Real Aviators Reunite in Xfinity’s Touching Film from Kathryn Bigelow
This article originally appeared in LBB, April 29, 2024.
Every reunion has the potential to be special. But there’s nothing quite like a reunion of friends who have bonded through their service in the armed forces.
This year, a squadron of real aviators are reunited in a story from Xfinity and their agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P). Filmed last October, the work is set to debut in May for Military Appreciation Month.
Directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), the film - titled “The Aviators” - tells the story of a grandfather anticipating the weekend reunion of his fellow US Navy veterans. As he describes the group and the experience of flying an A-4 Skyhawk jet to his granddaughter (seen through moments of flashbacks to the era), an idea sparks in her mind to surprise her grandfather’s friends with an experience they never thought they’d have: flying their jets again. But they do, thanks to the power of Xfinity Internet.
The film also represents a reunion for Kathryn and a few of her key collaborators from over the years, with cinematography by two-time Oscar-winning DP Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Dune, The Batman, Lion and more) and sound design by three-time Oscar-winning sound designer Paul N. J. Ottosson (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Fury and more). It also features music from two-time Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer (Dune, The Lion King and more).
Preymaker created fully CG versions of all the planes and exterior shots of the pilots flying and generated the clouds, condensation on the planes, and the land and the sea below. Actors were shot in an old cockpit of an A10-Warthog. The CG landscape included transport vehicles, planes and background actors. Preymaker researched media from different eras like the Vietnam War and visited the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum where they took reference photos of A-4 Skyhawk jets for their fully CG versions of the planes.