Welcome to the Acro Camp website. Here, you’ll find news, updates, and (soon!) how to see – and buy your very own copy of – this ultra-independent documentary feature film. See, hear, and feel what it’s like when four pilots come together to fly aerobatics for the very first time.
In March 0f 2010, Airspeed producer Steve Tupper put out a casting call looking for four pilots who had never flown aerobatics before. 50 pilots responded. Steve and instructors Don Weaver and Barry Sutton sifted through the applications, interviewed 12, and selected four. In May, those pilots, along with a contingent of aviation new-media and social-media personalities and producers, descended on Oakland County International Airport in Waterford, Michigan to try to capture the experiences of these four people as they flew airplanes upside down for the first time.
As special as the on-screen experience turned out to be, even more amazing was the behind-the-scenes process of making the film. Someone somewhere had said that pro-sumer camera and audio gear was now so good that any idiot with $10,000 could make a reasonably decent feature film. Steve, willing to put up the $10,000 and being exactly the right kind of idiot, mustered resources from around the country. Director of Photography Will Hawkins. Technical consultant Roger Bishop. Best Boy David Allen. Writer and e-publisher Jack Hodgson.
The film is a labor of love and its making is every bit as compelling as the actual on-screen events. Makers of aviation media from around the country coming together in a spirit of trust and creativity to make a record of some of the most special and exciting things that humans can do. No outside financing. No distribution deal. No insurance. The cast paid for their own flying. The crew worked for airfare, hotel, and food. In the middle of the worst economic recession since the 1930s, this collection of people came to the buckle of the rust belt and shouted theater in a crowded fire. And, soon, you’ll be able to see it.
Please browse around the site. Get as excited as we are about this project. And, when the time comes (soon!) please get ready to lay down your money to buy lots of DVDs or maybe even attend a screening at a place near (or not so near) you!
