Camera-Mounted Jets Bring "Top Gun" Thrills to Disney+ Series "America the Beautiful"

quotIt39s a new thing for wildlife documentariesquot Mark Linfield told MediaVillage during an exclusive interview Together with filmmaking partner Vanessa Berlowitz at Wildstar Films they have previously turned out such groundbreaking nature series as Planet Earth and Frozen PlanetWhile you may not have seen such highspeed footage in documentaries you have likely thrilled to it in major feature films including the summer39s No 1 box office hit quotIt39s been seen in Top Gun and Top Gun Maverickquot Linfield explained quotIt39s from the same aerial system mounted on the front of the jet that we were usingquotAmerica the Beautiful may be the first nature series to use cinemagrade cameras on fighter jets but it doesn39t rely on spaceage technology simply for visual razzledazzle quotIt allowed us to show the landscapes in a way that I think people will have never seen beforeamp160because we cover a huge area in relatively little time which gives people a real sense of overview and a sense of how different habitats work togetherquot Linfield notedOne nailbiting pass may show a forest on one side of a mountain and a desert on the other side leading eventually to a prairie he added quotYou can do that in a single shot and it39s a very entertaining engaging way of showing landscape creation at workquotThe jets also allowed spectacular views of developing weather including monumental tornado clouds quotYou guys have the wildest weather on the planetquot the British filmmaker declared quotA very important part of doing a wildlife series about North America is capturing the weather itself in a new way The jet allows you to reach the weather quickly and to get out quickly when the wild weather turns nastyquotThe breadth of the jetmounted footage often contrasts with the wildlife stories captured on the ground that are narrated by actor Michael B Jordan In addition to grizzlies and bald eagles there are also tales of tiny hardworking ants and teensy toadsquotWe have the big iconic animals but we39re showing them in different new waysquot Berlowitz explained quotYou may have seen mountain lions but you39ve not seen the hidden populations that live in the Grand Canyon And we really wanted to bring to light some of the little underdogs You39ve got these incredible cheeky brave resourceful clever characters under your feet in Americaquot In fact the first episode begins with an epic battle between a grey squirrel and a bear over a stash of acorns a story that may recall an old Chip 39n39 Dale cartoon from another hub on Disney quotIt39s an amazing battle with a squirrel really giving something to a bear 100 times his sizequot she saidquotWhat39s lovely about it is everyone would expect us to open with wolves or bears or mountain lions but no let39s surprise peoplequot Linfield addedAlso surprising may be an innovative soundtrack that incorporates the talents of musicians that including indie rocker S Carey who devised the series39 main theme alongside Joseph Trapanese On tour as a drummer in the band Bon Iver Carey said he enjoyed helping score the series and quotgetting into the spirit of nature or the wilderness For me that kind of came naturally and is the nature for a lot of my musicquotHe also got to work with a couple of Native American musicians he knew from his home in Wisconsin Ojibwe pow wow singer Joe Rainey Sr and Native drum maker singer Dylan Jennings BizhikiinsYoung BuffaloquotI think what draws me to it especially learning more and more about it and working with them is this incredibly deep source of where it39s coming fromquot Carey explained of their musical traditions quotMost music now that you hear doesn39t have thatquotThough the series premieres on Independence Day and has the title of a patriotic song it goes beyond US borders to capture the entire continent with scenes from Mexico and Canada as wellquotWe wanted to do more filming in Canada but due to the pandemic some of those communities were closed to usquot Berlowitz recalledCOVID restrictions had other effects on the series she added quotBecause the National Parks were closed we were able to get onceinalifetime opportunities to fly through them which was pretty extraordinaryquotAnd because of the lockdowns quotwe did end up being able to access great American cinematographersquot she concludedquot Quite often they39re traveling internationally but they were all home and in their home patchquotAll six episodes of America the Beautiful will begin streaming July 4 on DisneyClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Camera-Mounted Jets Bring "Top Gun" Thrills to Disney+ Series "America the Beautiful"

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Camera-Mounted Jets Bring "Top Gun" Thrills to Disney+ Series "America the Beautiful"

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