"First Light" thread

Having been in the “game” many years ago I can vouch for everything you have said here. Be warned – get everything in writing – in triplicate!! I doubt that things are any better than they were 40 years ago.

This is true I made that mistake and learnt the lesson with Pearl harbour. The director of First Light was a nice polite patient chap, Micheal Bay on the other hand was a loud impatient arrogant man with no regard for the props. I left the Spit at Doctor Who as it was to stay still in the studio with the wings off, however on my return I found the carb full of foam where they had made a top cowling to cover the engine (being a metior with carb on top it sticks up slightly proud of the cowling) there was also damage to one of the wings a large hole. When I complained they checked CCTV and said it was there when I arrived , when I disputed this and asked to see the film I was refused as it was according to them against comapny policy:rolleyes: They did repair the damage so no harm was done. Also the gunsight was damaged. 😡
Film work is fun but you really must get everything in writing and think hard about the conditions before proceeding.

🙂 Thanks Graham,
I guess it is easy to get lost in the “star gazing glitz” of it all and be walked over in the process.
I have heard some horror stories about veteran vehicle owners who have lent their vehicles out for filming only to have them damaged.
I guess the bottom line is once they’ve all cleared off you are left with the consequences.

Graham ,Did the production team want to try anything that you couldn’t /wouldn’t allow with the airframe or did they just accept what you said.
Which airframe was it that had all the bullet holes and ripped up elevators?

This is a good question, its really important to lay down the law before reaching an agreement. First light did request a paint job but would not pay the cost. I have to say that they were pretty good compared to some film people I have worked with. My advise to anyone would be to insist on being on set at all times and supervise any movement of the aircraft. Baz had his tail wheel ripped off.
Pearl Harbour was a complete nightmare, they caused a huge ammount of damage, all they were interested in was the shot.
They had people with no knowledge of the way the aircraft was fitted together take it apart with a fork lift, they managed to put a put one of the forks straight through the wing.
Do not under estimate the cost to put things right and get a realistic damage clause in the contract. Always insist on a written contract, film companies generally have no concept what your project means to you and the director will not be aware of the terms and conditions of hire. On the set he is god and if he wants something done the crew jump. Thats why its important to be there you will be the only voice to object to something which may cause damage.

The damaged port elevator and rudder were separately reproduced and put on for the after combat filming, however, the bullet holes and other damage were cgi.

Baz

I know it is wiki pedia but some quite interesting variations of the swear word and origins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/****

You may have to add the f word in the end of the wiki/

Graham ,Did the production team want to try anything that you couldn’t /wouldn’t allow with the airframe or did they just accept what you said.
Which airframe was it that had all the bullet holes and ripped up elevators?

Just to finish off the swearing thing,is any confusion partly because people had 2 languages…(1)…’work’ language which might include many expletives 🙂

(2) ‘home’ or ‘public’ language,certainly as I was growing up – I never heard much public swearing,and of course never on tv/radio/films.
So I could understand Bruces mum thinking that people did not swear much some years ago.
I can relate to Wellum swearing rapidly whilst in a stressful flying situation,I often used the same technique myself during cross-country glider flights,usually when in the middle of nowhere and down to *00 feet and miles from home.
The non stop swearing interspersed with WTF am I doing here etc etc 😀 seemed to keep me going whilst scratching around in weak lift or zero sink.

I don’t know about swearing being imported from America but I did notice that the fuel bowser was clearly marked USAAF, although somebody had made a half hearted attempt to smear it out. If they couldn’t afford to repaint that properly, what chance would there have been to repaint a Spitfire?

Seriously though, on the whole I quite enjoyed it. I do agree with other posters about the fad for announcers talking over the credits. That really spoils the mood carefully set by the film maker.

Rod

10% off for anyone from Scotland no charge for the interpreter :diablo:

I knew i would regret it as soon as i wrote it :p

Well we did invent the language spoken by a good part of the world so I guess its logical most swear words came from England as well. personally I never swear, its bad manners :diablo::diablo: Not sure if the Scottish invented any I cant understand a bloody word they say anyway :confused::confused::diablo:

I take great offence at that statement. :rolleyes:

So that means when I am taxing your Spitfire and say “taxing for take off” you won’t understand.

For the first time I think they actually put correct amount of swearing in a movie. Norwegians used bad language all the time, even in their log books.

I feel that too many times they’ve based these characters in their early 20’s on how the same people acted when they were 60-70 years old. Meaning entirely different persons, a 70 year old in a 20 year old body. A biography such as Wellums would be very different he had written it when he was 25. I could never quite catch that youthful feel to it when I read their memoars, especially the Norwegian ones. It all made sense to me after reading books written in that period, and not 60 years down the road. It’s one of the things I liked about First Light. They actually made him young.

Right about the Scots though. 😀

Well we did invent the language spoken by a good part of the world so I guess its logical most swear words came from England as well. personally I never swear, its bad manners :diablo::diablo: Not sure if the Scottish invented any I cant understand a bloody word they say anyway :confused::confused::diablo:

What, Scotland? :diablo:

….Probably! 😀

Regards;
Steve

I seem to recall a program on channel 4 a few years ago that studied the history of swear words. Most originated in this country

What, Scotland? :diablo:

Hi Bruce;

If the books I’ve been reading are correct, then the “F” word was certainly around in 1940. Regarding the two instances I mentioned, Geoffrey Page used it when being fished out of the Channel according to his autobigraphy. Al Deere certainly doesn’t use the “F” word in his autobiography, Nine Lives, but there are several references from controllers in other books that recalled Al Deere using the “F” word over the RT quite a lot. It certainly existed.

I seem to recall a program on channel 4 a few years ago that studied the history of swear words. Most originated in this country, and I was surprised just how far some of these words dated back…especially that really naughty word! 😀

Therefore, I feel that the language used in First Light was probably fairly accurate…and I would have supposed that Geoffrey Wellum would have had some input here too.

Regards;
Steve

“flipping heck :diablo:

She is quite right, although D H Lawrence used it extensively in Lady Chatterley in 1928. Writers like Miller, Salinger and Mailer used it soon after the war and then comedians like Lenny Bruce and much later Peter Cook and Dudley Moore gave it a wider currency in the 60s and 70s. But of course it is a good old English word.

I can’t help thinking that our view of the language used during the war is coloured totally by the British war films that we have watched…they just never swear do they?

I think you have hit the nail on the head! For the record, I am not suggesting that they didnt use bad language; far from it – I am just wondering what form it took in 1940. My mother is convinced that widespread use of the ‘F’ word didnt come about until sometime after the war, for example.

Bruce

I think a paint job may be more expensive than you think,

No – I know what it costs, having painted aeroplanes myself – I just think that in this case, the benefits would outweigh the costs. I think £5K is on the light side!

Bruce