much for a movie these days. I remember them pushing back the release date, and causing some confusion...then the website revealed the plot among some other things. There was lots of discussion about it...
In the end though, the true brilliance of the movie prevailed. I really loved it. I'm glad to see that there are a good number of people who agree. I hope this comes out on blue ray soon.
Probably way too late, but ***SPOILERS BELOW***
Yeah I liked the movie also, my girlfriend didn't as much. I guess it's just the Sci-Fi geek in me. I love these visions of the future and especially future gadgets.
I also wish they explained more, but then the movie would've been 4hrs...
I loved the film, but the film relies on a "hey lets go against the original plan" plot, which drives me nuts because those films always become depressing... just like Sunshine. :(
Hell yes it was. Ranks as one of my top 5, I would even say.
really like these movie posts
It would've been one of my favourite movies....had they not introduced the Freddy Kruger Halloween Slasher twist near the end. Completely ruins the film.
Introduced near the end? Perhaps you should watch it again. He was actually introduced quite early on.
yeah, it felt like someone on the staff had watched "Event Horizon" a few times too many...brilliant movie, though.
yeah , the first half was quite good when you couldnt predict what was going on , but then the old formulaic twists kick in , ( abandoned space ship ).
also , i didnt give a crap about the crew because you never even get the chance to get to know them .
but the film sort of annihalates itself in the last third when it turns into a horror flick. turns into a poor copy of event horizon.
this film , though at first seeming original quickly turned into "space horror by numbers "
i give it 4/10
Yeah, but it would've been awfully boring if they just made it to the sun, dropped the bomb and left.
Sunshine was awesome.
There are a couple gadgets that were missed, though:
The propulsion system of the bomb could accelerate it to relativistic speeds in a very short distance.
The front of the ship was a giant disk of mirrors that could reflect the effects of the sun without any damage, despite them being seemingly physical in nature.
Overall - awesome story, very creepy. To me, some of the most intense horror scenes I've ever seen. The guy who screws up at the beginning - he overreacted a bit too much to be credible, I thought.
as for the guy overreacting, that was the point.
I mean, think about it.
you're in space, basically touching the sun. At any second you could be grilled alive, oh and by the way, you could doom the Earth as well.
that's a lot of pressure.
good movie, most definitely.
Trey's character was supposed to be a prodigy when it came to math, so for him to screw up the way he did caused him to go into a bratty self-destruct mode. ...yes it's in the DVD commentary. :)
This movie rocked my freezing, dying, sun-starved world--brought a tear to my eye, even.
You'd think in 2057 they'd send an unmanned ship, especially after the first manned mission eff'ed it up.
Best comment out there! I didn't even THINK about this possibility... man, you are smart. Everyone else sucks.
I love this movie and it has some cool tech.
I love this movie and it has some cool tech.
NO REAL SPOILERS......
I didn't bother with this movie when it was in the Theatres because I figured it was simply Armageddon III: Sunshine. (FYI the previous one was Armageddon: II: The Core) Being Hollywood I figured it would be a bunch of people going to the sun and one by one they are killed off in a heroic act with a couple of love birds surviving at the end. So I skipped it. A friend earlier this year said to watch it....it isn't as formulaic as one would expect....and he was right. solid movie, purchase worthy even.
Why, thank you for the review, John Deer!
wow you managed to mention apple in this article, congrats
The "gravity" was caused by internal parts of the ship rotating at a certain velocity.
I watched this film for the first time last week and really enjoyed it. Cant remember ever hearing about it before a saw a preview on Sky
I was just actually talking about this in a science forum just a few hours ago...weird! The movie is fantastic visually and sound design was great. The science was obviously flakey(dark matter bomb...come on, at least go with antimatter) But thats not the point. They should have gone into some more detail technically, but thats just my opinion. I thought it was really well done; great directing and the guy from 28 days later could be thumb wrestling for an hour and be interesting.
My major issue though...was the last 3rd of the movie. Its like the screenwriter/author starting drinking or had a psychotic break when writing that part...This was a dealbreaker for me and had no basis in the movie, just hollywood trash if you ask me...
i agree , turns into total trash at the end.
but , to be fair the trashiness was apparent from the start . first clue is when they all say 'we have no say in weather we go to theabandoned space ship, only the physicist can decide" .. camera turns to physicist .. physicist: "shit"
also , when the shield breaks the captain VOLUNTEERS the physicst to go out and fix it , but when they are on the abandoned ship he INSISTS the physicist wears suit because hes the only one who can deliver the payload.
meh, not my kind of Sci-fi. It was beautiful & all, but didn't really capture me.
Loved the movie. Looks great in Blu-Ray. The effects were amazing considering a $40M budget, I believe. Danny Boyle got screwed by Fox Searchlight that did not promote this movie AT ALL, I was lucky to find it playing anywhere near Orlando. Hell, you can't even buy the great soundtrack cause Fox won't release it due to some legal crap going on. Hopefully they made some money back in DVD/Blu-Ray sales.
As for the science, the supplement material has a commentary track by a British physicist who explains why and why not certain things in the movie are possible/realistic. It's an interesting listen, even if I didn't understand it all. LOL
I absolutely loved this movie. It is great on blu ray. I wish more movies like this would get made. Instead of maybe.. the love guru.
Also, who thinks the spell checks in internet browsers need to allow "blu" to officially become a properly spelled word?
FYI, the "3D Projection Cube" is called the Earth Room, and in the backstory was designed by Searle, the psychologist to provide a way to avoid the crew going troppo on the second mission.
Eh. I was hoping for a sci-fi movie and all I saw was a slasher film.
I thought the film was great, and have it on DVD. Just watched it again two night ago, actually.
The biggest problem with the film (aside from the absurdly implausible premise) was that they didn't spend enough time digging into the head of the "villain." For a film like this to really work well, it needs to come "this close" to convincing you that the madman's point of view is actually logical, and perhaps the only correct one, before you stand back and recoil in horror at the philosophical abyss you were about to enter.
I understood the protagonists point of view pretty clearly, He felt that it was gods will that the earth be destroyed. That humanity would then return to god...hence letting them revive the sun goes against that plan...
Seems pretty logical to me.
I enjoyed the movie, it was a very decent sci-fi/horror movie... great idea, love the psychological part of it.
btw in your description I would also have mentioned the influence from Event Horizon (an even better sci-fi/horror movie, though I find people either tend to hate it og love it... with no middle ground).
testing
Amazing movie. let me put this article at my blog http://www.igadget.asia
Amazing movie. let me put this article at my blog
http://www.igadget.asia
This was a VERY GOOOOOD movie. About the ONLY parts I disliked were the (Uhhhhhh!! I just KNEW, they were gonna 'f-up this movie!!) with the 'formulaic': "divert-our-course" & "last-best-hope" thingy's (as-well-as), the 'expected' saboteur. WHY-OH-WHY, does EVERY friggin' S.F. flick gotsta hav a friggin' saboteur??? Helloooo??? It would be nice to hav a film with (some) of theses elements, but where, the crew were able to triumph; (ye olde) "happy-ending" anyone?? All-in-all, it was a VERY enjoyable experience for me, sans popcorn.
KBR