When "Top Gun: Maverick" launched, it became an instant
hit with critics and audiences around the world.
One of the reasons for its success
is its thrilling aerial sequences.
A truly one-of-a-kind cinematic experience
captured with next-level camera technology.
And this is "How They Shot It".
In this series, we've covered movies like "Inception", "300" and "Nope".
Let us know which film we should tackle next
and hit subscribe to see more like this.
As we run through the film, we'll be using StudioBinder shot list feature
to populate the shot specs.
The original "Top Gun" directed by Tony Scott established a distinct look and feel.
This is something "Maverick" director Joe Kosinski, cinematographer Claudio Miranda
and their team endeavor to continue.
"- Tony created a world, it's like the "Top Gun" cinematic universe
where the sun is always setting, everything's backlit, everyone looks great.
Just as "Maverick" gets called back to "Top Gun",
I really wanted the audience to feel like they were going back to "Top Gun" as well."
"- Must admit, I wasn't expecting an invitation back.
- They're called orders, Maverick."
Both films shot prophetical lenses and were presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio.
Other than when Maverick would open up to the IMAX ratio of 1.19 : 1.
Both films were also shot in some of the same locations.
Including the desert around Fallon, Nevada,
and San Diego, where the base is set.
"- Escort this man off the base."
- According to Miranda, another visual nod to the original
came with the lighting in this scene.
'Tony also loved blinds and slats.
So there's a reference to that in the scene where Rear Admiral Cain is in his office.
"- You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator.
Yet, here you are, captain.
Why is that?
- It's one of life's mysteries, sir."
- But perhaps the most obvious connection is the opening credit sequence.
The flight deck montage is a clear nod to the original,
including the credits, font, and that unforgettable music.
To get these dramatic shots of the sky in the original film
they used graduated neutral density filters,
aka grads.
As the name suggests, they have one side with stronger filtration
that gradually decreases to the other side.
Their main function is to darken a bright sky
to help even out the exposure, but they can also be colored.
Scott used what are called sunset grads to add more orange to the sky.
To recapture this look, Miranda emulated the effect in post-production.
The main unit shooting non-aerial scenes used the Sony Venice camera
shooting in 6K resolution.
The lens package included Sigma high-speed prime lenses
between 14 and 40 millimeters.
And ZEISS Master Primes 50 millimeters and up.
Even though it was shot digitally additional grain
was added to look more like the originals film stock.
But where "Maverick" separates itself from Tony Scott's original
is how far they pushed the aerial cinematography.
We've never seen anything quite like the aerial sequences in "Top Gun: Maverick".
"- Oh, sh*t. What the f*ck was that?"
- And instead of using modern technology
like LED volumes or green screen
they did it for real, which was Kosinski's goal from the start.
'It was about capturing the experiences of actually
being in one of these fighter jets while it's in the air.'
"- Fights on. - What is with these two?"
- However, by pursuing authenticity, the logistics required are staggering.
"- What happened? - Well, I flew as fast as I could.
Kinda like my ass dependent on it.
- And you put your team in danger and your wingman's dead.
- They couldn't keep up."
- To begin with, the crew used three separate sources of footage.
Ground to air, shooting planes from the ground,
air to air, shooting from additional planes, and a helicopter.
And onboard planes themselves.
Kosinski explains the idea behind shooting with multiple perspectives.
'The secret to making dynamic aerials is to
use a variety of platforms to tell the story.'
Each perspective provides its own value in sequences like this.
From the ground, we get the sheer velocity.
from the air we get the scene geography.
"- Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air!
- Break right, payback! Breaking right."
- And from the cockpit we get a direct connection to the characters.
"- Come on, kid, you can do it. Don't think, just do it."
- But each of these platforms brought their own set of challenges.
"- Watch your heads.
- Holy sh*t."
- The ground crew needed not only telephoto lenses, some as long as 1000 millimeters.
They also used IB/E optics PLx2 extenders to double the focal length.
The camera operators also needed to be able to find and follow planes in the distance.
One solution was to mount modified rifle scopes
to the cameras to help spot the aircraft.
For shooting air to air,
a brand new system was developed.
"- Air flight cameras are on. - All right, here we go."
- Camera pilot and aerial coordinator Kevin Larosa Jr.
designed the CineJet.
A modified L-39 Albatros with an onboard camera and stabilizer unit on the nose.
The stabilizer is a Shotover F1 rush, six-axis gimbal,
able to operate at over 350 knots and maneuvers approaching three Gs.
"- 3, 2, 1."
- Halfway through the production
they needed another jet that could fly longer for extended operations.
This led them to the Embraer Phenom 300.
A larger and faster jet that was outfitted with two of the Shotover F1 units.
Each could be operated from inside the cabin by aerial DPs,
Michael Fitz Morris and David Noel, who also shot the original with Tony Scott.
The only downside to this air-to-air system
is that you lose a sense of their speed.
The camera and the subject are moving the same speed,
so the jets look more like they're floating
instead of rocketing at a thousand miles an hour.
That's why the aerial team brought in an Airbus H125 Helicopter
fitted with a larger Shotover K1 Gimball.
This way the team could capture aerial footage that more clearly illustrates
the high velocity of the jets.
And in some instances, the frame rate was dropped to 18
frames per second to give that velocity an extra boost.
"- Come on, come on."
- But perhaps the most innovative way they captured such stunning aerial shots
was from onboard cameras on the outside and inside of the plane.
In the 1986 original the aerial footage was astounding.
"- See you on deck."
- No one had seen real jets flying like that.
But there was a limit to what they could capture.
The exterior shots were easy enough, but most of the cockpit footage
was shot on a stage with rear projection.
But for the sequel, they developed a brand new system
to shoot the actors live and in the air.
The actors underwent months of Navy pilot training.
Both as a safety precaution,
but also to get them acclimated to the rigors of such intense flight.
In total, the Navy supplied three F-18 Super Hornet Jets
that were rigged with cameras.
Two of these were used to shoot interiors of the cockpit
and the third shot exteriors.
This jet was fitted with four externally mounted cameras.
One on the nose, one under the wing.
And two, under the belly facing forward and backward.
The added weight and vibration limited the jet's maneuverability,
which is why they needed separate FA teams to
shoot the more intense maneuvers with the actors.
In the cockpit, Miranda and his team were able to fit six separate cameras.
Four in front of the actor and two behind their shoulders.
This allowed them to get multiple angles of coverage at once.
In fact, the coverage from the side cameras was
conformed for the wall screens in SCREEN X presentations,
which have a 270-degree field of view.
"- What the hell?
- Good morning, aviators."
- The cameras were brand new Sony Venice models
mounted with either Voigtländer wide angle lenses at 10, 12, or 15 millimeters.
The film in general was shot in 6K,
but since the raw recorders wouldn't fit in a cockpit
that footage was captured in 4K on SxS memory cards.
The full Venice bodies and lenses are compact,
but they still needed more room.
Three of the cameras were modified with the Rialto system
which allows the lens and sensor to be separate from the recorder
and connected with fiber optic cable.
The challenge with this system is the lack of control once the plane is airborne.
The actors themselves turned on the cameras when filming began.
And the exposure has to be preset.
For each sequence, Miranda had to map the flight paths, check the weather,
and lock in the ideal exposure settings.
There's also no additional lighting in the cockpit.
The sun was the one and only source.
"- Phoenix, I can't see him. How close am I?"
- To obtain the best and most consistent lighting
the pilots were instructed to fly westerly or easterly roots
With the sun at three quarters to either side of the plane for ideal backlighting.
It was only after the planes had landed that they
could check the footage to see what they had.
Today, green screen and LED volume technology is
slowly making shooting on location a thing of the past.
But the filmmakers behind "Top Gun: Maverick" wanted to
prove that there is no substitution for the real thing.
We've never seen a production this extreme,
and it's likely we won't ever see it again.
Remember to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this.
See you in the next one.