Warbird Pilot: Behind the Visor

Vimeo Description by Rob W. Scribner: Some people see pilots as fearless, confident, arrogant, but they are no different than you or me, just willing to put it all on the line to keep our warbirds legacy alive at their own personal sacrifice.

This mini doc. is to show what it’s like to be a warbird pilot. These guys are keeping our history alive by flying and maintaining these legacy aircraft for future generations. Some of these guys were born into the life style, while others that have worked their way into the small community. Most pilots come off as fearless, confident, and sometimes arrogant but there is a reason for this. Fear can get you killed up in the air but confidence can get you home safely! We explore the aspects of flying these birds, the bad/difficult parts, the passion behind it/why they do it, the tragedies, the joys and the fears of this life style. John-Curtiss Paul talks about the life of maintaining and flying the old birds but also the life he potential leaves behind with each flight. There are only a handful of people in the world that are even capable of doing what John-Curtiss Paul does.

Directed by – Rob W. Scribner
Director of Photography – Rob W. Scribner
Producer – Melissa Thompson, John-Curtiss Paul
Camera Operators – Rob W. Scribner, Melissa Thompson
Editor – Rob W. Scribner
Post Audio Producer – Eric Bower
Talent – John-Curtiss Paul, Mark Peterson, Chauncey Reese, Gavin Thompson, Sander Curtiss Paul
Music From – The Music Bed
Music By –
Tony Anderson – Open Arms
Dexter Britain – Did you feel
Mark Doubleday – Sunrise

Most of this project was filmed on the FS100 but we also use a 7D, 60D, and Go-pro Footage. The FS100 was the A cam; we did not have a ton of lenses to work with…mainly the 18-200mm Sony E-mount and a 20mm Sony E-mount 2.8 which worked great for fast shooting. The trick for us was making good use of the Tiffen ND filters. We shot all the interviews at 24p and most of the Broll in 60p (S & Q). There were a few times I change to 1080 60p internal to the cam because I wanted to capture audio that I could use later in post but also want to slow it down to 24p. The 7D, which was our B cam also had a stock lens, the 18-135mm Canon EF. This was also the cam we used for the time-lapse shots. We had to be scrappy when making this project which was actually really fun. The project was finished up and edited in Premiere Pro CC.