...go find out.
We expected that all of the instruction at Acro Camp would be dual. But it turned out that two of the campers actually soloed in taildraggers. And Michelle Kole soloed both the Citabria and the Super D.
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Just a quick note to let everyone know what’s going on.
Yeah, we’ve been (and gone) a little radio-dark of late. A lot of that has been catching up on sleep and attending to various other responsibilities that have gone wanting due to the our devotion of energies to the film project. And one or more of us had coverage opportunities in associated with the other media hats that we wear that essentially came immediately on the heels of the film shoot.
So here’s what’s going on. All of the aerial footage is not off the cards and onto a hard drive and backed up. We’re still extracting footage from the big cameras on the ground and I expect to have that done in a few days. We’re also cataloging the still photography and paying attention to the other media that various people shot and are providing to us.
The next task is to sit down and watch and log all of the footage. I’m guessing that we have something in excess of 100 hours of footage. Much of it is from the ground cameras. And much of it is from up to three cameras per aircraft going at once. And the airborne footage will require synching up the audio with the video elements.
Then we start figuring out what the stories are. We have several anecdotal story lines that we think will be key, but we need to be sure that they’re borne out by the video and audio so that we can show the audience what happened. We really want to have this thing be free of narration and to speak for itself and it’ll take a thorough inventory of the video to be sure of what we have.
Then comes the editing and assembly of the material into the rough cut. Think months away. And think getting a lot better with Final Cut and the other applications that come with it (e.g. color correction, stabilization, etc.).
Much of the dust remains to settle before we’re in a true orderly post-production mode. But, once we get there, we’ll have the opportunity to put out a couple of teasers and continue the process of getting people excited about the picture. Stay tuned here for more information as it becomes available.
Have you seen us lately? Wow! Neither have we. That was a pretty intense week. But we’re proud to tell you that principal photography of Acro Camp wrapped yesterday afternoon.
I haven’t tallied up the sorties or hours or other information, but we captured a really broad range of subject matter, emotion, perspectives, and drama. All four campers performed amazingly. Each surprised him- or herself and the IPs in many ways. The acro was amazing. And, unexpectedly, we several of the campers got in solo tailwheel flights.
Thanks again for your support and well wishes. You don’t work this hard for this long without having a lot of encouragement from folks like you. We really appreciate it.
Now it’s time to crash on the couch and get such sleep as it necessary to be able to see clearly to do the editing.
Invertor et vomens! Smoke on!
I spent a little time out at the Aviation Station at KPTK (the home base for Acro Camp) last night with parachute rigger Todd Ames. Two of the chutes that we’re going to use for our skydive were coming due for their re-packing and I wanted to get an idea of what the guts of a parachute look like and how the repacking process works.
We set up tables in the hangar and then Todd performed the repacking. I filmed the process for the movie and shot stills as well.
I like that sense of professionalism and the willingness within the rigger community to self-police. I hope I never have the need to deploy an emergency parachute. But, if I do, the experience last night gave me a lot of confidence in these vital safety systems.
Among may personal quirks, I have a particular way if identifying when an upcoming event is getting pretty darned close. From the bar exam to vacations, to other really important stuff. Yesterday, I came home from the store and put a gallon of milk in the fridge. That gallon of milk will still be good after principal photography for Acro Camp is complete.
Pretty cool, huh?
I spent the morning and early afternoon over at Ray Community Airport with Todd Yuhas of Berz Flight Training crawling all over the Pitts to investigate camera mounts and audio setup. I think we have the camera setup resolved and that the Pitts is good to go. I was a little worried prior to today because a quarter or so of the footage (and – because the introduction of the Pitts will be an escalation point in the film – some of the most important footage) will be in the Pitts and that needs to work. But I think that we have out ducks in a row and are good to go with the airplane.
So, anyway, with less than 10 days do go, I think that we’re about ready. A couple more test flights to verify technical setups, some hauling of tables and chairs, some icing down of tasty beverages, and lots of other last-minute stuff. But we seem to be getting pretty close to ready. (Whatever “ready” means . . .)
More pre-production meetups in the Acro Camp community! Director Steve Tupper met up with camper Jim Rodriguez at Civil Air Patrol’s National Legal Officer College near Dallas, Texas yesterday and today.
As many know, Jim is an Air Force Reserve major and judge advocate. He also serves CAP as, in addition to other capacities, a legal officer. Tupper is a CAP major and serves as the Michigan Wing’s assistant legal officer.
NLOC is usually held in alternate years at locations that rotate around the country. Over the course of three days of training and team-building activities, about a third of CAP’s 150+ legal officers receive training and updates on the wide range of legal issues that confront CAP daily.
We have preliminary approval to use a room at The Aviation Station on the north service drive of the Oakland County International Airport (KPTK) as a pilot lounge and staging area. We’re very grateful to Oakland Air for the access to the room and to the Aviation Station generally.
We’re planning to launch and recover the Acro Camp flights from the Station and the Station will be the scene for most of the ground-based elements of the movie. Between the assigned room, the Sutton Aviation offices, and the common areas, we should have plenty of room for the four campers, two IPs, and four or five crew that will be present for most of the filming 12-16 May.
We’ve apparently generated quite a bit of buzz about the project, which is great. Many of you have expressed interest in coming by to see the production and even lend a hand. That’s spectacular. This is a new-media and social-media experiment and we want to keep it as open and inviting as possible.
I don’t want to seem like I’m flattering myself by thinking that we’ll be mobbed by waves of people making pilgrimages to the Station during filming. But I understand that quite a few people have suggested that they’re planning to stop by. Some of those folks are from a fair distance away and the trip would amount to a pilgrimage of sorts to our little ground zero.
If even half of the people who have told me or others that they’re coming actually show up, we might have a bit of a capacity problem, so I want to set expectations well ahead of time.
As a general matter, you’re welcome to show up and say hello. You’ll probably have the opportunity to talk to whomever you wish and to see what’s going on.
Feel free to blog, tweet, take pictures, and feed the buzz around the movie. We don’t plan to have an information embargoes. (That would be a little disingenuous in a project that essentially got its start in a sharing- and gift-based community, eh?)
The landlord is a little nervous about strangers saturating the building, bothering the other tenants, getting out into the movement areas of the airport, etc. This is an otherwise sleepy little building at the corner of the airport and even a dozen additional people in the building and its environs will really change the dynamic. We want to be good guests. We also, at some point, have a movie to shoot and crowds would likely be distracting. So here are some general comments about what to expect if you show up.
There’s parking in front of, and on the west side of, the building. Please don’t approach the gate at the end of the access road if you don’t have an airport pass for KPTK.
Please be respectful of the other tenants in the building. Keep conversations to a low roar. Don’t monopolize common areas. Greet everyone cheerfully and cordially. If you’re not Midwestern by disposition, pretend that you are.
You might get to come out onto the ramp, but don’t count on it. Access to the ramp is through a hangar at the back of the building. Various people’s aircraft are in there and the movement area of the airport is a little way down the taxiway. We reserve the right to be paranoid, not because we think that you’ll do anything untoward, but because we don’t want the landlord (who doesn’t know you as well as we do) to be the least bit uncomfortable about our using the facility.
We’ll make campers available to you to the extent that we can, but don’t depend on access to them. They are, after all, going through a potentially stressful experience and they might need a little time and space in which to relax and reflect.
There’s only one set of restrooms in the building and each is a one-holer. Please be courteous in your length and type of use of these essential facilities.
If we accept an offer of help from you, you’ll likely have to sign both a Participant Agreement and a release in now-legendary form. There will be no negotiation of the forms. Sorry. I’m not a jerk about much, but I’m a jerk about this. I have to be.
Will, David, I, and others on the primary crew will be ridiculously busy. Or stretched out on the floor grabbing some sleep. Or whatever. If we or anyone else don’t spend a lot of time greeting or talking to you while you’re there, we’re not blowing you off. Or at least not blowing you off out of malice. We’re very focused on making this movie and we’ll be shooting or planning or otherwise capturing the experience virtually the entire time we’re on site. Please have a thick skin and don’t come away with the thought that we’re being snooty or that we don’t love you. We’re not snooty and we do love you. But we’re making a movie.
For that matter, if we herd you outside or kick you out of the pilot lounge or other spaces or close the ramp to other than essential crew, it’s not personal. We’re just making a movie.
If you show up, assume that all you’ll get to do is come in, walk around, say hi, and leave. You’ll probably get to do more, but don’t assume that you’ll get to do more. Keep it loose and your expectations low and we’ll do our best to welcome you in and see what we’re doing.
We good? Good!
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