The View from Above

The Forgotten World of Aviation

Today, we live in the age of smartphones and a good many of us can remember a time before their existence. The power of instantaneous information at our fingertips is a far cry from a visit to the local library, or stopping off at a public phone to make a call. The comparison is very real and consequently the computing power in our hands still astounds us. The same cannot be said for aviation for it has always been there.

Terwilliger’s first film effectively preached to the converted – aviation enthusiasts new how wondrous flight could be. However, this time he wanted those beyond the aviation community to recall the wonder. As he says, “Rather than capturing the beauty and romance of flying as the pilot sees it, I wanted to get across that same idea of how incredible it is to be living in a time when we can fly, but this time from the passenger’s perspective.” And in doing so it would broadcast the message to a far broader audience around the world.

The point is emphasised within the film using timelines, global shots and archival black and white footage juxtaposed to incredible modern images. However, the role of aviation is possibly most poignantly highlighted through the journey of humble flowers across the world.

To illustrate that the global marketplace made possible only by modern aviation, Terwilliger pulls back the curtain on the world’s largest flower hub, just outside of Amsterdam. He explains that, “Five million flowers fly in and out of Amsterdam every day so by going to this warehouse, we were able to show how quickly things move around in the age of aeroplanes.” Arriving by air from 60 countries and being on-shipped by air to 130 foreign lands, the speed at which this can be achieved for an extremely perishable item could never have been achieved before the aeroplane. Today, roses grown in Kenya can be transported to Amsterdam, and then shipped to FedEx headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, before arriving in a snow-covered Alaska home, where their blooms can still be enjoyed for 10 more days. It is a modern miracle, but no-one ever stops to ponder the thought as they arrange their vases.

We were able to show how quickly things move around in  the age of aeroplanes.
BRIAN TERWILLIGER

Behind the Scenes

To capture such stories, Terwilliger had to reach far beyond the United States west coast, about which his first film had been centred. He had to pull back in time and space to truly relate how the aeroplane had changed the world. Humankind’s journey had taken 200,000 years to migrate across continents and nearly as long to increase the average speed to anything above walking pace. Straddling the globe within a day is now our expectation and the sheer wonder has been lost for many.

To achieve his goal, Terwilliger’s journey that spanned all seven continents over 18 months. Recognisable landmarks from around the world as well as beautiful images of remote regions are wonderfully portrayed – and frequently with a tell-tale contrail cleverly captured in the top corner of the screen. However, in their quest for jaw-dropping images, the filmmakers had to contend with uncooperative weather that sometimes caused shoots to go way over schedule. “Our goal was to make every image ‘stand-alone’ but it’s tough when you’re going around the world because you’re always waiting for the sun to break or the rain to clear. We were only meant to spend four days in the Maldives, but it kept raining and raining, so we ended up staying two weeks to get enough sunny footage to make a three-minute sequence.” And often, hours turned into days as the crew strove to capture an elusive scene in a remote location. Ultimately, 260 hours of raw footage became a 47-minute feature released under the banner of the National Geographic Society as an IMAX feature and in DVD, Blu-Ray and digital HD formats.

Within this odyssey, Australia had its own role to play beyond the stunning shots captured at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. The presence of Uluru, or Ayers Rock, at the commencement of the film serves as a meaningful launching point on many levels. It is an iconic landmark, located remotely within a remote island nation, born of a time before mankind. And it is no coincidence that the scene features tourists wandering about Uluru as it reinforces that in this modern world we may travel, without migrating, and return to our homes in a very short time frame.

Even the aeroplanes within the film demonstrate their own form of ‘evolution’. From the canary yellow biplane on the African plains to a Twin Otter on floats in the majestic Maldives and to make landfall on the Antarctic, the venerable DC-3 sits atop skis. Then, the Alaskan landscape calls for both floats and skis, as demonstrated in one of the film’s additional 12 special features.

There is a moving sequence that did not make the final cut and appears as part of the film’s ‘Special Features’ content. For Terwilliger, it was not only a special moment in filming, but demonstrated the very message he was trying to convey. When their helicopter and biplane landed in a remote region of Africa, they were quickly surrounded by a group of children who had never seen an aeroplane at close quarters. The sheer wonder of discovery and looks of awe across their faces had a profound effect on Terwilliger as he saw first-hand the reaction to the aeroplane by those who had not been jaded by the perception of modern aviation.

Living in the Age of Airplanes

Ironically, this is a film which could not have been made before the time of the aeroplane. As with so many endeavours, the next form of travel on land or sea would be prohibitively slow, while airborne shots would have been impossible. As Brian Terwilliger traversed the planet in making this film, he often contemplated that in a glance from 35,000 feet he could take in more of the world in a glance than humans would once see in a lifetime.

In this film Terwilliger produces more than One Six Right – Mark Two. At its core, this film serves to inform those people outside the aviation sphere and possibly remind those within. Still, in conveying the message, he has again created an amazing piece of cinematography.

At the opening of “Living in the Age of Airplanes”, narrator Harrison Ford suggests that you “leave behind everything you know about airplanes”. And while this may seem at odds with the title, it is indeed sage advice, for only with a blank canvas can one truly appreciate the significance of this film. Sometimes, we can lose focus when we stand too close. This movie eases us back and sits us down to view the modern-day miracle of flight in the most majestic of ways. This film possesses the power, the emotion and the romance that truly comes with “Living in the Age of Airplanes”.