Questions
I am looking to learn which scenes (starting from when through when) included footage of airplane physics that were not actually shot, but done in VFX including CGI.
Even more so, I am looking to learn which scenes (starting from when through when) included airplane physics or dynamics that have not been verified to be at least possible by state of the art aviation tech.
Reasons for the question
I was unable to immerse myself in the movie. I am absolutely not anti-CGI or one who can't enjoy a good sci-fi — I can enjoy rewatching episodes Star Trek ENT or Strange New Worlds for that matter.
However, watching those movies, I accept the premise that the scenery, the visuals and overall the depicted reality is a projection of human fantasy, and I dwell into it.
For this very reason, I was able to enjoy the first scenes of the Mach 10 airplane very much. Knowing that it is sci-fi stuff (the SR-72 is an UAV, and it does far less than Mach 10). But I enjoyed it, very much so.
I also enjoyed Devotion recently with very old dog fights as well as the dog fights of Top Gun — the original.
However, the dog fights of Maverick, for lack of a better word really, I feel like entered something analogous to the idea of "uncanny valley".
Many of the arial stunts included physics that I can imagine possible yet highly doubt to actually be possible even in experiment with state of the art tech.
Since the visuals were stunning, and probably impossible to the unaided eye to differentiate, I found myself keep questioning whether what I see should shock me in a very real sense that what I see is the new frontier of military aviation, or "just" amaze as a great movie.
Not knowing if what I saw was real or CGI simply detached me in the recurring self-questioning instead of allowed me to immerse myself into the experience better.
I am hoping that allowing myself the knowledge which scenes were actual arial footage, and which were or included CGI or better yet: Knowing which physics and maneuvers are at least possible with tech we can ascertain to exist, would allow a much more enjoyable experience of these scenes to enjoy each for its own merits.
Examples of VFX/CGI disputed scenes
- Arial/space footages of the cabined SR-72 Darkstar;
- Maverick pulling a vertical and slowing down to end up above and then behind Goose in their second training session — the physics seem such that is questionable whether current fighter jets are capable of.
- Similar footage during the mission (vertical get-behind maneuver).