Grant relied heavily on the experience of DMS members to design a structure strong enough to support the actor and allow for the motion needed to create a convincing effect. Mounting this convincing panel into something was an entirely different undertaking. The wide horizon and natural lighting combined with the 3-DOF gimbal make for a very realistic effect. The gimballed cockpit set for exterior shots. The real instruments, like the artificial horizon and turn-and-slip indicator, were powered by a vacuum pump and responded to the movements of the simulator on its gimbals. The fake instruments used steppers and an Arduino to drive the needles, which were controlled by a custom iPad app that was used to animate them live during filming. They started working on the cockpit instrument panel, which ended up including a combination of actual flight hardware and mocked-up instruments. There he found not only the tools he lacked, but kindred spirits with the necessary skills and the willingness to share them. Wisely, Grant turned to his local hackerspace, Dallas Maker Space, for help. There was just one problem: he had no idea how to build it. It would be perfect, and it would save the project. It could have a period-accurate dashboard, be positioned outdoors to take advantage of natural daylight and real backgrounds rather than CGI, and could be pitched, rolled and yawed to simulate flight. That’s when Grant realized that a gimballed cockpit simulator was needed. Such an effect would be difficult to achieve with a plane stuck on a runway. Also, Grant wanted the instruments to respond as if the plane were airborne, and to have the shadows cast by the canopy into the cockpit suggest aerial maneuvers. First, there aren’t that many of the vintage aircraft left, and those that are still flying usually have anachronistic instruments in the cockpit, like GPS. Grant wanted a similar look, and began arranging to use a real P-51 Mustang for filming. Grant’s vision for the short to promote the book was inspired by the recent Christopher Nolan film Dunkirk, which featured intricate sequences filmed in the cockpit of a Spitfire. John’s latest novel would change all that.Ĭalled Mustang, the novel centers on a hotshot fighter pilot in WWII. Most of these films required little in the way of special sets, relying instead on stock footage and vintage costumes to achieve their look and feel. Grant’s shorts are used as promos for John’s books, and nicely capture the period and settings of John’s novels. Grant has been making short films for a while, mainly in collaboration with John Dwyer, an author of historical novels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |