New Baumgartner jump footage the most humanizing yet

Meanwhile, on the internet by Tribune Reporters

Published: January 31, 2014 4:23 pm
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Back in October, we brought you a video of Felix Baumgartner plummeting to earth from the stratosphere. But now, a new film shows Baumgartner's actual jump from a spaceship-like capsule.

The new footage shows Baumgartner's Oct. 24, 2012, jump from 128,100 feet above the surface of the Earth. It's more produced than the previous video, with an entire intro about a an earlier jumper, music and other editing.

Things really get interested about 55 seconds in. At that point, it shows Baumgartner's balloon-lifted capsule and his gradual exit. He jumps just after 3:40 in. Mashable reports that the video was released Friday because it will be part of a Super Bowl commercial.

Though the footage of Baumgartner falling will look familiar, it's the new climbing and jumping images — along with audio of chatter with his team — that really humanizes the feat. It's easy enough to think of a suited figure falling through the sky, but it's a lot more harrowing to see and hear someone as they step out onto a ledge and leap into space.

— Jim Dalrymple II

Twitter: @jimmycdii

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