World Scenic Flights
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | World Scenic Flights |
| Original title | World Scenic Flights |
| Country of production | Germany |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 8 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 0 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Tobias U. Wagner |
| script | Tobias U. Wagner |
| production | HeliGraphix |
| music | Patrick Damiani |
| camera | Saskia D. Oehmichen |
| cut | Tobias U. Wagner |
World Scenic Flights is a short film by the film and stunt team HeliGraphix , which cannot be squeezed into any common film genre and scheme. He arranges spectacular 3D aerobatics of an RC model helicopter in front of various landmarks of the world and thus represents a unique cinematic project in this combination and to this extent. In total, the film focuses on 33 locations in 29 countries. The World Scenic Flights received the “Blue Danube” film award at the SILA FEST film festival in Serbia in 2009 and the “Bronze Palm Award” of the MEXICO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in 2010.
action
The film "World Scenic Flights" does not have a film plot in the conventional sense, but is defined by aerobatic maneuvers with an RC model helicopter at locations with a high recognition value , which have a cultural, national, structural, historical or landscape significance. The flight maneuvers alone already bring a high aesthetic aspect with them, which were brought into correspondence with the filmic background objects and scenes. It was important to the filmmakers not to overweight either of the two image components, but only to emphasize the flight maneuvers to such an extent that the background is still consciously perceived.
Reviews
Press
"Another undisputed highlight are the already mentioned" World Scenic Flights "that create goosebumps" "
"An unrivaled short film"
"World Scenic Flights, probably the largest project in the history of model flying worldwide"
"Gigantic and daring, the world's largest project in the history of model flying"
“What does it take to be able to survive such adventures? Perhaps the answer lies in the title of the first major HeliGraphix DVD production from 2006: "Remote Madness" - a touch of madness ... "
production
Substance development
Tobias U. Wagner has been flying model helicopters for years and has become known in the scene for performing unusual flight tasks (especially record attempts) and for describing and further developing 3D flight maneuvers . German and international championships are now being held in this genre. Due to his know-how in the field of model helicopters, Wagner is also a regular author of specialist articles in the relevant specialist press, where he shares his flight experience with the reader. The ability and testing of the flying limits around these daring flight maneuvers led early on to Wagner going over to taking aerial photos and flying stunts with the helicopters and publishing them as a film clip - for this he founded the film and film club together with Heinrich Wagner HeliGraphix stunt team . On this basis, HeliGraphix has published around 80 of these stunt clips since 2003 on its own website or in relevant Internet video portals such as YouTube , which received a lot of attention in the model flight scene and which were regularly reported in the specialist press. In addition, HeliGraphix are record holders and flight pioneers for unusual or never before successful flight maneuvers and stunts with the model helicopter. An additional collection of such film clips of stunts and record attempts was eventually brought out as part of two direct-to-DVD releases.
The basic idea for the film "World Scenic Flights" came from Tobias U. Wagner and Saskia D. Oehmichen , who later made herself available for the camera work, in 2005 during a stay in New Zealand for the purpose of model helicopter demonstrations. Another film project, the "New Zealand Scenic Flights "was born. Already here, flight maneuvers in front of New Zealand landmarks and sights were staged and recorded on film. Inspired by further trips with the model helicopter, the filmmakers' idea finally matured to such an extent that in 2007 the decision was made to expand the individual trips and film clips worldwide and to systematically determine locations in the world as part of the "World Scenic Flights" to make film recordings with the helicopter in front of famous backdrops. The film team was aware that model helicopter flights are problematic in many countries, especially since strict airspace requirements often apply for fear of aerial espionage or terrorist attacks. HeliGraphix had seen this as a challenge to be overcome based on many years of international experience.
Main production
Since those responsible had deliberately designed the film project to be non-commercial, it first had to be counter-financed. After the financing seemed to be secured by a considerable amount of own contributions as well as a few sponsorship money from the model flight industry, the realization of the film project was decided and planning and implementation began.
The film team needed about a year for the main subject areas of the shooting, other subjects followed and were also filmed.
A total of 150,000 km were covered on around 30 long-haul flights to reach the many filming locations. The project was shot at the following locations:
In fact, further attempts at filming were made at the following locations (selection), but these had to be canceled due to technical, weather or security-related circumstances or were not included in the film for cinematic reasons:
|
country
|
City / Province / Location
|
Sightseeing
|
 United States
|
los Angeles | Hollywood Sign |
 Egypt
|
Luxor | Nile and Luxor temples |
|
Egypt
|
Fayyum | oasis |
|
Egypt
|
Hurghada | Red Sea |
 South Korea
|
Seoul | Changdeokgung Palace |
 Austria
|
Vienna | Wiener Prater |
 United Kingdom
|
Salisbury | Salisbury Cathedral |
 Sweden
|
Ekerö | Drottningholm Palace |
|
Sweden
|
Vindeln | Rapids of the Vindelälven |
 France
|
Paris | Louvre |
 Finland
|
Nokia | Nokia house |
Production notes
Tobias U. Wagner and Saskia D. Oehmichen were supported in their film project by a total of 80 helpers based abroad and in Germany, who enabled them to get close to the objects to be filmed, to receive orientation aids on site and to cope with logistical problems . In addition, Wagner and Oehmichen were left to their own devices in the majority of locations.
Since the time frame for the filming was extremely tight and the film crew was only able to show up at the locations or on the way there with a minimal cast, the filming was partly characterized by particularly difficult circumstances and setbacks:
For the cross-cultural work on site, there was a plethora of logistical, technical and administrative challenges to deal with as well as many country-specific challenges. So it was often difficult to enter the age of media-processed "terror hysteria" with an aircraft that was legally equivalent to manned aviation and to soar in frequented public places worldwide.
It quickly became clear, both during entry and during the flight attempts, that the problem was not so much the R / C technology, but the potential for being able to take aerial photos with a helicopter and film military facilities , which was generally a very delicate one The topic was and therefore required a lot of negotiating skills and an unconventional approach.
In addition to the film equipment and basic travel equipment, an electrically operated high-end helicopter (1.60 m rotor diameter , 5 kg weight, motor power 3 HP, up to 200 km / h fast) with remote control , battery technology and charging equipment to foreign countries was required to introduce. The total baggage amounted to 80 kg, of which around 60 kg were technical equipment.
For the same reasons, flying and filming at the landmarks of the respective country was no less critical and sometimes armed security forces came on the scene, who forced a flight and film stop, either generally or at least until the respective circumstances of the flight were clarified.
From an aeronautical point of view, the film project also had high demands:
The pilot in charge is generally subject to high sensorimotor requirements as well as the ability to concentrate and react, as natural obstacles in the planned flight path, visual obstacles when steering, blinding sunlight, sufficient safety space for a possible emergency landing as well as changing winds and thermals always had to be observed. In addition, there was usually a great deal of time pressure for the recordings and the possibility of repetition was not given in many cases. Overall, the helicopter should always be staged as far as possible in such a way that it was in a balanced relationship to the cinematic background and that it could be depicted in a scene-appropriate manner.
Further project difficulties came through strict flight bans around certain locations, so that film alternatives had to be found on site. A multitude of technical problems as well as the high humidity (Panama Canal) or constant water mist (Niagara Falls), which is harmful to the film and helicopter technology, shaped the filming as well as an immediately preceding terrorist attack in Ajmer (India), problems and misunderstandings with local authorities as well an attempted taxi - kidnapping of film crews in Delhi .
These overall circumstances then also led to the fact that no arbitrary number of takes could be made, but in some cases only a single, mostly short film attempt per location was possible.
Since there was no script in the classic sense and the locations could usually only be viewed shortly before the start of the filming, a final filming and flight concept was only created on site, which should do justice to the topic to be filmed. In two-thirds of all cases, the flight maneuvers were discussed in detail and selected so that they did justice to both the flight area and the object to be depicted and were set in a harmonious context that also matched the size. The flight figures were repeated as often as possible until the composition was consistent or the filming had to be broken off due to external influences.
In St. Petersburg, the helicopter collided with a steel cable in flight and crashed into a canal , so that filming had to pause at this point. In Jaipur , the helicopter hit a concrete wall and suffered flight-related damage, so that the base team from Germany and Switzerland had to relocate the corresponding spare parts by courier post.
In India, the World Scenic Flights project was evidently so unusual and spectacular that the shooting was accompanied by state television and the national press and then made available to an audience of millions in the context of appropriate reporting via the respective medium. This reporting then had a positive influence on the recordings in front of the Taj Mahal, so that a temporary ascent and film permit could be obtained.
Production engineering
Film technology
Due to the space and weight restrictions on the continuous flight around the world, the production team had to use minimal film equipment, which was usually designed for ground-level recordings from a standing perspective. In some cases, the equipment had to be transported over long distances together with the helicopter and remote control technology on foot (China) or on pack animals (Egypt) to the locations. In addition, one's own need for security was a reason to keep the film equipment as small and inconspicuous as possible. Oehmichen therefore filmed the sequences with a high-end DV video camera. In some places (e.g. Teotihuacan, Mexico) this has already been classified as professional equipment and a filming permit was only granted after extensive negotiations.
On-site security organs or safety regulations as well as local conditions significantly restricted camera work and cinematic possibilities. Even with free flight options on site, the requirement to put the helicopter in the scene in harmony with the background entailed considerable restrictions in the free choice of image detail and camera position, so that classic camera work based on purely cinematic aspects (free choice of perspective, free choice of location, free choice of distance, free selection) was not applicable to this film project. To a certain extent, the multitude of external factors dictated the cinematic settings.
DVD release
World Scenic Flights was first published in May 2008 as a free downloadable film on the website of the film and stunt team HeliGraphix and on the YouTube video portal . In the following years, numerous followers put the file online on their own servers. World Scenic Flights also appeared as a direct-to-video production in the form of an additional feature on the stunt DVD "Empire of Madness" (November 2008).
marketing
Since the film is non-commercial, there was no self-promotion for marketing. The numerous events related to the filming and locations were commented on in a live blog , which was maintained on the plane on the way to the next locations, among other things. At the same time, there was a report, also written by the producers, in the nationwide helicopter magazine ROTOR. Furthermore, the filmmakers were asked about their experiences in two radio broadcasts (late 2008 and mid-2009) at RPR1 , so that these events can be understood under "marketing" in the broadest sense.
Soundtrack
The film soundtrack "Global Explorer" was composed and arranged by Patrick Damiani in a four-week work process in the Tidalwave Studios . The film producers initially tried out more modern compositions, which, however, could not harmoniously follow the different tempo changes of the pictures, so that they finally decided on a basically classical arrangement, which was supplemented by some modern musical elements. The film music "Global Explorer" supports the interplay of the two visual aspects "helicopter flight" and "world-famous scenery", gives the images a suitable rhythm and also creates a cultural link with the filmic content by adding ethnic musical elements ( didgeridoos , Arabic Nāys , Korean Haegeums , Chinese Erhus and Qins ) were included in the main musical theme. The helicopter "dances" through the air to the beat of a Viennese waltz in front of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna or glides along the Great Wall of China to traditional Chinese music .
Awards
The difficulty in being able to compete with the film at a film festival was that the project combined many categorical aspects (action, adventure), but still could not be clearly assigned to a specific film genre. Other productions, which can be clearly assigned to a category, also have it fundamentally easier to get an evaluation and to be compared with other productions. World Scenic Flights was nevertheless shown and nominated at several film festivals and received at the
SILA FEST 2009 (Silver Lake Film Festival) den
- Blue Danube Award Special Approach
as well as on the
MEXICO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 den
- Bronze Palm Award
Literature / national and international reporting
- Passauer Neue Presse, issue 79 of April 4, 2009, p. 19, "Around the world with the model helicopter"
- Yearbook 2009, Chronicle for the Passauer Land, 2010, Donau-Wald-Presse-GmbH, Passau, ISBN 978-3-940782-04-5
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 10/2007, "Around the world in 72 days with the R / C helicopter - Episode 1", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 11/2007, "With the R / C helicopter around the world in 72 days - Episode 2", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 12/2007, "With the R / C helicopter around the world in 72 days - Episode 3", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 01/2008, "Around the world in 72 days with the R / C helicopter - Episode 4", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 02/2008, "Around the world in 72 days with the R / C helicopter - Episode 5", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter magazine, issue 05/2008, "Around the world in 72 days with the R / C helicopter - the grand finale", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- ROTOR - the leading helicopter trade magazine, issue 12/2009, "Film Prize for World Scenic Flights", Modellsport-Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- Hindi News Rajasthan Patrika ( http://www.rajasthanpatrika.com/ ) from October 11, 2007, article "With the helicopter around the world" (article title freely translated from Indian (Hindi) into English)
- Danik Bhaskar Hindi News ( http://www.bhaskar.com/ ), India's largest daily newspaper for India and Nepal, from October 11, 2007, article "Made in Germany helicopter in Jaipur India" (article title from Indian (Hindi) free translated into English)
- Danik Bhaskar Hindi News ( http://www.bhaskar.com/ ), India's largest daily newspaper for India and Nepal, from October 12, 2007, article "Made in Germany helicopter with rotor in Jaipur India" (article heading from Indian (Hindi ) freely translated into English)
- RPR1 radio show "My Adventure" from December 14, 2008 (300,000 listeners)
- RPR1 radio show "My Adventure" from July 12, 2009 (300,000 listeners)
- MFI - Modellflug International, edition 2/2009, p. 40, Modellsport Verlag GmbH, Baden-Baden
- FMT - Flugmodell und Technik, Edition 2/2009, p. 111 ff., Verlag für Technik und Handwerk GmbH, Baden-Baden
Web links
- The HeliGraphix website with information and blogs about the World Scenic Flights
- The official website for the World Scenic Flights film with free download option (high video resolution)
- The World Scenic Flights on YouTube (low video resolution)
- The New Zealand ScenicFlights on YouTube (low video resolution)
- World Scenic Flights in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The website of the SILAFEST film festival
- The website of the Mexico International Film Festival
- Video of the team's "latest" stunt: Successful world record attempt: Heavy Ultra-Lifter Crane (HULC)
Individual references / comments
- ↑ SILA FEST (The International Festival of Ecology and Tourism Film, Serbia) was founded in 2008 and has been awarding prizes for films in the field of tourism and ecology since 2009. Tourism is interpreted very broadly and also opens up to topics such as culture, sport, places of worship, sanctuaries, museums, wineries, wine, ski areas, Mediterranean islands, exotic places and similar topics. The organizers see tourism more and more in relation to ecological issues, so that both categories can be addressed individually or in combination at this festival. Both national and international contributions are permitted. SILAFEST has the ITCO (International Organization of Tourist Press) license and in 2009 was able to assess around 100 submitted films. Spread over six days, the festival registered 3,000 visitors in 2009. In 2009 World Scenic Flights received the “THE BLUE DANUBE Special Approach to Tourist Film” film award
- ↑ The Mexico International Film Festival takes place every spring in Rosarito (Mexico). National and international entries competing in the categories Documentation, Short Film, Foreign Film, Animated Film, Music Video, Student Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best TV Pilot Film and “Best of Mexico” are permitted. The World Scenic Flights prevailed against 50 other films in the "Short Film" category and, like the film Keinohrhasen, are among the 2010 Mexico International Film Festival winners
- ↑ see e.g. B. Figure catalog according to F3N of the Munich-Heli-Masters (MHM) ( Memento from June 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF, approx. 240 kByte) (Status: June 24, 2009)
- ↑ Tobias Wagner regularly has his own column in the trade magazine ROTOR and can be heard about 3D flight maneuvers or stunts with the model helicopter and also gives technical tips for the ongoing flight operations of such a helicopter. In addition, his articles and reports are also printed in the trade journal RC-HELI ACTION
- ↑ cf. Passauer Neue Presse of April 4, 2009: "Around the world with the model helicopter - How Vilshofener Tobias Wagner (33) became a scene star with stunts and films"
- ↑ A presentation and discussion of the DVD "Empire of Madness", which are about these stunts, took place. a. in ROTOR - the leading helicopter specialist magazine, issue 12/2008, p. 50 ff.
-
↑ HeliGraphix is the record holder or first executor for the stunts based on aerobatic maneuvers listed below :
- December 2002: First ceiling landing in the world
- March 2004: Highest g load of an R / C helicopter: over 50 g
- April 2004: First wall launch in the world
- June 2005: First wall landing in the world
- September 2005: First rocket-propelled helicopter
- ↑ The collection of stunts have been released as DVD productions "Remote Madness" and "Empire of Madness"
- ↑ "Trying the impossible and still making it possible" is a core motivation of HeliGraphix. It ultimately also led to the numerous records and the most impossible flight maneuvers by HeliGraphix in the course of numerous stunt attempts
- ↑ The Horseshoe Falls designate the Canadian part of Niagara Falls
- ↑ The film recordings in Hollywood were not aesthetic enough for the filmmakers: disruptive power lines and masts could be seen in the film sequence, which ultimately led to the fact that they were not used. For similar reasons, other takes were not used in the film
- ↑ Due to the high number of tourist groups visiting the world cultural heritage, the filmmakers only had a time window of 2 minutes. This time was not enough to film a coherent sequence, so that only a few photos could be taken of the event
- ↑ According to Section 16 of the Aviation Ordinance (LuftVO), a model aircraft such as the RC helicopter used for filming is basically equivalent to a man-carrying aircraft and even designates its own aircraft class . Flight bans that apply to man-carrying aircraft restrict the operation of a model helicopter in the same way - a violation could, depending on the type of violation, constitute an administrative offense or a criminal offense and possibly even result in criminal consequences. This classification is, in principle, also applicable to other countries, provided it is also regulated by law abroad, although the punishment can be draconian in some Asian countries
- ↑ The operation of radio remote control systems, also known as "RC systems" (RC = Radio Controlled), can be regulated in some countries, as there are frequency restrictions due to military or civilian uses. Operation is therefore not always possible without restrictions. Frequencies that are permitted in Germany may be prohibited abroad
- ↑ In Mexico, the aircraft could not be assigned during a stopover, which led to a temporary confiscation and only after tough negotiations to its return
- ↑ In Sweden in front of Drottningholm Palace , armed security forces forced the pilot to land immediately
- ↑ The Supreme Court in India imposed a no-fly zone around the Taj Mahal (India) within a 500m radius . A similar situation existed at Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
- ↑ The helicopter's drive batteries were not resistant to the constant changes in climate zones and temperatures and had to be replaced several times with new ones and updated from Germany or Switzerland using “next-day air logistics”
- ↑ Due to previous terrorist attacks near Jaipur (India), the security authorities were strongly present at public monuments, so that an “unknown flying object” like the model helicopter could quickly have escalated the situation on site
- ↑ see in the bibliography the newspapers Rajasthan Patrika and Danik Bhaskar
- ↑ The background to the film was discussed and broadcast in the RPR1 program "My Adventure" at the end of 2008 and mid-2009. According to the broadcaster, both programs reached around 300,000 listeners each
- ↑ cf. Internet presence of the Tidalwave Studios with comments on the work on the film