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Any Interest In A Film About Building An RV?

Beyond The Hangar

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Hey Everyone!

First time posting here on VAF! I'm seriously considering building an RV 7 in the near future. I'm also a filmmaker, and am contemplating making a film about the whole experience, as well as exploring more about kit-building in general. Of course it would take a while to produce, but, in the end it would document what it's like for so many of you who are building your own - while hopefully inspiring others to do the same. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Who would watch this kind of film? :)

Cheers,
Alan
 
I think it's a great idea and any builder/ future builder would definitely watch it. I also think videos on building are few and far between which kind of sucks because they are extremely useful in seeing how things are done or not done. Andrew Atalla is the only one that I have seen produce in depth videos about building and they are gold.
 
I would agree it would be cool, just as long as you aren't approaching it as a way to subsidize your build. It would be a neat project, but unlikely to be a real money-maker. Good luck and welcome!

Chris
 
How would the film be oriented? As a tips film, or a tutorial or more of an experiential film?

I think one difficulty might be that until you've got some experience you don't know which parts of the construction to emphasize.

Dave
 
Since I'm documenting my build in detail, I'm thinking of writing a book when I'm done. Maybe that could become a movie. Right now it's a slideshow; I think I'm past 800 slides so far. Lots of drama and human interest in my tale...
 
Youtube

A quick look at youtube will show the interest in aviaiton related events.

Many people i talk to cannot even imagine building your own plane so a documentary on it would be good likely and saleable to say one of the documentary channels.

Useful for sure anything is to promote the idea of homebuilding and I always seem to learn something from whatever is put on the forum here.

IMHO a good idea!
 
There are actually quite a few RV construction videos already. That's not to say there isn't room for something different, but you might want to be aware of these:

George and Becki Orndorff have a series for the RV-4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
http://www.fly-gbi.com

Kitplanes Magazine columnist Jon Croke made a series for the RV-12.
http://homebuilthelp.com

EAA and the Discovery Channel documented building an RV-8.
https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa-shop/homebuilders_corner/2265031700000__from-the-ground-up-set
 
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There are those that are just documenting their journey on YouTube and don't pretend to be experts.

For example:
I've been following Jason Ellis on YouTube as he has been doing a great job of going over his process. He is not trying to impart his vast knowledge or experience, but tried to include his viewers in his build process since this is his first time building.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOzsbAfCkJEKIh43l3tzJaQ

There are also TONS of build logs out there as well as EAA and others if someone is looking for real instruction.

Guess what I'm trying to say is, there may be some interest in purchasing a fully documented build process, however I think more people may be interested in watching your progress. Who knows, maybe your videos will encourage more people to learn to fly or build their own airplane!
 
Hey Everyone!

First time posting here on VAF! I'm seriously considering building an RV 7 in the near future. I'm also a filmmaker, and am contemplating making a film about the whole experience, as well as exploring more about kit-building in general. Of course it would take a while to produce, but, in the end it would document what it's like for so many of you who are building your own - while hopefully inspiring others to do the same. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Who would watch this kind of film? :)

Cheers,
Alan


Welcome Alan! Your movie will surely find the audience. As already mentioned there are a lot of builder stories documented in great depth. There are award winning websites and airplanes. There are couple books written maybe take one and put it on film. Some builders are natural writers they can add spice in the process but it's still deeply technical. Try to find and expand on something a novice to RV story would listen. Dramatize a bit. Add subtitles for foreign audience. Improvise. Don't dive into technicalities unless you have that riveting experience. There is an audience for a quality cinema. Do it!
 
Well put, Vlad. Alan, I'd be glad to help you any way I can to make a real movie about the building experience. Not just a how-to video or a build documentary. As a musician with some artistic sensibility, I can imagine a way to make this story a real movie with wide appeal. Let me know if you'd like my input... I'd love to get involved in such a project. The screenplay is writing itself in my head as I type this!
 
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if someone could have been along with Vlad on his Alaskan trip to document every detail it would have been a smash. it would have exceeded even the best Hollywood's stuff because it's real. I like Indiana Jones but Vlad's the real deal.
 
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I actually considered this about ten years ago, when I built my 9A. I am (was) a videographer with over 100 documentaries under my belt. I thought better of the idea, and didn't attempt it, except for a 3 1/2 minute short that wasn't all that professional, but fun.

As a pro, you get pretty wrapped up in the process, really trying for quality and content. This will be the same with building. I didn't think I could give both the justice they deserve, at least without adding much more time than I was prepared to do. I figured this out within a few days, and gave up the project.

That said, it would be a wonderful thing. There are plenty of technical productions out there, and truthfully, these will change with time, as planes evolve. They aren't that helpful, technically, for most people, either. That little 3 1/2 minute piece that I did was for inspiration, something to spur on the desire to work on the plane every day. I had a number of people tell me they would watch it from time to time, just for that.

As you know, there are an infinite number of ways to approach this. If you go ahead, pick a good one. We would all love to see it.

Bob
 
Hey Everyone!

First time posting here on VAF! I'm seriously considering building an RV 7 in the near future. I'm also a filmmaker, and am contemplating making a film about the whole experience, as well as exploring more about kit-building in general. Of course it would take a while to produce, but, in the end it would document what it's like for so many of you who are building your own - while hopefully inspiring others to do the same. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Who would watch this kind of film? :)

Cheers,
Alan

The RV faction of the experimental/amateur built world is ripe for a number of videos. The building, the tricks, some deep ( but fun) technical learning (like DanH articles), the human soul searching, the deep frustration at times, and the adventures - Aerobatics, cross country trips, the adventures of Vlad alone are a series. I suppose, like any literary work, it will be a challenge to provide some interest to the various levels of viewers, a skill you bring to the projects. Well done, like Leon Russell's "Magic Mirror" each will see themselves in the finished work.
 
I actually considered this about ten years ago, when I built my 9A. I am (was) a videographer with over 100 documentaries under my belt. I thought better of the idea, and didn't attempt it, except for a 3 1/2 minute short that wasn't all that professional, but fun.

As a pro, you get pretty wrapped up in the process, really trying for quality and content. This will be the same with building. I didn't think I could give both the justice they deserve, at least without adding much more time than I was prepared to do. I figured this out within a few days, and gave up the project.

That said, it would be a wonderful thing. There are plenty of technical productions out there, and truthfully, these will change with time, as planes evolve. They aren't that helpful, technically, for most people, either. That little 3 1/2 minute piece that I did was for inspiration, something to spur on the desire to work on the plane every day. I had a number of people tell me they would watch it from time to time, just for that.

As you know, there are an infinite number of ways to approach this. If you go ahead, pick a good one. We would all love to see it.

Bob
Thanks for all of the feedback everyone! It's great hearing from all of you! It helps getting an overall sense about the response. All around it seems like a very positive one. It's been a concept of mine for several years now and I'm finally close to turning it into a reality. I've been in touch with the folks at Van's who also seem supportive of the idea as well.

Filming the entire process would be quite an undertaking, especially to make it interesting, visually appealing, and fun for viewers who might not get into the gritty details etc. Of course that would be bonus material for a blog perhaps like a lot of others are doing. But for the actual film itself I'm wanting to capture the essence of what it takes to go from start to finish.

I would be interested in hearing what aspects of building would be most appealing to watch from those of you who have built before or who are currently building. In an ideal world, I would bring in a production crew to capture moments, or phases of the build so all I would have to focus on is building, not filming. Then I would edit the film together afterwards. Knowing what moments would be good to film certainly would help. (Production crew's aren't cheap, so think tasks that take just a few days or up to a week or so, or significant parts like assembly assuming I would be working away good portions of the day instead of just a couple hours here and there etc)

It's an ambitious project to take on two things at once, but it would be something I believe a lot of pilots, aviation enthusiasts, and other homebuilders could relate to. Maybe it could even inspire others to start their own projects or dust off the project sitting in storage.

Thanks for all the feedback, advice, and tips to checking out other channels and videos. I will certainly do so. I've always dreamed of building an airplane myself, fueled by my Granddad's dreams to do so himself. He purchased 3 kits during his lifetime but life never allowed him to finish them. It's something I plan to do in honor of him, after all, he's the reason I got my license!
 
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