Editing and Sound Design in the Film "Gravity"

I recently watch Alphonso Cuaron's "Gravity", and was struck by his visual use of long takes and sound design to convey a sense of isolation and realism. The film's editor Mark Sanger worked closely with the director from the beginning stages of production until post production. What makes this so interesting, editorially wise, is that even before the actual shoot, the editing was close to final. This  allowed the director to focus more on VFX and acting. The film opens with a 12 minute cut, mixing both conventional editing and digital editing, with a balance between the actors and CG. Gravity really blurs the lines between pre and post production, and editing and sound design. For example in one of the long takes where the camera starts wide and gradually moves inside one astronauts helmet for a point of view shot, the sound changes with what the viewer is seeing, starting with what you would/or would not hear in space and moving in with what the astronaut hears inside in the helmet, then back out again. The movie intentionally uses minimal visual cuts and sound to relay what the character is feeling and experiences, simultaneously, to the viewer.