Autodidact
Well-Known Member
Anyone interested in this subject? In prior discussions, it seemed like most people did not care much for the CGI scenes from modern movies. But as good as some of the old movies are, they seem to have room for improvement (like the Hurricane that is actually a Buchon in the Polish squadron in Battle Of Britain and similar examples from many other movies). Some questions:
1. One problem with older movies is that, due to money and availability, some of the aircraft shown are not accurate, and there is a limit dictated by safety on what pilots are willing and able to do compared to what the director may want, as well as the large cost of having these expensive vintage aircraft loitering around waiting for the scene to get set up. Can realistic scenes be filmed with slightly scaled down aircraft (possibly even unmanned)?
2. Could these scaled aircraft be based on the same basic interior structure and even engine (Mazda rotary?) with different outer skins?
3. The obvious way to film these scenes would be a camera vehicle; does the technology to "ride along" in a preset position relative to the subject aircraft exist, so that a beacon of some sort in the subject aircraft can be locked onto by a sensor in the camera craft and a computer can do the stick-&-ruddering while the human operator can adjust the camera's position and direction at will?
4. All of this stuff can be done with CGI, but it seemed like most people here didn't like it so much. One problem may be that any unrealistic thing is possible in CGI (like the "pretty boy" maneuver in Redtails), and with the constraints of real life action everything done would have to be physically possible. Is real life action superior to CGI?
5. Can this be done cost effectively or competitively with CGI? Looking at movie budgets you would think so. CGI advocates and those with money in that game would obviously try to dispel this idea. But there is certainly the potential for real life to look better with real sky and clouds, and real landscapes (which can conversely, also be a problem). And you'd still need CGI for certain effects.
This seems like the perfect business for EAB enthusiasts and modelers to collaborate with computer/CGI people and set-builders for more realistic and satisfying air combat scenes.
1. One problem with older movies is that, due to money and availability, some of the aircraft shown are not accurate, and there is a limit dictated by safety on what pilots are willing and able to do compared to what the director may want, as well as the large cost of having these expensive vintage aircraft loitering around waiting for the scene to get set up. Can realistic scenes be filmed with slightly scaled down aircraft (possibly even unmanned)?
2. Could these scaled aircraft be based on the same basic interior structure and even engine (Mazda rotary?) with different outer skins?
3. The obvious way to film these scenes would be a camera vehicle; does the technology to "ride along" in a preset position relative to the subject aircraft exist, so that a beacon of some sort in the subject aircraft can be locked onto by a sensor in the camera craft and a computer can do the stick-&-ruddering while the human operator can adjust the camera's position and direction at will?
4. All of this stuff can be done with CGI, but it seemed like most people here didn't like it so much. One problem may be that any unrealistic thing is possible in CGI (like the "pretty boy" maneuver in Redtails), and with the constraints of real life action everything done would have to be physically possible. Is real life action superior to CGI?
5. Can this be done cost effectively or competitively with CGI? Looking at movie budgets you would think so. CGI advocates and those with money in that game would obviously try to dispel this idea. But there is certainly the potential for real life to look better with real sky and clouds, and real landscapes (which can conversely, also be a problem). And you'd still need CGI for certain effects.
This seems like the perfect business for EAB enthusiasts and modelers to collaborate with computer/CGI people and set-builders for more realistic and satisfying air combat scenes.
