Behind the scenes 1
0001 00:00:08:18 00:00:12:03
I don't think anyone has done
dogfight sequences like this before,
0002 00:00:12:05 00:00:14:08
showing just what these men
went through.
0003 00:00:18:13 00:00:22:07
(new speaker) We had shots where there
isn't much real left in the final shot
0004 00:00:22:09 00:00:23:22
by the time you get there.
0005 00:00:26:13 00:00:29:03
As far as the visual effects shots
in the entire movie,
0006 00:00:29:05 00:00:32:02
there were 1515.
0007 00:00:32:04 00:00:36:11
It made sense to reach out and partner
with other visual-effects companies.
0008 00:00:36:13 00:00:38:02
Work was done all over the world.
0009 00:00:38:04 00:00:42:01
Red Tails was definitely
the biggest project we ever worked on.
0010 00:00:42:03 00:00:44:00
I grew up watching Star Wars.
0011 00:00:44:02 00:00:47:05
It's an honour
to work with ILM and George.
0012 00:00:47:07 00:00:50:14
He invented half the stuff
that we use on an everyday basis.
0013 00:00:53:10 00:00:56:08
(Daulton) It was great that we did
the opening sequence first
0014 00:00:56:10 00:00:59:01
so we had work that we
could show to outside vendors
0015 00:00:59:03 00:01:03:08
and say, "Here's the quality of image
and the flight dynamics that we want."
0016 00:01:03:10 00:01:07:11
"Here's what the camera dynamics
should be to make exciting shots."
0017 00:01:09:01 00:01:12:15
That blends seamlessly
into Pixomondo's work.
0018 00:01:13:18 00:01:15:13
Pixomondo did an amazing job.
0019 00:01:15:15 00:01:19:21
(Hammack) We were fortunate to get some
great destruction work out of them.
0020 00:01:19:23 00:01:23:17
The truck screening was shot
so that the truck is coming at us
0021 00:01:23:19 00:01:26:21
and George wants the truck
to catch fire and explode
0022 00:01:26:23 00:01:28:16
when it drives by the camera.
0023 00:01:28:18 00:01:33:05
We needed to replace the truck
in the shot with a CG truck
0024 00:01:33:07 00:01:36:08
and start to burn it and end it
with a large explosion.
0025 00:01:38:17 00:01:42:01
(Hammack) UPP in the Czech Republic,
we gave them just under 500 jobs.
0026 00:01:42:03 00:01:43:13
Bogeys inbound, 12 o'clock.
0027 00:01:43:15 00:01:46:15
(Hammack) There were aerial battles
up in the clouds.
0028 00:01:47:18 00:01:51:12
In addition, UPP did the Me 262 jets.
0029 00:01:51:14 00:01:55:07
Working on the Me 262
was for us really interesting.
0030 00:01:55:09 00:01:59:07
These planes were built during the
Second World War in the Czech Republic.
0031 00:01:59:09 00:02:02:11
We had a chance to visit the museum.
0032 00:02:02:13 00:02:05:13
There are still two existing
real planes.
0033 00:02:06:12 00:02:09:00
(Hammack) There's a sequence
where the German base
0034 00:02:09:02 00:02:10:15
gets strafed by the Red Tails.
0035 00:02:11:05 00:02:14:21
(Muller) These shots were probably,
for us, the most complex.
0036 00:02:14:23 00:02:18:15
Sometimes, we started
with principal photography
0037 00:02:18:17 00:02:23:20
and we filled the rest of the shot
with the CG extension.
0038 00:02:24:07 00:02:28:14
(Hammack) All the details of the base,
buildings, extra planes, extra crew,
0039 00:02:28:16 00:02:30:02
were all done digitally.
0040 00:02:31:05 00:02:33:20
Early in the script
was the train crash sequence.
0041 00:02:33:22 00:02:36:10
(Daulton)
The train wreck sequence expanded.
0042 00:02:36:12 00:02:40:13
Pixomondo said, "Let's make it bigger
and put another angle in."
0043 00:02:40:15 00:02:44:10
We suggested a more dramatic shot
in front of the train.
0044 00:02:44:12 00:02:48:05
(Daulton) They came up with something.
We showed it to George who loved it.
0045 00:02:48:07 00:02:51:07
It's nice that a vendor
will make suggestions like that.
0046 00:02:51:09 00:02:52:11
When you go up...
0047 00:02:52:13 00:02:54:20
(Daulton) George has done this
for a long time.
0048 00:02:54:22 00:02:57:04
I don't just mean
making entertaining movies.
0049 00:02:57:06 00:02:59:21
He's been designing action sequences
for a long time.
0050 00:02:59:23 00:03:01:03
He knows what he's doing.
0051 00:03:03:06 00:03:05:20
Red Tails is a real story.
It's an important story.
0052 00:03:05:22 00:03:09:11
A lot of credit can go to our outsource
vendors, Pixomondo and UPP.
Behind the scenes 2
0001 00:00:05:15 00:00:09:09
With Red Tails, part of the challenge
was to make realistic cockpit shots.
0002 00:00:09:11 00:00:11:24
- The actor's sitting in the cockpit.
- Yeah!
0003 00:00:12:01 00:00:14:08
(Daulton) The gimbal work
makes it believable.
0004 00:00:14:10 00:00:16:19
Hallelujah! The saints are marching in.
0005 00:00:16:21 00:00:20:03
Our CG camera
mimics what the gimbal was doing,
0006 00:00:20:05 00:00:22:05
then we put it with a CG background.
0007 00:00:23:07 00:00:24:13
I'm on your wing, Junior.
0008 00:00:24:15 00:00:27:24
(new speaker) You have a life-size plane
hoisted up on a platform
0009 00:00:28:01 00:00:30:18
with four guys flanking the sides
0010 00:00:30:20 00:00:33:09
with these big rods in their hands.
0011 00:00:33:11 00:00:36:08
They're literally pulling and pushing
the plane.
0012 00:00:36:10 00:00:39:01
(muffled shouts)
0013 00:00:39:03 00:00:44:06
Getting shot and having to react
to nothing? It's interesting.
0014 00:00:46:07 00:00:48:03
(yells)
0015 00:00:48:05 00:00:50:01
This is pure acting.
0016 00:00:51:12 00:00:54:16
- Easy, we gotta take it head on.
- It's my decision, Lightning.
0017 00:00:54:18 00:00:56:03
Stay in formation.
0018 00:00:56:05 00:00:59:22
The gimbal work is proving to be
one of my best experiences in film.
0019 00:00:59:24 00:01:03:04
I'm really having to grow
and stretch myself.
0020 00:01:03:06 00:01:06:20
Give it a beat after the gun's free.
0021 00:01:06:22 00:01:09:13
(Parker) You're in the plane
and your eye line
0022 00:01:09:15 00:01:12:24
is sometimes in line with people
who are smoking cigarettes,
0023 00:01:13:01 00:01:15:02
talking or walking their dog.
0024 00:01:15:04 00:01:17:15
You're, like, "Bogeys, inbound,
12 o'clock."
0025 00:01:17:17 00:01:19:09
People are like...
0026 00:01:19:11 00:01:20:21
But you have to make it work.
0027 00:01:20:23 00:01:22:11
It's here, here, here, here?
0028 00:01:22:13 00:01:24:20
Yes. Take it from the top
of the countdown.
0029 00:01:29:03 00:01:31:01
Joker, I got one on my tail!
0030 00:01:33:14 00:01:35:12
It's like a big video game.
0031 00:01:35:14 00:01:38:06
You move it around
and the gimbal moves with you.
0032 00:01:38:08 00:01:39:16
It's fun.
0033 00:01:39:18 00:01:43:17
One second. Sharon's coming
to put some love juice on your lips.
0034 00:01:43:19 00:01:46:06
Wow! Good old love juice.
0035 00:01:46:08 00:01:47:14
(Wilds) You have to pull
0036 00:01:47:16 00:01:50:12
energy and resources
from somewhere else
0037 00:01:50:14 00:01:53:22
that you didn't know
that you had before.
0038 00:01:53:24 00:01:55:15
Don't control it, just go there.
0039 00:01:55:17 00:01:59:10
(Wilds) Being in the gimbal
puts your entire body in that situation.
0040 00:01:59:12 00:02:00:17
All you can do is play it.
0041 00:02:01:17 00:02:03:05
No, no! (yells)
0042 00:02:03:07 00:02:04:13
Stay left! I'll get him.
0043 00:02:04:15 00:02:06:17
(yells)
0044 00:02:06:19 00:02:07:19
Whoo!
0045 00:02:07:21 00:02:10:00
You want it to be as real to you
as possible.
0046 00:02:10:02 00:02:12:22
If it's real to you,
it'll be real to the people watching.
0047 00:02:12:24 00:02:15:21
Reference to the altimeter
on your dashboard.
0048 00:02:17:07 00:02:19:06
Watch it! (yells)
0049 00:02:19:08 00:02:21:02
Got my wings. Got my wings.
0050 00:02:21:04 00:02:22:24
They missed me. No holes in me, baby!
0051 00:02:23:01 00:02:24:12
Whoo!
0052 00:02:24:14 00:02:27:01
Get on the inside, Easy,
get on the inside.
0053 00:02:27:03 00:02:31:01
When Easy comes to my left,
was I looking in the right places?
0054 00:02:31:03 00:02:35:03
The gimbal stuff and the green screen
is just so alien.
0055 00:02:35:24 00:02:39:13
I can only equate it to being given
a deep-sea-diver's suit
0056 00:02:39:15 00:02:43:15
and being told to kind of simulate
what it's like to be underwater
0057 00:02:43:17 00:02:45:10
while harpooning sharks.
0058 00:02:45:12 00:02:48:17
It's so hot.
I'm sweating like a pregnant nun.
0059 00:02:48:19 00:02:50:14
An actor's work is never done.
0060 00:02:50:16 00:02:54:15
You just go in there, decide
what you're going to do and do it.
0061 00:02:54:17 00:02:56:11
- You gotta help me out!
- I'm on him.
0062 00:02:56:13 00:02:57:13
Take him out!
0063 00:02:57:15 00:02:59:13
- Hold on.
- Drop to your right.
0064 00:03:03:05 00:03:04:11
Alright. Got him.
0065 00:03:04:13 00:03:05:20
Oh, thank you, Lord.
0066 00:03:05:22 00:03:07:18
I thought you didn't love me any more.
0067 00:03:08:19 00:03:11:08
(Daulton) The pilots roll the plane
all the way over.
0068 00:03:11:10 00:03:12:15
Oh, yeah!
0069 00:03:12:17 00:03:15:11
We would mimic what the plane
was supposed to be doing
0070 00:03:15:13 00:03:17:09
and sync that up the foreground play.
0071 00:03:17:11 00:03:21:07
Whoo! We are officially the best. Yeah!
0072 00:03:21:09 00:03:24:14
If the plane tilts, the background
tilts. We can go 360.
0073 00:03:24:16 00:03:27:21
(Daulton) George has flown things around
in movies for a long time.
0074 00:03:27:23 00:03:31:18
Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
With Red Tails, it's the real deal.
0075 00:03:31:20 00:03:34:05
It really was our job
to make it believable,
0076 00:03:34:07 00:03:36:13
accurate and entertaining
at the same time.
0077 00:03:36:15 00:03:39:01
Brace yourselves.
We're going the distance.
0078 00:03:39:03 00:03:41:06
- We fight.
- Here we go!
