As a spectacular giant screen opening module for the annual Three Rivers Environmental Awards program [Pittsburgh], Home Run Pictures was asked to produce a "history of the universe" style animated sequence. Starting with the "Big Bang" the audience gets to watch the universe explode into existence based on current astrophysic's theories, build to the point where thousands of galaxies are in existence and form what we can see today with our telescopes. Our Milky Way galaxy becomes center stage as our viewpoint dives into the swirling mass of stars and nebula until we eventually reach our home Sun's solar system, its group of planets and end in Earth orbit.

Animation Director, Tom Casey worked with new visualization software tools to generate a massive model of a galactic system with millions of particle elements known as sprites. Each sprite is textured with various star, dust and nebula imagery. The finished model represented a three-dimensional visualization of our galaxy with the ability to move around outside and inside the star systems... for a breathtaking tour of what the Milky Way may look like as you travel along the vast distances.

A classic tour of the planets in our solar system finishes up the sequence as we zoom past the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, dodge asteroids and fly-by a comet. The narration was supplied by Walter Cronkite. The sequence was also used in a reverse style to visualize the vast distances in the universe as you travel away from our little planet in what is know as a "powers of ten" zoom out.

Soundtrack courtesy of Puddle of Infinity