Case Study: Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Still from Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Intro: Concept
Xwing is a tech aviation startup in the autonomous field and with their accomplishments, were acquired by eVTOL company Joby Aviation in 2024.
The company is working towards a technology that would lead to the ability to have a pilotless flight. Think Waymo in the air. For testing purposes, the tech was installed in Cessna aircrafts. One of the big projects I took on while working there was to capture compelling beautiful moving images of the company’s Cessna planes in the air.
With the Head of Marketing, we imagined sweeping cinematic visuals of the plane flying through various terrains such as forests, mountains, lakes, and deserts.
In order to execute this, there were many components involved including 1) how the plane will be filmed, 2) locations, 3) types of shots, and 4) the duration of the shoot.
Pre-Production Part I: Procuring the Second Aircraft and Aerial Cinematographer
I am a videographer, but to shoot something of this scale was not in my skillset. What I learned was the best way to film an aircraft is to shoot from another aircraft. With that much movement happening, there is no way I would be able to simply plant down a camera and get the shots we wanted. So I sought out an expert and came upon someone who specialized in aerial cinematography. He had ideas for mounting his system right at the door of another Cessna caravan that we were possibly able to borrow from someone that one of our pilots know.
And then the unexpected happened: the insurance company of the other plane rejected our idea! Months of what seemed to be a sure thing went out the window. We scrambled and looked for other alternatives. There was a previous shoot with Xwing before my time there using a helicopter, but I heard it was not well-executed with some dangerous maneuvers and the helicopter had trouble keeping up, which meant the Cessna had to pull up and slow down, which made for less desirable looks. After some searching, we found a suitable, slightly faster helicopter with a pilot more seasoned with doing shoots like these. The cinematographer had plenty of experience filming from the helicopter and could mount the system at the mouth of the helo. Our second aircraft was a lock!
The Helicopter Equipped with Cinema Camera System Used for Shoot
Flight Route Notes for Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Pre-Production Part II: The Flight Route
Filming something like an air-to-air shoot isn’t simply going to a location and setting down equipment. This is a shoot that involves nonstop moving! With that in mind, we had to think of a proper route that allowed us to film in the environments in a seamless and efficient manner. Fortunately, California had plenty of beautiful areas connected to each other.
In addition, there were many factors regarding what zones had restrictions for flying and filming, so I often had to turn to my pilot colleagues about those potential issues.
With the Head of Marketing, we brainstormed a path that wasn’t too far, wasn’t too long distance, and covered all the backdrops we desired: start in the Sacramento area (where the helicopter was based), fly up through mountains and forests to Lake Tahoe, land in Reno for the night, and capture desert wetlands in the north the next morning.
Pre-Production Part III: The Shot List
As you can tell so far, the planning of such a shoot is unfamiliar territory. This part, especially, was completely new to me. As much as it was very exciting to think of the various shots we can get with a plane flying through luscious natural scenery, I didn’t know how Cessnas or helicopters work. Sure, I have a vague idea of the way each flies, but I was afraid my imagination was beyond the actual physical possibilities of these aircrafts. The planning of the shot list definitely needed a lot of back and forth between me and the aviation experts that are my colleagues, as well as the cinematographer.
To help present possible shots with the Cessna pilot, I utilized the Xwing render we had from Blender by orienting them in different angles I wanted, placed them over Google Earth screenshots of locations we were aiming to shoot at, and labeling additional information for each shot. The pilot gave me useful feedback and information I didn’t know about (such as the helicopter skids being obstructions if the camera wanted to do low shots). After a few revisions, we had ourselves a solid shot list.
Page from Shot List for Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Notes for Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Pre-Production Part IV: Logistics
This step was basically to make sure everything was in place: everyone involved (me, Cessna pilot, Cessna co-pilot, helicopter pilot, and cinematographer) was scheduled to go on this shoot over the course of two days, the fly route was finalized and all good with compliance, safety measures were in place, the schedule was reasonable with the proper length of time to get to all the locations and film all the clips we need, hotel rooms were booked, the budget was secure, and a proper meeting was had pre-flight to make sure we were all on the same page.
Production: We’re Flying!
For the shoot itself, communication was paramount. We needed to make sure our headsets worked properly and were always giving clear orders and responses to each other between aircrafts. Some of the movements involved having the aircrafts getting close together or being at different altitudes, all while varying speeds mid-shot. Safety was definitely emphasized here.
The two days of shooting went swimmingly. On our way to Lake Tahoe, we grabbed plenty of shots of mountain ranges and areas . At the Lake, we did multiple circles around for a series of footage before heading to Reno to get takeoff and landing shots. Early next day before sunrise, we set off for the desert areas in the north for shots as the sun started to peak out of the horizon.
I rode in the helicopter so I had a clear view of the Cessna the whole time and it was absolutely gorgeous to watch. The terrains turned out to be even more unreal than what I had pictured in my head. The shoot was a resounding success!
Still from Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Still from Xwing Air-to-Air Shoot
Post-Production: Footage for Many Uses
This shoot was an ambitious endeavor, but wasn’t simply for a single video. Xwing was at a stage where they looked to build presence and receive further funding for their innovative pursuits, so the company used reels and other highlights to help gain some attention at conferences, pull in investors, and impress those in the aviation industry.
For videos that utilized this footage from this shoot, check out these videos:
https://vimeo.com/727602693?share=copy <- this one has a password Xw1n6xUp5