New York Barrier City

The New York Barrier City is a notable and primary location in the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

New York City was one of the most populous cities in the United States of America. A leading global city, New York exerted a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education and entertainment. As host of the United Nations Headquarters it was also an important centre for international affairs.

History
Come 2048, following the Leonid Meteor landing in 2031 and the completion of the first Barrier City in Houston in 2047, a barrier city was constructed over the upper floors of the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan in order to protect New York citizens from Phantom attack. While the city within the barrier continued to grow, the city outside became a wasteland known as Old New York; filled with empty skeletons and debris from previous Phantom attacks and human chaos.

Locales

 * United Nations Council:
 * USMF Headquarters: The military headquarters of the United States Military Forces where the military minds conduct their strategy to defeat the Phantom menace.
 * Bio Etherics Research Center: This building is the central location where Dr. Sid, along with his fellow scientists, conducts his research in regard to the Bio Etherium.
 * ePod Building: The ePod Building is a docking pad for Pendulum Escape Pods. There are various ePod Buildings scattered throughout the New York Barrier City.

Location
The New York Barrier City is located on a natural harbour on the north eastern Atlantic coast, over lower Manhattan.

Trivia

 * New York is Barrier City #42
 * The twin towers of the World Trade Center do not appear in any of the New York City shots, this skyline became a reality when, two months later, the September 11 attacks occurred that saw the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in real life.
 * The Gondola Sequence in the film was one of the most difficult to light because it is one of the few shots in the movie where the lighting environment changes over time. As the Gondola gets higher up the rail, it gets closer to the barrier, so the yellow-orange light intensifies.
 * As a reference for the Gondola interiors, artists went to a local shipyard and photographed the interiors of large cranes used to load and unload cargo ships.
 * Architects and engineers who had experience designing airports and bus stations were on staff to help the film's artists accurately portray such details as pedestrian traffic and station layout.