Point-Five Video Production

[Alan Brooks]

Hey Guys, this is one that I can answer! I was (still am) a part of this production team. Steve Palmer is the Head honcho and one of the best camera guys in the aviation business.... his primary focus over the last couple of years had been ICAS performers and their needs..... We have some of the coolest warbird video stuff you will ever see. For many years the whole catalog was tape only.... BUT SOME IS ON DVD.... YES! There is now a boxed set that contains 20 hours of footage from different airshows that we have produced on video... plus there is a video game CD to boot..... I am at work, so I don't have the box in front of me.....
The set sells for 20 bucks, plus another 5-6 bucks for shipping...
You can contact Steve at the office:
817-641-8942
Point Five Video Productions
219 N Ridgeway
Cleburne, Tx 76033
When I get back home in the morning, I will post on the shows.... But this is some really cool.. one or two shows are from 1988, when Kermit had the Mossie over in Texas for some shows.... Most people also did not know that Kermit let Howard Pardue fly the Mossie..... just FYI... Alan

[a26invader]

I got the set (brand new) via eBay for 12$, you can easily find it there:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6354765037&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

The box also includes a free PC game called "Red Line / Extreme Air Racing 2"... haven't tried it yet.

There are 20 hours of aviation action (warbirds+general airshow participants) on 5 double sided DVDs. Only problem is, it takes time to see it all

Check the suppliers website:
http://www.bcieclipse.com

[mjanovec]

I just picked up this DVD set the other week and am enjoying it quite a bit. There is some footage overlap on some of those discs, but it's the next best thing to being there. And at about $1 for each hour of footage you get, it's a great deal.

I have to admit being a little sad everytime I see the footage of the CAF B-26...knowing the dark future that awaits that plane. At least it served a good decade flying with the CAF before the end came...

Anymore DVD sets like this planned for the future? I'd love to see someone cover the Thunder Over Michigan shows like this (not to mention the most recent CAF and Wings Over Houston shows). I can probably live without seeing more footage of the Tora Tora Tora gang, however. They are pretty well covered in the existing DVD set.

Still, a great deal and it's something that just about everyone on this group would love...but you may want to view when your significant other is busy doing something else.

Mark

[Waltz41]

Thanks for the link on ebay, just got myself one, can't wait. I love having warbird footage like this. Nothing like just sitting at home one rainy day, and being able to watch some p-51's and b-17's grace the skies again!

Also, does anyone know if the caf's airsho 2004 dvd is out yet? keep checking their site and nothing. and.....are there any other show dvd's like these out there? this one i had never heard of and probably wouldn't have ever if i didn't hear it from you guys. so thank you very much!

brian

[mjanovec]

I've gotten further into the Warbirds 5 DVD set and just wanted to make a comments and/or suggestions for future productions. I love the footage of the aircraft...especially since I usually only bring a still camera to the air shows. It's nice to see them move on the TV screen and hear the sounds of the engines roaring.

That brings me to my comments. I noticed that on the late 80s/early 90s footage, music was only placed in certain parts of the program, with plenty of "natural" sounds allowed to come through (i.e. the sounds of the engines, crowds, pyrotechnics, etc.). I notice the newer productions in Disc 3 covering the Wings Over Houston shows from 2000 and 2001 relied quite heavily on overdubbed music that covered over most of the natural sounds. So while we see great footage of the planes, it's hard to hear the sounds of the aircraft and the crowd.

My suggestion for future productions is to let the aircraft "speak" for themselves and limit the music to just the introduction and closing...and rely more on the sounds of the engines, the crowd, the airshow narrator, and a voiceover narration when necessary (i.e. when the sound on the footage isn't acceptable for use). The funny thing about it is when you hear the aircraft in all of their glory, you can almost start to smell the aviation fuel, and feel the heat radiating from the tarmac. In contrast, if their is some generic music drowning out those sounds, then it feels a little too sterile. Aircraft are big, oily, noisy, smelly beasts...letting as much of that come through as possible is definitely a good thing!

Just an idea. Otherwise, it's great to see these warbirds shows on DVD!!

Thanks,
Mark

P.S. - Another idea, assuming it hasn't already been done and I just haven't gotten to it on the DVD set, is to bring a crew along for a ride on the bombers...and use the natural sounds of the bomber(s) for the production. It would be great to film the bomber in during takeoff, in flight, and landing from the various crew positions, hearing the sounds that the crews heard (i.e. the engines roaring). A little light narration could describe each crew position, otherwise the bomber speaks for itself.