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 The making of Smoke On Go

I am very proud to announce that “Smoke On Go “ is a wrap. Wow what an experience!!! Very difficult to describe some of the feelings and emotions that went on during the making of this film. From absolute frustration to something that I can only describe as being in heaven. Can you imagine watching four red and white aircraft in a perfect line skimming over the top of a snow white mist bank, when I looked through the lens it looked like they were standing still, yet in the film they look like they are going at a million miles an hour.  It was very important to me to get this one 100% correct as I knew that the people who are going to watch this film are aviation enthusiasts from all over the world, and if I have learnt anything, its that aviation enthusiasts are a very knowledgeable group of people.

Not forgetting the people that I was filming, this is a precision outfit, made up of absolutely incredible individuals who are highly skilled aviators in their own right, yet capable of following orders in a very strict environment that does not allow for anything but perfection.

I will never forget the day that I met team 65 of the Silver Falcons. At the time I was filming the section on the Martin Baker ejector seat for another film that will soon be finished called Wings.  The four of them  were walking and chatting their  way to a practice,  and me being the inquisitive person that I am noticed that they were wearing a small pack on the front of their chests which I had not come across before, so I asked the question. Well if I thought I would get a typical military answer, I was totally wrong, what is actually a survival pack was described as a pilots hand bag, strapped to their chest to prevent pick pocketing and bag snatching. I was promptly shown the contents starting with wet wipes( for those times when you need to wash your hands) to the others one’s saying to remove their lipstick. A mirror to check ones make up ( I think its to blind the people looking for you or start a fire) anyway a great sense of humour and a lot of fun, till the time of briefing when they seem to go into a world of their own with number one describing everything from the walk out to the walk back and every aspect in between. It is very  interesting to watch this briefing,  as each of them visualise the sequence as number one calls it, if you  watch their  hands, you notice that they will make the movements as though holding the actual controls with a  look that is total concentration.

Then away they go, taxiing to the end of the runway in preparation for the formation take off. I took a shot sequence from the end of the runway of the take off, it is really one of those golden moments for me as I had specifically asked the team to stay low after takeoff, this gave me the opportunity to set the camera and have as little movement as possible, except of course for the traditional West Coast wind!!! Well I must say even on takeoff these aviators are precise, everything that Scott had described was to the tee perfect.

This film was done mostly by observation, in other words I filmed things as they happened and didn’t direct anybody to actually do something specific, but I needed a hero shot of them all in a line walking towards me. Well to start with it looked like the monster robots had arrived then they all walked away past the first aircraft and did a formation break running and hiding behind the airframe and leopard crawling out from underneath the tail. Eventually in a line they started walking towards the camera, and as if on command the engineers started towing a Cheetah away and the shot could not have been set up any better had we tried.

In the editing process Hisham Samie got the project rolling but then had to get back to University so Erin did the final touch ups and Hisham then did the chapters. It has been a very interesting time indeed and what started as a small interview turned into 64 minutes of documentary. Life has this way of changing things around. I thank the team from the bottom of my heart, and wish Alex van Oostveen the best in his future life after the Silver Falcons and to Scott Ternent leader of team 66 and his team and ground crew the very best of precision.

To my family and friends who have stood by me during these past couple of years I really appreciate all of your support and friendship, and to all of the people who have bought the other films I thank you for your continued support. 

Testimonials

Hello Andrew,

Definitely a good watch and insight into the day to day life of the silver falcons. How much work and prep goes into the formation flying. Quite amazing how much attention goes into the detail. Its also hair raising at how close they fly near to each other during maneuvers. It was nice to see it from the plane instead of from the ground for a change. Peter

This DVD is great for inspiring the younger generation. It gives a good insight into what the silver falcons are all about. Not just a show piece for air shows but they really do inspire the people with fly overs etc. Alan

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed watching the DVD and have a greater insight into what happens when they buzzing above and doing amazing stuff.   David