Directors' Ingenious Method for Astrophage Scene

It's April 1st, entertainment and celebrity news today starts now.

AI-powered and trending.

Project Hail Mary hid big screens as a box office smash,

but turning that wild sci-fi tale into visuals

was no easy win for directors Phil Lorde and Chris Miller.

The real challenge?

Filming astronaut Ryland Grace's spacewalk,

getting sworn by invisible astrophage,

those sun-eating microbes.

They nailed a stunning red glow effect

that wowed trailers and audiences alike.

On the big picture podcast, the directors spilled how they cracked it.

They yanked the infrared filter from the camera

to capture a pinkish sparkle from hidden lights.

Ryan Gosling stood caged in chicken wire,

rid with infrared bulbs,

making the astrophage swarm look alive

without fancy CGI up close.

Crew reactions on set were pure gold.

Everyone cracking up since the magic was invisible to the eye.

Cinematographer Greg Fraser even built a water dripping aquarium setup

between glass panes for that smeary,

drippy handheld vibe circling Gosling.

It turned the shoot into a hands-on science lesson

on infrared and effects.

For wider shots, they blended practical work

with digital boosts from ILM,

matching the look seamlessly across close-ups,

mediums and full-wides.

Lorde and Miller kept sharing the tech breakdowns on social media,

posting raw footage of the water pours and light cages.

That ingenuity made the impossible feel effortless,

proving smart risks pay off an epic style for films like this.