Aviation Cinemaking

Speaking at the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton

2009-10-31T19:46:12-04:00

AVIATION FILM MAKER TO

SPEAK AT ATI DEC. 17^TH EVENT

DAYTON, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2009—Film producer Adam White, a graduate of Wright State University’s film program in 1995 and a specialist in aviation cinema, will be guest speaker at the Thursday Dec. 17^th Anniversary of Powered Flight celebration and dinner in Dayton.

The annual event is hosted by Aviation Trail, Inc. and the National Aviation Hall of Fame and will be held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Springfield Pike. Again this year the evening will feature the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight, announcement of inductees into the 2010 NAHF, and the traditional Wright family dinner.

Earlier this fall the Hall of Fame announced one 2010 inductee: Clay Lacy, jet charter pioneer, veteran pilot, and pioneering aviation cinematographer.

White’s talk Dec. 17 will focus on aviation cinema. His production company Hemlock Films (www.Hemlockfilms.com) is headquartered in Cleveland and has received acclaim for the film “Red Tail Reborn,” a documentary on a P-51C Mustang flown by the Tuskegee airmen during World War II and efforts to restore and fly the aircraft 50 years after the war. The plane was airborne again last July.

The film was awarded three Emmys at the Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards held in this year: best informational/instructional film, best music composition/arrangement, and best research.

A sequel, “Flight of the Red Tail,” has finished production and will be available on DVD Nov. 27. White has completed another aviation-related film, “The Restorers” which focuses on restoration of old aircraft.

A specialist in use of the SteadiCam camera—which he learned from its inventor Garrett Brown-- White’s company also works in industrial films, commercials, aviation videos, web and DVD projects, and mainstream feature films. Hemlock Films material has aired on PBS, Discovery Europe, and National Geographic television channels.

White is a native of Northeast Ohio and grew up in Geauga County east of Cleveland. A licensed pilot, White is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Celebration of the Anniversary of Powered Flight begins at 6 p.m. in the NAHF’s Learning Center and dinner is served at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Modern Flight Gallery. White’s speech should occur about 8 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $60 a person. Requests for reservations should arrive at ATI no later than Monday, Dec. 14. Mail your check to ATI, P.O. Box 633, Wright Brothers Branch, Dayton, OH 45409.

CONTACTS:

Aviation Trail (www.aviationtrailinc.org): Marvin Christian 937 275 5271

National Aviation Hall of Fame (www.nationalaviation.org): Ron Kaplan 937 256 0944 ext. 16

The Passing of Jim Riccardi

2009-01-05T09:18:42-05:00

reposted from his son, John....

Jim Riccardi, a long-time fixture in the Cleveland film and music
communities, died peacefully January 2nd at age 75.

Riccardi's work as an award-winning cinematographer/videographer
included
nearly 2,000 commercials and numerous feature films, television
programs,
documentaries, political spots, music videos and corporate shoots,
including
HBO's concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The Drew Carey Show,
Newhart, Unsolved Mysteries, City, Nickelodeon's All That, and various
programs for the Discovery Channel, ABC Wide World of Sports, CBS/MTM,
MTV,
VH-1, NFL Films, and the BBC. He even scouted exterior locations in
1990
for a then-unknown NBC sitcom called Seinfeld. His feature work
included
Renegade Force (starring Cleveland native and Terminator 2 actor Robert
Patrick), The Year That Trembled, Night Owls of Coventry, My Summer
Story.
He also shot music videos for Cleveland-based acts Pere Ubu and Bone
Thugs &
Harmony.

In 1972, he started working at WVIZ Television, where he produced films
for
National Instructional Television's Inside/Out children's series, which
won
a national Emmy Award. During the same period, he started shooting for
WUAB
Television, then owned by United Artists Broadcasting, where he spent
the
next 14 years working on television spots for clients as varied as
Dan-Dee,
Mr. Hero, Medic, Rubbermaid, the Ohio Lottery as well as Mr. Coffee
commercials with Joe Dimaggio. His work carried him throughout the
United
States and into unusual environments from the inside of Air Force One to
Evel Knievel's rocket car. He returned to WVIZ briefly in 1980 to work
on
the Odyssey program The First Family, about the Lucy archeological
discovery
in Ethiopia. Back at WUAB, he eventually departed to become an agency
producer for Fox & Associates, which he left in 1988 to operate
independently, first as a partner in the JR Organization and later on
his
own with JRO Pictures. His projects included America's Most Wanted, The
FBI
Files, The New Detectives, a Kirby corporate program with William
Shatner,
multiple shoots with the Cleveland Indians and extensive work on a
documentary about the 1970 Kent State University shootings. He was
recognized in 1998 by Steven Spielberg and the Survivors of the Shoah
Visual
History Foundation for his contributions in documenting stories of
Holocaust
survivors. He recently taught at Cleveland State University's film
school.

A proficient pianist, harpsichord, harmonica and accordion player,
Riccardi
enlisted in the Army in 1955, where he was placed in the 8th Division
Band.
While stationed at Ft. Dix in New Jersey, weekend trips to New York City
exposed him to the emerging bebop scene. He toured post-war Europe with
the
Army band, playing official functions by day and jazz at officers' clubs
by
night with friend and 8th Division band mate, Kansas City blues and jazz
legend Clarence "Sonny" Kenner (deceased 2001).

Following the Army, Riccardi furthered his career in music by providing
live
piano accompaniment on the children's program Apple, a WEWS Television
program hosted by his John Carroll classmate and friend, Emmy-award
winning
writer and humorist, Jack Hanrahan (recently profiled in the Cleveland
Plain
Dealer). A musician's union member, he continued to play with various
all-occasion bands and ensembles, most recently with the Swing City Big
Band, the Strongsville City Jazz Orchestra and St. Brendan's String and
a
Prayer church ensemble.

Riccardi attended St. Clement grade school before enrolling at the newly
opened Gilmour Academy in 1947, where he went to class alongside his
friend,
noted Cleveland physician Dr. Donald Junglas. He then studied seminary
at
St. Gregory in Cincinnati, where he met classmate Father Robert Ward,
with
whom he would start his career in film, working on his first documentary
as
well as a John Carroll enrollment film in the late 1960s. After St.
Gregory, he completed his bachelor's degree at John Carroll University.

Son of Sam and Ann Riccardi, who owned a string of Cleveland-area
bowling
alleys and beauty salons respectively (including Memphis Bowl (now
Meszar's
Lanes), Bowling City, Bowl Arena (later called Stardust Lanes - the
fourth-largest bowling alley country), Riccardi worked as general
manager
for Riccardi Entertainment, Inc. while studying radio and television at
Kent
State University and completing additional course work at the Cleveland
Institute of Art by night.

The passing of aircraft restorer Charles Reed

2008-12-23T13:39:41-05:00

The aviation world is a little dimmer, and far less interesting, with the passing of Charles Reed. Reed was a fixture in the northeast Ohio aviation community. Serving his country for most of his life, Reed went on with his wife Gretchen to create Pheasant Run Airport.

Pheasant Run was more than just and airport, though. The Reeds had at any given time over 15 flyable aircraft, restored by the Reeds in one of their hangers. Many early examples of early aviation can be seen at the Reed's place, including a Fokker DR-1. It was always a great time to get Chuck to tell stories about flying that thing! Charles Reed passed away this morning from complications with several different ailments. He will be missed.

Fortune Favors the Bold

2008-11-26T09:46:57-05:00

It was a beautiful day in Northeast Ohio when I saw Spiderman dragged up the street by a truck. Not the normal sight on Euclid Avenue, but a glorious one to me. I am a local film & commercial technician who works on film crews. I was employed on the big-budget film set for Spiderman3, along with many of my Ohio associates. The Northcoast became Hollywood.

That was over two years ago.

Since then, only a handful of shooting days have graced Cleveland and the Buckeye state, making it tough to earn a living. We have had to make due with smaller commercials, industrial videos, or shoots that are out of state. Other states around the country have enjoyed visiting productions with long shooting schedules and many dollars pumped into the local economies.

How big is the difference? Here’s an example:

When a crew is driving to location, the locations department usually sets up signs to follow. Makes it easy to find your place of employment, seeing that lone sign reading “To Set.” Recently I visited Louisiana, a state with an aggressive tax incentive. I pulled up to a stop sign that read like the sign post from the show M*A*S*H. I had to read each sign’s production name to make sure I was following the right path.

What are we missing here in Ohio?

Two words: Tax Incentive.

Ohio is one of only a few states left in the country that does not have a tax incentive for film productions. Some states, like Louisiana, Michigan, and New Mexico enjoy dozens of movie and television productions per year.

Tax incentives are what lure films to these states. Productions can save millions of dollars by filming in tax friendly states, while at the same time contributing to the state’s local economy. Ohio has been fighting an uphill battle. Our state’s film commissions have been trying to attract productions for years. Without any state incentives, though, they’re in a boxing match with both arms tied behind their back.

Hope is on the horizon, though.

House Bill 196 is designed to authorize a tax incentive for motion picture productions in the state of Ohio. Just last week the bill was passed out of the Ways and Means committee to the House floor for a vote this coming Tuesday, Dec 2^nd. While congressional support of the bill seems likely, Governor Ted Strickland has all but publically said he will veto this bill.

Ohio is dying. Along with folks from many other industries who are moving away from here, many veterans of the state’s film & video industry have left for greener pastures. They’ve left, travelling to states that actually support motion picture production as, what some have called a “recession-proof” industry.

A robust film industry would mean skilled, taxpaying technicians could remain in the state, earning a good wage. It would mean young graduates wouldn’t have to automatically leave the state to work in film. It would mean a permanent infrastructure would be built in the way of equipment rental houses, studios and post production facilities. It would also mean the economy at large would benefit by supporting the visiting productions including, hotels, cabs, restaurants, clubs, security, construction, and many more.

A tax incentive is not about “giving Hollywood a discount.” Supporters of HB 196 are not trying to give Ohio a leg up on the competition. The train has already left the station. Last week, Illinois renewed their state Tax Incentive. Every state that borders Ohio has a tax incentive already in place. HB 196 would actually let Ohio in to the game. It is my hope, and the hope of many, that the Strickland/Fisher administration’s political opposition will subside. HB 196 is about growing Ohio.

As the country wades through the current economic crisis, it is clear that the old models of business need to be revamped. We must be creative and bold to kick-start our economy, and be prosperous once again. I would love to have the dilemma of too many productions to work for. Too many film jobs to choose from. I would like to be driving through Cleveland, and see our own production signpost.

Sincerely, and full of hope,

Adam White

Hemlock Films(216) 496-5013
www.hemlockfilms.com

Filming with the Black Knights

2008-11-18T18:37:46-05:00

Miramar USMC Base

San Diego, California - Sept. 2006

Hallie and I flew in to LA a few days early. Partially to buy film, settle in before our shoot, ect. Mostly to relax and approach a shoot at a normal, sane speed. Something lacking on most of my shoots thus far. Kevin was to join us the day before the shoot, flying in to LAX, then we all drive down the coast to San Diego.

We finally got in to San Diego about 1am, fried from enjoying the peace that is the California Highway System. The nice desert hotel that I found was probably a joy to stay at if we weren’t insane from fatigue. We took solace in the fact that, while we were tired then, we would be just that much more tired the next day, having to arrive at Miramar Air Station around 7am or so.

It takes skill to have trouble finding the large Marine Base that’s bigger than 90% of continental US cities. I finally found the main entrance, at least the one that visitors were suppose to use.

The kid with the high powered assault weapon guarding the base gate let us in without examining any of our ID’s. Hallie, Kevin, myself and a van of unexamined equipment were now driving around the Marine Base responsible for protecting the western coast of the US.

I then received a harried call from our liaison officer. Something like this…

Me: “Hello”

Officer: “Are you at the base gate?”

Me: “Hi. We were, but they waved us through.”

Pause

Officer: “Uh..What? Where are you, again?”

Me: “Well, we’re sort of driving around looking for the planes….”

Officer: “Stop where you are. Tell me the cross streets. We’ll be right there.”

After our Liaison’s Officer’s slight heart attack, she escorted us to the F/A-18 flightline. This is, in fact, the exact air base they filmed Top Gun, back when the Navy owned it. Not bad.

We meet Cpt. Ben Hinz, who couldn’t be nicer. He shows us to a small conference room we are to use as a staging area to hold our gear. This conference room has a sign on the door declaring it a “legacy room,” displaying photos from the USMC fighter squadrons throughout time. What we can’t take out eyes off of, though is the biggest bottle of Jack Daniels humans have ever made. I swear this thing was as big as an adult golden retriever.

While Cpt. Hinz did his preflight meetings, we ran around and got some B-roll shots of the base for about an hour. Cpt. Hinz then got us, told us the base commander would like us to vacate the bar..I mean Legacy Room, and begin setting up to shoot on the flightline. Kevin rigged some ingenious headgear to protect his ears from jet fighter engines, but monitor our audio.

Hallie filmed Cpt. Hinz putting all of his flight suit on, while Kevin and I went out to the flightline to film the ground crew. There was an amazing amount of folks walking to and fro. A very serious looking Master Sergeant was assigned to us, with the sole purpose of first, keeping us from breaking the aircraft and second, not die. Cpt. Hinz later told me that there were twice as many folks out there on the ramp then there usually are. Everyone should get the chance to walk in slow motion in a jet fighter movie. I made sure I could accommodate them. Most of the film was being shot in HD. For this shoot, though, I pulled out the film camera. I mean, if you're gonna shoot in slow motion, you might as well mean it....

All in all, a very good experience. A tip of my hat to the folks at the Miramar USMC base. They didn’t have to give us the time of day, but opened almost every door for us. We even went to lunch there, at the Marine Base Starbucks.

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

2008-11-18T18:12:58-05:00

April 2006

It has been brought to my attention that during the course of filming Red Tail Reborn, we had a couple adventures of note. Now, I just view these as things that happen during the course of independent filmmaking. Well, people who don't usually do this insane occupation might like to read about it. If nothing else, to persuade them not to do it and to pick a less stressful occupation, like bomb disposal for the Israeli army.

As a first installment, I'll tell you about the first hitch I had in the whole plan. It came on the first day, of the first shoot of the whole movie.

Our first location was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We were on our way to the Ft. Lauderdale Air & Sea show. "We" was my crew, consisting of my co-producer Hallie, my audio man Kevin, and myself. I splurged on crew, instead of my usual documentary compliment of two. A good show, with all of the performances playing off the coast, 1000ft from the beach. Wanna see the show? Just go to the beach.

Anyway, we were on short final for Ft. Lauderdale on a United Airlines jet. United would go on to lose my luggage no less than 5 times that year. More on that later, though. Just before the United plane drops her gear, Kevin turns to me and says, "So...did we check the Varicam, or did you carry it on?"

The Varicam was our primary camera for the entire shoot. I shot my first doc on film. But for this one, I knew my footage count was going to be quite high, so I opted for HD. Cleveland being a Panasonic town, I opted for the Varicam. Anyway,, back to the plane...

I turn to Kevin, with a very strangely calm manner, and proclaim that I did neither check nor carry on the Varicam, but that I left it sitting on the pool table at home, 1200 miles away.

In the past, I would have flipped out about this; and judging by the faces of my travel companions, they were expecting this. I just sat there, rationally viewing the situation. We were flying on a travel day, not to start shooting until the next day. I simply had the camera fed-exed down at a fairly large cost.

Expensive? Yes. But not a tragedy. After working so hard on hotel bookings, lining up interviews, booking crew, rental cars, tripods, steadicam, clothes, tape stock, HD down converters, sunscreen, media passes, and cash for food, I forgot the camera in the bright yellow case on my pool table at home. Hey, it was 4am when I was packing. You organize my shoot next time

Post Production

2008-11-18T18:08:52-05:00

Now, after 10 months of shooting across the country, comes the part where I boil 9 1/2 hours of footage down to a one-hour, sellable product.

5/2003

The film was completed in May of 2003, four hours before it's premiere. The showing was held in one of my favorite haunts, The Flat Iron Cafe in downtown Cleveland. Again, most of the evening's work had to be accomplished by myself and my friends. The rigors of low-budget premieres. I was graced with a good showing from the working-class of the Cleveland film scene as well as aircraft enthusiasts and restorers, some from as far as Virginia. Cast members also attended, including the Reeds, Tanya Markow and Mike Cuy. I had lined up a few media folks to attend the screening. This was a blatant attempt to get some ink for the film, of course. Two hours before the premiere, someone decided that they would shoot up Case-Western Reserve University. All media camped outside the police barricades and I was left with none.. Oh well. Also. a good tip to follow is to make sure there will not be an Irish band playing downstairs from your screening. It's difficult for the audience to follow your film when their chairs are vibrating from the band.

6/2003

I received a call from Jonathan McNeil, manager of the Neon Movies theatre in Dayton, Ohio. He had heard about the film through a couple of sources and wishes to screen it during the summer. He asks, "Is there a weekend that you think it would be appropriate to show your film?" I say, "How about Dayton Airshow Weekend?" "Good Idea", he says.

7/2003

Dayton Airshow weekend. The film is scheduled to screen for three straight days at 7pm, during the airshow weekend. I hang out at the airshow during the days like the ramp rat I have now become. Many familiar faces are there, The Yankee Lady crew, Nick Engler, Tanya Markow and, as a surprise, Bob Odegaard. He brought his super corsair "57" down at the last minute. "57" had not flown for a year after blowing and engine. After a couple of all-nighters, Bob got her running and brought her to the show. I just happened to have my camera there and captured "57" flying, finally. A month later I slugged the footage into the film. We also brought restorer Chuck Reed with us to the show, just to get him out of the house more.

Along with the folks who were actually in the film, air racing legend Cook Cleland was at the show. Cook, the original owner of "57" back in the 40's was in town for the whole show. Both him and Bob Odegaard planned on coming to the screening one night. Along with restorers Chuck Reed and Tanya Markow, Cook & Bob would offer a nice star-studded event that night. Plus, if anyone had an aircraft restoration question, I audience couldn't be more packed with experts.

Well, things don't pan out like you hope for sometimes. The Airshow was successful. Very successful. At one point, they announced that it was sold out. Traffic was backed up for three hours on the highway just to get in. And for the worst part: Although my screening was 2 1/2 hours after the show closed, both Cook and Bob couldn't make it through the traffic the 10 miles to the theatre.

Cook and Bob would have been welcome additions to the night, by I wasn't disappointed. Tanya and Chuck made a great appearance. After the screening, they were peppered with questions and admiration. It was fun when someone would ask me a terribly technical question and I could point at Chuck and say, "Ask him. He built the thing."

12/2003

I have made the decision to have DVD copies professionally pressed. Although I, like many Americans, have a DVD burner at home, these little devices are not perfected. Home-burned DVD's are not guaranteed to play in all DVD players, which I found to be true. So, I bit the bullet. I built, authored, and burned a "master" DVD of The Restorers and then sent it out to be professionally duplicated. The cost has come down on this process. The catch is, the minimum order is 1000. Prepaid cash. Quite a leap of faith. If you're reading this, please buy one.

12/2003

Discovery Wings Channel finally said "no" the film. They claimed it was not right for their format. We'll not argue the wisdom of that opinion here. I was disappointed that it took them seven months to figure this out, though. After all, the film is only an hour long. They did, however, pass the film along to the parent Discovery network for me.

2/2004

The Restorers was selected into the Fargo Film Festival. I'm very happy about this. Although there are larger festivals out there, going to Fargo brings me full circle to a certain extent. We shot our first story in Fargo. During that shoot, we actually attended the Fargo festival two years ago. We had a great time. It also allows the two guys from Fargo, Gerry Beck & Bob Odegaard to be celebrities for an evening in their own hometown. I can't wait.

2/2004

Discovery Channel has turned the film down. They claim it doesn't have that "in your face" quality that the rest of their programming has. The questions then arises, "Does the public want "in your face" programming?"

2/2004

I was officially called a loser today by the city of Cleveland. The Cleveland International Film Festival has rejected The Restorers from their line-up for this year. My own hometown. Last month they called asking for money for their cause. I didn't give them any. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to do... Oh well, Fargo calls.

3/2004

Returning to Fargo was a joy. The folks at the festival were very nice and appreciative to get a film that had "hometown" connections. In this case; Bob Odegaard and Gerry Beck. While I was on my way there, I worried that this may be the only reason why the film got in the festival. Whatever the reason, it gave me an excuse to go up there and act like a celebrity. Also, it gave me a chance to snoop around Gerry Beck's shop again and see what type of projects he's up to.

The screening of the film went very well. As many filmmakers know, digital projection has improved over the years, but not enough. Folks who have been cutting their film on a workstation and have been viewing it on monitors suddenly are slapped in the face when their precious work is slapped up on the screen by some piece of crap LCD projector. As the theater in Fargo darkened, I cringed for what was to come. I had not seen this projector yet, nor did I have time. We got into Fargo just two hours before the screening. The images hit the screen and, to my relief, they didn't look that bad. It actually was the best that I've ever seen the film projected. Keith's pounding music score only popped the speakers once. Usually we rattle them for the whole Reno sequence. "Kudos" to the Fargo Theatre! It still doesn't beat a film projector.

6/16/2004

The film played tonight on the local PBS station. The broadcast seemed fairly dark compared to the DVD. That, of course, is one of the risks involved with letting go of some control. The audio seemed to play out pretty well. Also a fear of mine. There really is no way to tell how many folks watched the broadcast. The station tells me the only way to know is to air it during sweeps week, whenever that is.

6/19/2004

We've set up a booth at the Akron/Fulton Airshow. My hope is to move a few VHS and DVD copies. EAA only sold 6 at Sun & Fun, a fairly well attended airshow. We'll see what I can stir up. The one thing have that they did not is a monitor playing a preview of the film. This, I believe, makes all the difference in the world It did at the Air Race Society meeting. Out of a group of 75, I sold 15. A fairly good ratio.

6/20/2004

An older gentleman walked up to our booth and began railing at us how bad the cinematography was in my film. He didn't know I shot it. He told me how dark it was when it broadcast the past week. I told him I know and that the DVD was better. He said, "Are you sure?" I pointed to the monitor and said, "Look. This is the DVD playing." He keeps on complaining for a minute or two, then buys a copy on DVD.

All told I sold around 50. Not really what I had hoped, but better than Sun & Fun did. The difference, I believe, was the playing of the film on the monitor. I'm hoping to convince the EAA to adopt this technique at the next show...Oshkosh.

7/2004

Oshkosh has been described to me as "Aviation via fire hose". I found that to be correct. The place is huge. To call Oshkosh and airshow is a severe understatement. The flightline is over four miles long. We were there for two plus days and probably didn't see half of it. 25% of all general aviation aircraft show up there. The Restorers was for sale by the EAA in a booth in the warbirds section. They sold six. Not six cases, six copies total. The problem seemed to stem from the show not allowing me to set up any sort of monitor to play the trailer of the film. They claimed a lack of space. The show was nice to see at least.

Reno, baby...

2008-11-18T18:02:23-05:00

September 2002

September 9th

I begin prep for our biggest trip to date; The National Air Races in Reno, Nevada. The races are over a week period; September 9-15. Unfortunately, the most logical date for us to fly out lands squarely on Sept. 11th. Trying to get me, my crew, and a bunch of film gear through multiple airport securities on such an infamous anniversary did not sit well. So, we flew out on the next most logical day, Friday the 13th.

September 13th

We land in Reno and head straight to the races. After scouting things out for an hour or so, we leave. As we do, the sport class races are occurring. As they rounded the home pylon, one of the plane's tail sheers off and he nose-dives into the ground from an altitude of 100ft. It was quick. We head to the hotel from there. When we get to the hotel, more fun is waiting for us.

Part of my plan is always to prepare for the unexpected. There are many things about traveling that I really don't have any control over, like the airport X-ray machines. After 9/11, all x-ray services at all airports were cranked to 11. It is, therefore, a fairly hazardous place for motion picture film. I choose to FEDEX my film to my locations. You have to be careful with this also. You must write in large unfriendly letters "DO NOT X-RAY" all over the box, or FED EX will. Anyway, we get to the hotel, and the film is not there. It should have beaten us there by 8 hours. This is much more disconcerting than the hotel not accepting my American Express, which they weren't. I found out that FEDEX had come, but no one was at the front desk to accept the package. I always travel with one roll of film in my carry on in case there is a problem with the main shipment of film. All of your eggs in one... This plan causes problems also when I refuse to let the airport folks x-ray the film can. Cut to: Me streaking over to the FED EX office and finally securing my film. Disaster averted. Oh, they accepted my card after Heather told them how to operated their machine. Anyway, time for some sleep. Lots of filming planned for tomorrow.

September 14th

We hit the ground running, after a nourishing breakfast at Denny's. Breezing in to the Air Race ground allows me to get a feel of the place before it's crowded with running engines and spectators. We fan out immediately. Heather buzzes off to meet folks and shoot dawn shots of aircraft. Me and the guys do the same.

I still had not picked my subjects yet. I did intend to interview and film Gen. Anders when he flew. That had already been worked out in advance. The question remained: which racer would I concentrate on? The time trials had already been going on for four days. I check the board and find out who is still in the running, and is still interesting. Many of the aircraft being raced were owned by large conglomerates. Their pilots were hired guns. This did not interest me. Then, I found my guys. A British Hawker Sea Fury named Argonaut owned and flown by brothers, Dennis and Brian Sanders.

We found them at their pit. I spoke with Dennis Sanders. He eyed me up a suspiciously, with good reason. Who the hell was I? Fine. I sent forth my weapon. Heather, however, received a similar reception. We finally got them to agree to an interview....tomorrow. Fine, I'll take that. In the back of my mind, I questioned my choice. Have I just wasted part of our trip on a couple of guys who don't want to be in the film? What if they are incredibly boring? We'll find out tomorrow. Plenty of other stuff to do.

The rest of Saturday was spent shooting B-roll, races and setting up our schedule for tomorrow, Sunday. The races on Sunday were the final races. Cash prizes will be awarded. The crowds will be larger. The one interview we were able to garner on Saturday was with Steve Hinton. Along with being a former Reno Racer, he now flies a pace jet during each unlimited race.

He flies a jet because it's the only thing that can keep up with the Unlimited Class aircraft. During the rest of the year, Hinton operates one of the most famous restoration facilities in the world, Planes of Fame in Chino, CA. At Hinton's suggestion we interview him in front of his P-38. Since this was already out on the active ramp, we were to violate Air Race regulations: No media on the ramp. But hey, Steve told us it was okay. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

That night, we explored the Casinos and ate twice our weight at the buffet. We collectively lost hundreds. I must point out, though, that Heather left ahead via the slot machines.

September 15th

Again with Denny's. When we arrive, we bolt right over to the Argonaut pit. Me and the guys start setting up while Heather patrols the surrounding area, looking for interesting things; planes, people, dogs, ect. The brothers arrive at the same time. They still seem distracted and hesitant. They have a race to run that day. They are in the Silver race. If they win it, they get to move on to the Gold race. Bigger prize money and respect. We triple team them. Heather talks with one while Kevin wires the other up with a mic. I shoot preliminary questions at them during the whole thing. I decide to interview them together. Magic.

They talk to one another, confer, argue, laugh, and support each other's answer. Couldn't have been better. I let them go with a torrent of thanks. We'll film them later that afternoon during the Silver Race. For right now, though, we have to find Gen. Anders. Not and easy prospect. The event is also an Apollo Astronaut reunion. Anders is somewhere in a secure area with some of America's biggest heroes. I'll just knock.

We locate Anders after unsuccessfully negotiating with the security at the door (tent flap). My ace, though, is Anders' cell phone number. We get a hold of him. Cut to Kevin and I being driven across the highly restricted tarmac with our gear to his P-51 Mustang in front of 50,00 spectators by one of America's living heroes. We set up and being to interview Anders in one of the noisiest places in the solar system. F-18's taxi by us at spectacularly close distances. Then, Heather comes waltzing up. No escort. Just her. Ah, to be a girl at an air show. No rules. We do intros and then finish up our interview. Back at the Apollo tent, Gen. Anders watches the trailer of the film with his family. The glare prohibits him from getting a good look at our portable DVD player. I'll send him a copy later. We part company and my crew and I get into position for the afternoon's Silver Race.

Kevin and I arrive at Argonaut's pit right as they are getting ready to roll her out to the field. Good time for some footage. As I setting up for that as I spot Hinton in his P-38 rolling by. I bolt up to the flight line to get a shot. As I do that, Argonaut starts rolling out. Make a decision. I choose to shoot Argonaut since she's part of our story. I hang with her as far as I'm permitted. Adrenaline's pumping. I then quickly mount the camera back onto the sticks and line up a shot of Hinton. The guy next to us sees me getting ready to shoot, and then moves over to block me. I did nothing to him. He apparently decided this would be a good day to ruin someone's life. At that moment, I decided he would lose his. Just as I was about to give the show organizers reason to remove me from the grounds, Kevin steps in and gently moves the guy to the side. Still having to get the shot, I concentrate on Hinton. Reason #438 to have Kevin on a shoot: Keep me from committing capital murder.

We set up and shoot a great race by the Sanders. They lost. Came in second. Okay. Now we'll huff it down to the grandstands for some b-roll during the gold race. Other side of the whole airport. Heart about to explode.

We get down there and set up in what becomes a mild middle east-style sandstorm. This has become a common occurrence here after 2:00 pm. By the time the race begins, I have a lot of trouble seeing the planes as they pass, and I'm not that far away from the course!

We depart the Reno Races to gamble, drink and eat that night after we pick all the dirt out of our eyes. Tomorrow, we visit Roy Rehm.

September 16th

Boy my head was sore in the morning. We drive out to Roy's, about an hour south of Reno. We pass a giant sculpture of Paul Bunyan on the way. I'll have to remember that.

We arrive at Roy's place around 11:30am. The homestead is exactly like it was when Heather and I visited it a year before on our scouting trip. Jake, Roy's trusted companion trots out to greet us with Roy in tow.

After the rigors of shooting at the air races, Roy's place was a vacation. I still had to keep my mind in high gear, producing, interviewing, shooting and editing all at once while trying to ask half-way insightful questions. The pace was much different, though, thanks to Roy.

He set aside plenty of time for us and whatever we needed to do. We interview him and then set to work shooting b-roll of his workshop and the contents; different versions of the Boeing Model 100. Roy was a little apprehensive at first. Like all our other interviews, he loosened up when we asked him about his aircraft. When we had him do an on-camera tour of his engine room, he even had the swagger of an on-air host. It gave us a smile.

He gave us the obligatory warning about black widow spiders under the equipment, which was nice. I only had the camera jam up once, which was fixed quickly. Three hours later, we were back on the road to Reno and some more eating and gambling. Oh, we had to stop at Paul Bunyan, though. You see, he was standing next to a great fudge shop.

The Sands of Kitty Hawk

2008-11-18T17:56:40-05:00

September 2002

September 30th

With a good week and a half off since the Reno shoot, I've had time to recover and work some jobs to keep our house. With our trip to Kitty Hawk coming up, Kevin calls and informs me he cannot go due to prior commitments. Hallie now imprisoned back at college, also cannot go. My crew now consists of just Heather and I. I do a quick producer scramble and come up with Jeff Sefcek. Jeff has run audio on numerous jobs and, like Kevin, is handy when it all come tumbling down.

October 4th, Friday

Now the crew is down to three. With Autumn being so lovely, and our bank account being so low, I elect to drive to Kitty Hawk. The trip only takes 11 hours or so. With Heather and I having driven to Reno last year, 11 hours seems like a short hop. Unlike the Indy show, I've scaled down my gear enough that a trailer wasn't needed. Hopefully this wouldn't come back to bite me.

October 5th, Saturday

The three of us scoot down five miles from our hotel to Nags Head State Park. We are the only ones at the park. The day before, Nick Engler assured me that they were still going to fly today. I wasn't nervous yet. Jeff and I began assembling our gear while Heather scouted the place out. Finally, folks started rolling in. The format was much looser than what we've grown accustomed to. No lines. No tickets. No concessions. Just some crazy folks gathering to chuck a glider off a sand dune. And we were with them all the way.

We traversed the dunes to their base tent. Nick and his clan have set up most of their Wright kites and gliders inside a canvas tent on the dunes. History Channel and PBS are also there. They pay us no mind until we pull out my Arri SRII. Then we all look at each other suspiciously. Finally, History Channel's DP and I start chatting. In spite of what anniversary we were approaching, I never saw anyone else shooting film or hi-def throughout our travels. History Channel and PBS were all shooting DVCAM. Oh well.

Jeff and I shoot the historians and restorers as they prepare for flight. We do a couple of impromptu interviews. Then, we sit. There isn't enough wind. Actually, we sit for the better part of 8 hours. Everyone finally calls it quits. We'll try again tomorrow.

That night Heather and I meet up with Todd, a friend from high school and his wife Sky and do what the other tourists do. Have an ocean side dinner and go look at the surf. If you've never been to the NC Outer Banks, I highly recommend it. I especially recommend it when we went, late September/early October. The rates are low and no one is there. The weather is still warm, also. Jeff went body surfing that evening. The waves were a little high, but it was otherwise nice. His bruises healed.

Later that evening, we meet up to break into the Wright Brothers Memorial for a sunset/magic hours shot. We hop a low fence and jog through a cactus field (something not to do with sandals) to get my shot. I later found out that we broke into nothing, the place was still open.

All through the night I can hear the wind building up against our patio doors. perhaps there would be flying tomorrow.

October 6th

We are greeted that morning with blustery winds coming off the ocean. Everyone assembles back at the park for what we hope will be a good day of flying. Our time was running out. As just another gamble during this whole independent filmmaker thing, we only have enough time to spend two days at the Outer Banks. All three of us had to get back to our "real" jobs in Cleveland.

Nick and the pilots pulled the '02 glider out of her shelter and then took wind readings. Too much wind would render the glider uncontrollable. Nick has decided to give this day a try.

We all hike around a mile to the top of the smaller dune at the park. It doesn't sound like much, but you should try slogging along in loose sand carrying a movie camera before you judge. The restorers and pilots carried the glider the same distance on their shoulders. The History Channel guys have a 4-wheeler. We eye them with temporary hate.

As we approach the top of the dune, my DAT recorder starts having a stroke: intermittent power. Jeff trots off to the visitor center to perform emergency surgery on it while I begin to shoot.

As the '02 crew perform their first, and awkward, flights of the day, Me and the other media folks begin to deal with our own devil. Sand. Blowing sand. Nick had enlisted his friend JT Anderson (storyboard artist for the Cohen Brothers) to shoot for him. His mini-dv camera soon went south. I offer to help and find the mechanism is filled with sand granules. I offer them the use of my footage when we get back to Ohio, which cheers them up some. Nick is too busy to really pay any of this any mind.

Speaking of my footage, after shooting out two mags, I retreat back t base camp to reload. Jeff has the DAT working somewhat and heads up the hill to get some "nat" sound of the proceedings. After downloading my shot film in the dark, I examine my mags to find they are completely coated on the inside with fine sand granules. Oh, shit. The seals on the mags were not keeping the sand out. What was worse, sand could be on every frame of the film, scratching it with every movement. I clean them out as best I can, load them and head back up the hill. Perhaps the lab can clean the debris off before running the film through the soup.

Back up on the hill, the pilots have gotten better at controlling the craft. I get some good stuff including good off-speed footage. After 6 hours of flying, they finally break the glider for the day. I have been told this was common for Orville and Wilber as well. The pilots and restorers carry the ailing glider back to the main tent. We gather up our gear and head back to the hotel. Nick is still too busy to give us an interview. We'll have to try to get one tomorrow.

October 7th

Time is not on our side today. With a 12 hour drive ahead of us, we show up at the park that morning early. The trouble is, no one else has. We found out that Nick and the pilots had a demonstration planned at an area school, so they were late. We set up and waited. After a while, everyone showed up, but Nick was still in his mobile home. He apparently was doing work on his web site. My crew and I stared at our watches and waited. Finally, Nick exited his RV and gave us our interview, which came out great. We hastily shook hands, wished everyone well, and tore out of there for the highway.

In spite of all the sand in the mag, all the footage came out fine. Actually, it was some of the better footage in the film. The lab was scarred of the footage. They didn't want it in their precious machines. I sent it anyway. They can be such children.

Corsair Gathering

2008-11-18T17:47:20-05:00

September 2002

September 4th

Travel Day. Everything seems to be in place. This is one of my most involved shoots yet, just in terms of logistics. My traveling crew will total 4 (me, Kevin, Heather, & Hallie) along with all of our gear. I've rented a U-Haul trailer for all of the overflow. On our way to Indianapolis, we're going to stop at the Dayton Air Force Museum and grab those shots I put off from July.

The Museum. I get there and my first problem is color balance. It's really warm (color-wise) in the museum and I didn't bring any gel for the lights. After a quick call, Mark Lyons from my alma-mater Wright State is brining some. Problem two: I forgot the special wrench to put a critical attachment onto the camera. I rented a steadicam for some production value. I need the video tap hooked up to the camera, otherwise I can't see the shot. After some finger-cramping gymnastics with a paperclip, I get the attachment on. The rest of the Dayton shoot is no problem. Two hours later, we're back on the road to Indy.

September 5th

We arrive at the airport in Mount Comfort. I hit the ground with a lot of enthusiasm. We've been told some great things about this show. First, it was the Gathering of Corsairs. Word was there would be about 15 or so there. Second, most of the week would involve lots of flying, including many formation flights. Third, and best of all, we were getting some great access. We were also in line to shoot from an aircraft while the Corsairs do their formation flights. This will be great.

We find the organizers of the event. They are a little scatter-brained right now, which we find fairly understandable. This event is attracting most flyable Corsairs, many original pilots of Corsairs, as well as the actors who were in Black Sheep Squadron. The organizers say hello, but can't promise us any rides that day. Fine. We march out and film from where the rest of the media has camped out. Since it's just the fly-in day, and not open to the public, the fly-by passes can be a little more...how should I say...daring.

The above image isn't really cropped in. That's Gerry Beck flying over us at grass-cutting altitude. Lots of great footage. We spent most of the day doing shots like this and meeting folks. A good day of low flying. We didn't get to go up in anything. yet. Perhaps tomorrow.

September 6th

So, it's looking like we're not going up in anything today. The B-25 that has been designated for the photo tours and flights is owned by a warbird magazine. The photographer on it doesn't want competing still images, which I can understand. We're trying to push the "we're motion pictures, not stills" angle. Maybe it will work, who knows. Heather is doing her best to surf the crowd of pilots, meeting people and telling them about us. Hallie, Kevin and I have another sweltering day of shooting planes from the ground. As the day draws to a close, it's becoming clear we're not going to get up in any aircraft. The organizer keeps shrugging his shoulders at me saying' "We'll see". We're all getting pretty pissed off. I send back the Image Stabilization Lens that I'm renting for $500 a day.

The air show isn't technically open yet that day. The gates are open for "Corsair Enthusiasts" with special tickets or something. Anyway, I think more folks showed up than they planned. Hardly any food was ready by the vendors, who were just moving in. We did scramble up something called "Walking Tacos". Basically, you slice open a bag of corn chips and dump in some taco meat, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese. The give you a spork and send you on your way. Hallie dropped hers.

My cell phone then rings. On the line is David Fields. I met him briefly earlier in the day. Heather had met him and gotten a ride in his Grumman Tiger low-wing. A nice guy who was very excited about the project. He asks, "How's it going?" I tell him exactly how it's going. He suggests that he could help by taking me up and I could shoot from his plane. But shoot what? He then says Gerry Beck just walked by him. The two of them converse for a second while I'm on the other end of the phone listening to my film being planned out. David comes back on to say that we could do air-to-air filming tomorrow morning with Gerry Beck's Corsair. Just us, no other media. I thank him and agree, unable at first to comprehend how much this saves my trip. From disastrous waste of time to a by-the-skin-of-our-teeth success in 5 minutes. I need a drink.

That night a got a drink...or five. We bought tickets to the Corsair Legends dinner. The panel that night; Corsair fliers from both Korea and WWII. Also, the actors from Black Sheep Squadron were in attendance, sitting at our table. Not bad. David Fields and I hammer out a couple of things for tomorrow. Mostly, it was a nice evening where me and the crew could dress like humans for a change and not work. Tomorrow was an early day.

September 7th

After waiting a half hour to get in the dumb show, I leave the crew and our vehicle to find someone responsible. I was spitting nails. It wasn't just us, all media and vendor vehicles were being blocked at the VIP gate because they didn't have our credentials there. As far as well run events, this was pretty far down the totem pole. I finally got us in after running about 2 miles and proceeded to the FBO (fixed base of operations). There, Me David and Gerry hash out what we're going to do. As we're doing this, the event Organizer sniffs that something's up and comes over. He asks what we're doing. We tell him. "Oh," he says. "Then you're all taken care of then..." He then walks away. I turn to Heather, "There went any chance of a B-25 flight for us."

We rush down to where David has his plane parked and gear up for the shoot. I bring two 400' mags with me, just in case. We plan on flying with the canopy back, so I won't have to shoot through glass. With the image stabilization lens already sent back, the wind will really knock me around. I decide to shoot everything in slow motion. This should smooth out a lot of the shake in my shots, since I'll have to be shooting hand-held.

Once we're up, we fly around until Gerry finds us. David has a great time, flying formation with a WWII fighter aircraft. I shoot barely half a mag, but get great stuff.

Once on the ground, I do an interview with Gerry and shoot a good amount of B-roll around his plane. Hallie again fails to bring any shorts. She starts to suffer from heat stroke. I put her in my truck with the air conditioning. Towards the end of the day, the corsairs finally do formation flights over the airfield. I have enough for a story.

Much of filmmaking is problem solving. I only get really frustrated when the problems are created by people's actions. In spite of this, kind souls saved our bacon and I walked away with a good story. Time to go home, rest for three days, then head to Reno.