Responding to a question from Entertainment Weekly about the challenge of adapting The Martian from a book into a movie, Scott said, “Our solution was the GoPro that is everywhere he is. They record everything theyre like the black box on an aircraft. So if you have a GoPro present and no one else to talk to, it suddenly becomes a buddy. Matt was able to talk to it that way.”
With that solution, Scott delivers a companion to Watney, similar to the volleyball Wilson that kept Cast Aways Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks) company on a desert island in the Y2K drama.
“I ended up using these cameras in a way I didnt expect,” reflected Scott. “They became a character in the movie; they were mounted on the astronauts; Matts character actually records all of his video logs on them in the habitat. Small details that helped drive aspects of the story forward and gave the world an extra layer of authenticity and familiarity.”
In addition to giving Watney a companion on Mars, Scott discovered that the video content that he was capturing with the GoPro devices unlocked unique perspectives, enabling a completely new way to showcase the astronauts struggle. So while the storyline is fictional, the footage captured from GoPro is quite real.
“We used GoPro cameras in several of our biggest scenes and they really allowed us to capture not only the intensity and suspense of these moments, but also the intimacy of the characters themselves,” said Scott.
Scotts use of GoPro in the production of the film represents the biggest cinematic integration of GoPro in a Hollywood release. “New technologies like GoPro give filmmakers the opportunity to really push the language of cinema forward and introduce audiences to new perspectives and layers of storytelling that can really be quite engaging,” added Scott.
With that solution, Scott delivers a companion to Watney, similar to the volleyball Wilson that kept Cast Aways Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks) company on a desert island in the Y2K drama.
“I ended up using these cameras in a way I didnt expect,” reflected Scott. “They became a character in the movie; they were mounted on the astronauts; Matts character actually records all of his video logs on them in the habitat. Small details that helped drive aspects of the story forward and gave the world an extra layer of authenticity and familiarity.”
In addition to giving Watney a companion on Mars, Scott discovered that the video content that he was capturing with the GoPro devices unlocked unique perspectives, enabling a completely new way to showcase the astronauts struggle. So while the storyline is fictional, the footage captured from GoPro is quite real.
“We used GoPro cameras in several of our biggest scenes and they really allowed us to capture not only the intensity and suspense of these moments, but also the intimacy of the characters themselves,” said Scott.
Scotts use of GoPro in the production of the film represents the biggest cinematic integration of GoPro in a Hollywood release. “New technologies like GoPro give filmmakers the opportunity to really push the language of cinema forward and introduce audiences to new perspectives and layers of storytelling that can really be quite engaging,” added Scott.
