Editing To Fly! (section)

===Pre-production===

On July 1, 1974, giant-screen filmmaker [[Francis Thompson (film director)|Francis Thompson]] joined in proposing a film about the history of flight for the Bicentennial at the NASM theater.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web|last1=Naus|first1=Rainer|last2=Baer|first2=Christopher T.|date=2013|title=Conoco files on IMAX films "To Fly" and "Flyers" Files|url=https://findingaids.hagley.org/repositories/3/resources/1123|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426192139/https://findingaids.hagley.org/repositories/3/resources/1123|archive-date=April 26, 2021|access-date=August 5, 2021|publisher=[[Hagley Digital Archives]]|id=2527|orig-date=1974}}</ref> With a [[US$]]590,000 fund from the [[Continental Oil Company]] (Conoco),<ref name=":49" /> with an additional $160,000 for [[film rights]],<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|324}} they set the production deadline to 1976.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book|last=Eagan|first=Daniel|url=https://archive.org/details/americasfilmlega0000eaga|title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry|date=October 15, 2009|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|pages=728–730|chapter=To Fly!|access-date=December 19, 2021|url-access=registration|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> After writing a third treatment with Thompson,<ref name=":35">{{Cite news|date=August 9, 1976|title=History Of Flight Traced|volume=87|page=15|work=[[Commerce, Texas|Commerce]] Journal|issue=63|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/commerce-journal-aug-09-1976-p-15/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207104423/https://newspaperarchive.com/commerce-journal-aug-09-1976-p-15/|archive-date=December 7, 2021|via=[[NewspaperArchive]]}}</ref> the Smithsonian commissioned filmmaker duo [[Greg MacGillivray]] and James "Jim" Freeman,<ref name=":50">{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=February 12, 1982 |title=Thrills Fly on the Biggest Movie Screen in Town |page=C27 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/12/movies/thrills-fly-on-the-biggest-movie-screen-in-town.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411092352/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/12/movies/thrills-fly-on-the-biggest-movie-screen-in-town.html |archive-date=April 11, 2021}}</ref> who had previously made [[surf film|surf]] and giant-screen films with experimental editing; they had also shot aerials for ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)|Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]'' (1973) and ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (1974).<ref name=":32" /> Collins told them that he did not want the film to be too history-oriented and instead be more fun. With Collins giving them full creative freedom,<ref name=":12" /> pre-production meetings took place in New York City for several months.<ref name=":8" />

[[File:Man Belongs to the Earth opening.webm|thumb|The opening scene of ''Man Belongs to the Earth'' (1974), which convinced Collins to build an IMAX theater, and the highlight of MacGillivray and Freeman's research for ''To Fly!'']]

Collins and Zisfein gave around 30 suggestions, about 20 of which were incorporated into the film.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=MacGillivray |first=Greg |author-link=Greg MacGillivray |title=Inspire Friday Issue No. 19 |url=https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/newsletter/inspire-friday-issue-no-19/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205165845/https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/newsletter/inspire-friday-issue-no-19/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |access-date=August 19, 2021 |publisher=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]] |at=From the MFF Archives}}</ref> MacGillivray and Freeman thought the treatment was imperfect and expanded it into a narrative [[docudrama]] with several moments of comedy.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Gilliam |first=Bret |author-link=Bret Gilliam |date=October 13, 2016 |title=Greg MacGillivray A Lifetime in Film Master of IMAX |url=https://www.tdisdi.com/iti/greg-macgillivray/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116153729/https://www.tdisdi.com/iti/greg-macgillivray/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=July 1, 2021 |publisher=[[Scuba Diving International]]}}</ref> They analyzed the existing IMAX films for inspiration,<ref name=":22">{{Cite magazine |last=Essman |first=Scott |date=April 2000 |title=Mega-Movies: The State of the Art of Large-Format Films |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/issues/38/38_imax.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525114258/https://www.moviemaker.com/issues/38/38_imax.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2006 |access-date=August 26, 2021 |magazine=[[MovieMaker]]|issue=38}}</ref> including ''Man Belongs to the Earth'', whose opening aerial shot of the [[Grand Canyon]] enthused them.<ref name=":12" /> Per Collins, they included scenes with [[comic relief]] in ''To Fly!'' in order to not make the film feel like a dry [[historical drama]].<ref name=":4" /> Thompson agreed, saying there were enough fact-based Bicentennial films being made and that people needed more entertainment.<ref name=":40">{{Cite interview |last=MacGillivray |first=Greg |subject-link=Greg MacGillivray |interviewer=Dodge, Mary Jane |title=GSCA Moments with Mary Jane Dodge Series: Greg MacGillivray |type=[[YouTube]] video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clVoxfQKv20 |access-date=December 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209154553/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clVoxfQKv20 |archive-date=December 9, 2021 |url-status=live |publisher=Giant Screen Cinema Association |date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> MacGillivray said IMAX is perfect for the film because it "allows me [...] to impact the audience in a greater way".<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=March 20, 2011 |orig-date=July 1, 1996 |title="To Fly" Segment featured on CBS This Morning |url=https://digital.hagley.org/VID_2011320_B03_ID06_02?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=e326e9886512f8d4dfe3&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808075759/https://digital.hagley.org/VID_2011320_B03_ID06_02?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=e326e9886512f8d4dfe3&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |access-date=August 8, 2021 |website=[[CBS This Morning]]|publisher=[[KYW-TV]] |via=[[Hagley Digital Archives]]}}</ref> He and Freeman [[storyboard]]ed it with John Divers at their [[Laguna Beach, California]], office, creating "IMAX moments" to thrill audiences and to rely on visuals more than narration.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":4" /> Seven months were spent on research,<ref name=":14" /> with aviators [[Walter J. Boyne]] and [[Donald S. Lopez Sr.]] as [[technical advisor]]s.<ref name=":39">{{Cite web |last=MacGillivray |first=Greg |author-link=Greg MacGillivray |date=January 28, 2020 |title=Remembering Walter Boyne |url=https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/blog/remembering-walter-boyne/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208064338/https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/blog/remembering-walter-boyne/ |archive-date=December 8, 2021 |access-date=December 9, 2021 |publisher=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]]}}</ref>

Actor and real-life balloonist [[Peter Walker (actor)|Peter Walker]] was chosen to portray Ezekiel due to his comic charm. The character was based upon a balloonist who in 1790 apparently made flights over New England while reciting self-written poems, purportedly to impress young women.<ref name=":49">{{Cite mailing list|url=https://mailchi.mp/macfreefilms.com/inspirefriday_issue_80|title=Inspire Friday Issue No. 80|date=February 4, 2022|last=MacGillivray|first=Greg|publisher=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]]|via=[[Mailchimp]]|author-link=Greg MacGillivray|access-date=February 7, 2022|section=From the MFF Archives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205063928/https://mailchi.mp/macfreefilms.com/inspirefriday_issue_80|archive-date=February 5, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> Walker listed ''To Fly!'' among his favorite films to star in.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Walker |url=https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/4096/peter-walker |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316054802/https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/4096/peter-walker |archive-date=March 16, 2022 |access-date=March 16, 2022 |publisher=[[Concord Theatricals]]}}</ref> Through filmmaker [[Randal Kleiser]], whom he knew from his friend [[Basil Poledouris]], MacGillivray partook in courses with actress [[Nina Foch]] to master in directing his cast. Extras were not mandated to speak because they comprise locals, some of whom the filmmakers felt were amateur. Freeman's girlfriend Cindy Huston, MacGillivray's girlfriend Barbara Smith, and production manager-costumer Jeff Blyth made [[cameo appearances]] as different characters.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=MacGillivray |first=Greg |title=Five Hundred Summer Stories: A Life in IMAX |date=November 15, 2022 |publisher=Earth Aware Editions |isbn=9781647227364 |pages=110–117 |author-link=Greg MacGillivray}}</ref> Huston was also [[focus puller]], and Smith was [[production assistant]], [[craft service]] specialist, and [[unit still photographer]].<ref name=":4" /> Other writers were Thompson, [[Robert M. Young (film director)|Robert M. Young]], and [[Arthur Zegart]]; [[Thomas McGrath (poet)|Thomas McGrath]] wrote the narration. Additionally, Byron McKinney was [[executive producer]].<ref name=":32" /> Documentarian and historian Jon Wilkman was briefly involved,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilkman|first=Jon|title=Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America|date=December 18, 2020|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|isbn=9781635571035|edition=1|pages=7|oclc=1132429770}}</ref> alongside [[NASA]], the [[Office of Naval Research]], and the [[California Institute of Technology]].<ref name="MFF" />