During WWII the U.S. Navy lost 213 Aircraft in the area known as The Bermuda Triangle
In 2014 they came home.
In 2014 they came home.
TopGun Vs Zombies: The making
The inflight shots were mostly done using a small green screen and models on sticks. The green screening worked better than I hoped but I still had a very limited stage to move the models around on. Even when pouring the light on could only get very limited depth of field at iso1000 on the 5D2 so shots moving toward or away from the camera were basically impossible. A video camera with a smaller sensor would certainly have helped here.
I really like the motion blur I got in the models by moving them in real time, there is no stop motion in the this film.
I didn't manage to melt any of the models with the lights which was quite impressive, but the Hornet and the Buffalo both seemed to like falling off their sticks and breaking into lots of little pieces.
People have said the Wildcats propellor should spin, to which my responsive is, its been in Hell for the last 60 years and its flown by a Zombie, its dark magic keeping that thing in the air not gasoline, but the truth is I needed to rotoscope around the plane during chromaking to remove the stick (actually a square section of brass tubing) and a motorized prop would have made that very difficult.
The pilots are both Action men, animated in real time using a rod attached to the back of their necks. The skeleton also has a moving jaw. The skeleton model has a neck joint that was created using a 3D printer which worked out really well.
The ships crew are stock footage from iStockPhoto, they weren't cheap but they were certainly quick. The ship itself is a Dragon model of HMS Sheffield, the ill fated destroyer from the Falklands conflict. Its only about 6 inches long and it shows. A bigger model would have looked better but cost more. I was hoping to use stock footage but couldn't find any that would work.
The computer graphics and other effects are either rendered using OpenGL or cobbled together in Sony Vegas 9. The whole thing was built in Vegas. I also used Sound Forge and Acid for the music.
Here is a fun stat: the folder on my HDD containing the source files for Ghost Squadron has 258GB of data in it, 3728 files in 97 folders and that doesn't include anything that comes from my sound or effects libraries that are stored on a different drive.
I really like the motion blur I got in the models by moving them in real time, there is no stop motion in the this film.
I didn't manage to melt any of the models with the lights which was quite impressive, but the Hornet and the Buffalo both seemed to like falling off their sticks and breaking into lots of little pieces.
People have said the Wildcats propellor should spin, to which my responsive is, its been in Hell for the last 60 years and its flown by a Zombie, its dark magic keeping that thing in the air not gasoline, but the truth is I needed to rotoscope around the plane during chromaking to remove the stick (actually a square section of brass tubing) and a motorized prop would have made that very difficult.
The pilots are both Action men, animated in real time using a rod attached to the back of their necks. The skeleton also has a moving jaw. The skeleton model has a neck joint that was created using a 3D printer which worked out really well.
The ships crew are stock footage from iStockPhoto, they weren't cheap but they were certainly quick. The ship itself is a Dragon model of HMS Sheffield, the ill fated destroyer from the Falklands conflict. Its only about 6 inches long and it shows. A bigger model would have looked better but cost more. I was hoping to use stock footage but couldn't find any that would work.
The computer graphics and other effects are either rendered using OpenGL or cobbled together in Sony Vegas 9. The whole thing was built in Vegas. I also used Sound Forge and Acid for the music.
Here is a fun stat: the folder on my HDD containing the source files for Ghost Squadron has 258GB of data in it, 3728 files in 97 folders and that doesn't include anything that comes from my sound or effects libraries that are stored on a different drive.
Project Diary (Random musings)
Its not all hard work on set. Sometimes the crew get to hang out and relax. Everyone on set is really cool, no prima donnas here.
Building the Wildcat
Click on the picture to learn about the construction of this prop.
Wildcat needs a pilot
I was working with a 1/12 scale skeleton kit for the Wildcat pilot, but it wasn't coming out very well. I broke down and picked up skull and a Dragon figure in 1/6 scale. I will combine those to make a Zombie pilot at the same scale as the f18 pilot I already have. That should help the animation feel more consistent between the 2 models.
I got the skull from Monkey Depot who have all kinds of neat 1/6 scale stuff.
I got the skull from Monkey Depot who have all kinds of neat 1/6 scale stuff.
Head Job
Pulling the head off the action figure reveals a recess where the 3D printed neck joint I had made will fit. The neat trick here is going to be getting the skeletal neck to be just the right length.
Also I need to find a light flexi-cable ( like a bike brake cable ) to drive the jaw on the skeleton. The other thing that is needed here is some weathering on the pilots suit and life jacket. He's supposed to have been crashed at the bottom of the ocean for 70 years :-/ |
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F18 Hornet
The Hasegawa Super Hornet came out quite nicely. Tinting the canopy using a mixture of Citadel Ink and Future Floor Wax was the hardest part of this project.
Fortunately if it goes wrong you can just rinse it off easily with hot water, or if its dried ammonia solution.
For some reason the formation light decals dried wonky so I will have to over paint those at some point.
Fortunately if it goes wrong you can just rinse it off easily with hot water, or if its dried ammonia solution.
For some reason the formation light decals dried wonky so I will have to over paint those at some point.
Mustang 6, Inbound to Target, Tally Ho!!
Brewster Buffalo
Cute little AIrfix Buffalo for the start of the film. Its currently in "Slightly Used Condition". By the end of the film, its been to hell and back, so I'm going to have to put some damage on it.
I think the biggest issue with this model is the lack of detail on the cowling. Maybe I could draw some rivets on or something...
I think the biggest issue with this model is the lack of detail on the cowling. Maybe I could draw some rivets on or something...
B25 Mitchell
Another Airfix model, this one a Mitchell, its got a blown engine, holes in the wings and quite a bit of other damage, including missing elevators and rudders.
In the pic, it still has masking tape on the glazing. I mostly built this model high on pain meds after herniating a disk in my back and inflaming my sciatic nerve, so its not the best job ever. It was good enough to take out the Ajax though! :-0
In the pic, it still has masking tape on the glazing. I mostly built this model high on pain meds after herniating a disk in my back and inflaming my sciatic nerve, so its not the best job ever. It was good enough to take out the Ajax though! :-0