Thursday, December 20, 2007
Secrets of the WSF – Q&A part 1!
We're back in good old Germany and alive and well – apart from an annoying cold we probably caught in Canada already. The "World Scenic Flights" were an incredible success, even better than expected; nobody had really believed that the baggage would never get lost or seriously damaged. Was it luck? Probably yes, but that makes it all just better. :-)
For us there is still a lot to do: Rework the gigabytes of data we've generated, select the best scenes (that's the worst and most time-consuming thing of all!), work on a piece of music together with a sound studio, check all our equipment, discuss the project with our partners, and plan the final trips. Final trips?
The Madness is strong in Great Britain, and there will be no WSF movie without this country! So within the next few weeks we'll be visiting the island and continue the WSF mission there – as you will expect this blog will document also the new adventures!
And finally, there's one very hard target left: Russia. We've worked on it before and we haven't given up on this one either. We'll post more details when the time has come.
During the past trip a number of questions have accumulated. As promised here's detailed answers to the first bunch; should we have forgotten something, feel free to drop a note at any time!
1) When will the WSF movie be out? What will it cost?
Watch this space and the HG website for a release date. The video will be freely available through several channels (download from websites, YouTube, etc.).
2) How many km did you travel for the WSF project?
The continuous trip was 70,000 km, the total project up to now is 150,000 km!
3) How many times did you travel by airplane, and are you tired of sitting in the window seat?
The consecutive trip required 24 long distance flights. In my life I have done about 70 flights by now and as an aviation fan I always try to get a window seat!
4) How did you transport a 90size machine (or several) all that way?
Transporting one or more 90size helicopters is very different from transporting a "handy" 50size model (for the latter a golf case will do)! What's more it is vitally important to keep the box as small and lightweight as possible. We used a specially constructed cardboard box.
5) Heehh? How could a cardboard box possibly survive a trip around the world?!
It's a matter of construction. Let's say the exact way we did it remains a little secret. ;-)
6) How did you get it through the customs all the time?
We had many documents (even from the German interior ministry), loads of pictures showing the heli in front of world-renowned landmarks, a good reputation, backup from ROTOR magazine, profound HeliGraphix experience in dealing with international authorities, and we did lots and lots of talking.
7) Wasn't it always big fun to fly at such exclusive and sometimes exotic places worldwide?
Absolutely; but take a second look! Like explained in ROTOR 01/2008 there's a lot of time pressure which means you rush from one place to the next without any breaks. You have to deal with authorities all the time (that's really a pain and spoils the game!) and fly in places you do not know. You have to assemble/disassemble the equipment again and again; one mistake (also while flying) and the mission may be over or people get hurt. You are not at all free in what you fly where and how you do it – after all you are looking for good images rather than a fun flight like at your local club field! Your data needs to be screened, sorted, processed and backuped. And don't forget you would like to eat and sleep from time to time. Carrying 80 kg of baggage around the globe isn't that much fun either! And then, the self-washing clothes haven't been invented yet, have they?!
8) Did you discuss the maneuvers before flying? How did you choose them?
Yes, in about two thirds of all cases. The maneuvers were chosen in a way that they match the location; e.g. a long pass would be the wrong maneuver to choose when trying to picture the Taj Mahal from a confined area. We kept repeating the maneuver as long as possible.
9) In which countries did you shoot panoramic sceneries for the Ikarus/IPACS AFD flight simulator?
We shot them in every location except Nepal (not worth doing one and pressed for time), Chile (contrast problem), Mexico (no clearance by authorities!) and Senegal (safety issue). But we shot two brilliant panos in India (in Jaipur and in Agra/Taj Mahal), and we did both a day and a night scenery at the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur!
10) When will the "HeliGraphix WSF Add-on" be available?
It will take a while until all of our footage has been processed by Ikarus/IPACS. As of now we do not know when the WSF package will be released. Once again, watch this space and the HG website for latest infos.
11) I already have a computer simulator. Is it worth changing to AFD just because of the WSF panos?
No doubt about that!
There is a number of more technical questions, too; we'll answer them in the next post, so make sure to check back soon!
Labels: back in Germany, questions/answers - part1
# posted by hg/tuw @ 11:54 
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