Warbird Information Exchange

Okay Folks...

We all do enough griping about the bad CGI we've all seen in certain aviation movies. Let's reverse it....what are the Best aviation CGI scenes you've ever seen? I'll start things off and say that the top of my list has to be Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' where the F8C's take down Kong at the end of the movie!

Mark

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Mark Morris

A little off topic but PC simulations are in many respects surpassing the CGI efforts of the movie industry - flight behaviour and attention to historical detail being my main gripes.

Take a look at this Battle of Britain video produced using the latest simulator in the IL2 range named Cliffs of Dover. When it comes to recreating historical battles, the sky will be the limit in the not too distant future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBsFkAP48iI

I just saw Captain America with the kids, the Horten flying wing-like super bomber looked pretty good inflight. Nice job.
Chris...

Before even reading the first post, the first thought that jumped into my mind was Jackson's "King Kong." I just hope his "Dam Busters" remake is as good (assuming it ever actually gets made.)

My vote for runner-up: the Normandy drop sequence in "Band of Brothers."

Now if someone would just make my dream movie: "Operation Tidal Wave." I think CGI may be up to the task of recreating the Ploesti raid...


SN

I was just going to say that the flight stuff in that movie was well done.

One my major 'gripes' with 'Dog Fights' series was the violations of basic physics. You are in the 'wingmans' slot chasing the bad guy and the leader banks left and I watch his left aileron go DOWN about two feet, unless he's flying a CLARK forklift, that ain't gonna work!
What was that futuristic movie a few years ago with Angelina Jolie that used comic book P-40's that became submarines? It was pure fantasy crap but worked as what I call 'chewing gum for your brain' for about 90+ minutes and it's cgi wasn't that bad in a cartoony sort of way.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

That was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Which, aside from costumes and a few props, was ALL cgi

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

Which I have and which is a good movie, although it is not the sharpest CGI in the world....the P-40's seemed to have an F6F Hellcat 'cant' to their wings for some reason....but yeah, it is a fun movie with souped up P-40's as one of the major plot points...

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Mark Morris

I liked the "Spruce Goose" in The Aviator.

"Sky Captain" was great fun, but made no pretense at being realistic. It was nothing more (and nothing less) than a CGI/live action comic book.

As for "Dogfights," it's OK for a TV show, but the CGI models aren't that great, especially anything with a radial engine. And I get really sick of the "shaky hand-held cam" effect, and the way the "camera" shakes wildly every time a plane passes by. I think the overdone camera moves are an attempt to make the rather simplistic models look more realistic.

But we've already beaten the "bad" into the dirt...let's hear some more "good."

SN

Dark Blue World gets my vote. Low budget as it is, there's some great CGI stuff in there. The recreated gun-camera footage, and the Buchon/Spitfire tailchase being particular highlights.

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Cheers

Daz

Take a look at this Battle of Britain video...

Is there some sub-plot in the sim where YOU can be any pilot persona you want to be?

A close up of the pilot at 1:44 is wearing all US gear and his flight helmet has the AAF meatball stamp.

Great movie! They also had some very good CGI B-24's too. The attack seen on the air base was very reminiscent to Wheeler Field on Torax3.

Sometimes they get the airplane facts better in fiction movies then they do with a historical movie. Sky Captian used a real P-40 sound track! Another fictional movie well done was Final Countdown. REAL flight operations/chat there. Can't even come close to Top Gun.

Nathan the P-40 nut!

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I kind of liked the CGI RF-8A Crusaders in "Thirteen Days". I don't think they were done all that well but it was way cool to see RF-8s "flying"

-Derek