Carl Sagan Is Your Tour Guide Into The Future And Out Into Space [Video]
The short video, less than four minutes long, begins rather innocuously with a message to the viewer that all images contained within the video are real places in our solar system, not the flights of fancy created through the imaginations of gifted graphic artists. Follow that with this introduction, which, like the rest of the film, is narrated in Carl Sagan’s voice.
“For all its material advantages, the sedentary life has left us edgy, unfulfilled. Even after 400 generations in villages and cities, we haven’t forgotten. The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood.”
More specifically, filmmaker Erik Wernquist, uses the words spoken by Sagan in his own audiobook Pale Blue Dot to narrate this new film of hope, filled with an inspiring instrumental soundtrack, as well as Carl Sagan’s soothing voice. And the visuals? As stated by Slate writer Phil Plait, you will see the sunset, as it can only be witnessed from Mars, the ice fields upon Europa, Jupiter’s moon, and finally cliff divers taking advantage of the highest known cliffs in the solar system, found on Uranus’s moon, Miranda. Yet, words cannot do this film justice. These four minutes will stay with the viewer, like the promise of a great reward, with the stunning realism of these magnificent, far-off places.
The filmmaker posts this introduction on his website.
“Wanderers is a vision of humanity’s expansion into the Solar System, based on scientific ideas and concepts of what our future in space might look like, if it ever happens. The locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available.
“Without any apparent story, other than what you may fill in by yourself, the idea with the film is primarily to show a glimpse of the fantastic and beautiful nature that surrounds us on our neighboring worlds – and above all, how it might appear to us if we were there.”
The use of Carl Sagan’s voice is as inspirational as is the visual effects. Although Carl Sagan was one of the most prolific scientists in our history, with more than 600 scientific papers and articles to his credit, he is best known for his contributions and his outspoken beliefs in the area of the scientific research of extraterrestrial life. Sagan earned numerous awards for his works, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, and the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Dragons of Eden.
For a different take on the future of space exploration, read this report on the endeavors of SETI.
[Image via NASA]
