Editing To Fly! (section)

=== Filming ===
[[Principal photography]] occurred for five months in 1975. Filming paused two and a half months later during June for MacGillivray and Freeman to film the action scenes of ''[[Sky Riders]]'' (1976), then resumed for two and a half months.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":12" /> They directed and cinematographed the film, frequently switching roles and working seven days a week<ref name=":1" /> with a 5{{Nbsp}}a.m. to 9{{Nbsp}}p.m. [[shooting schedule]].<ref name=":8" /> They often filmed together in a [[multiple-camera setup]], like in one of the barnstorming shots.<ref name=":12" /> According to MacGillivray, ''To Fly!'' was the most fun film that he and Freeman worked on throughout their 11 years of partnership.<ref name=":4" />

At the time, IMAX cameras weighed {{Convert|80|lb|kg|abbr=none}} and felt "crude" to the filmmakers, dismaying them as they wanted to experiment with the cinematography.<ref name=":22" /> Furthermore, they were worried about damaging the only camera available to them, and wanted to minimize the need for retakes. Ferguson and fellow IMAX co-founders, Bill Shaw and Robert Kerr, ideated creating three new cameras with better specifications,<ref name=":4" /> with one of them to be used for Thompson in his other Bicentennial film, ''American Years''. Ferguson granted the proposal.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Graeme Ferguson|url=https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/blog/rememberinggraemeferguson/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208064242/https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/blog/rememberinggraemeferguson/|archive-date=December 8, 2021|access-date=December 8, 2021|publisher=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]]}}</ref> When filming an aerial scene in ''American Years'', the camera's parachute failed to deploy, destroying it.<ref name="Catlin">{{Cite web|last=Catlin|first=Roger|date=February 23, 2018|title=Latest IMAX Film Studies History of American Music|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/latest-imax-film-studies-history-american-music-180968243/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129172028/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/latest-imax-film-studies-history-american-music-180968243/|archive-date=November 29, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021|website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|location=[[Washington D.C.]]}}</ref> The pre-existing camera was also modified to be on par with the new ones.<ref name=":8" />

To make the film bright, colorful, and naturalistic, the crew used the [[Eastman Color Negative]] 5254 [[Tungsten film|tungsten]] [[65&nbsp;mm film]] stock, with the opening scene in [[35 mm movie film|35&nbsp;mm]]. The costly stock caused the short duration of 27 minutes. To give a dramatic look, they emphasized the characters with cross-[[Backlighting (lighting design)|backlighting]] or [[wikt:crosslight#Noun|crosslighting]]. Because of IMAX's large screens and where the [[Rule of thirds|perceived center]] would be, many novel techniques were implemented. [[Extreme long shot]]s were treated as wide-angle shots, while the latter were treated as normal shots, and close-ups were treated as [[Medium Close Up|medium close-ups]]. The latter has a wider [[Headroom (photographic framing)|headroom]] for visual comfort. Movement was condensed to ease the switching between an extreme long shot to medium close-up, and a wide-angle lens was used to further expand the film's view. Camera lenses were also carefully chosen, ranging from the [[Fisheye lens|fisheye]] 30&nbsp;mm to the [[telephoto]] 600&nbsp;mm. [[Pentax]] and [[Hasselblad]] lenses were used; the latter had their [[focal length]]s changed, [[Shutter (photography)|shutters]] removed, and [[Lens mount|mounts]] modified. It took three months to test them and the [[camera magazine]]s.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":12" /> However, they had no [[zoom lens]]es which MacGillivray said would have eased filming.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=MacGillivray|first1=Greg|author-link=Greg MacGillivray|date=December 12, 1982|title=Innovative Devices Used on BEHOLD HAWAII|magazine=[[American Cinematographer]]|location=[[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]|volume=64|issue=12|page=66|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/196338732|id={{ProQuest|196338732}} |via=[[ProQuest]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

[[File:DHC_Chipmunk_NX13A_(5012357680).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Art Scholl]]'s "Super Chipmunk" (pictured 1968), used as a camera plane for the filming of ''To Fly!''|alt=Grayscale photo of a monoplane]]

Many shots in the film were time-consuming to make: a 35-second shot of the Blue Angels flying over the [[Colorado River]] and [[Yuma Desert]] took over four months to choreograph. Camera mounts were designed by the [[United States Navy]] for a [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] piloted by Kevin O'Mara used to film the shot. [[Nelson Tyler]] spent two months developing two mounts for the camera helicopters to film front and side shots, providing smoothness as the smallest vibrations would be noticeable on IMAX. The helicopters were piloted by George Nolan, Chuck Phillips, and Adrian Brooks. Mounts were also made by [[Boeing]] for the [[Boeing&nbsp;747]]; they used its first prototype.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":26">{{Cite news|last=Alderson|first=John|date=June 27, 1979|title=PICTORIUM brings praise|page=20|work=[[Medicine Hat News]]|publisher=[[Alta Newspaper Group]]|agency=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/medicine-hat-news-jun-27-1979-p-20/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=November 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120115022/https://newspaperarchive.com/medicine-hat-news-jun-27-1979-p-20/|archive-date=November 20, 2021|via=[[NewspaperArchive]]}}</ref><ref name=":12" /><ref name="Airspace">{{Cite web |date=June 2004 |title=Cool Blue Hot Rods |url=http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Supp/JJ04/a4ba.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040806080031/http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Supp/JJ04/a4ba.html |archive-date=August 6, 2004 |access-date=September 6, 2023 |website=[[Air & Space/Smithsonian]]}}</ref>}} [[Art Scholl]]'s "[[De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk|Super Chipmunk]]" aircraft was used to film front shots.<ref name=":4" /> The Navy donated helium for the hot air balloon, thanks to the Blue Angels' presence in the film.<ref name=":48">{{Cite instagram|postid=By8Ns6llgDN|user=macfreefilms|title=#TBT to our 1976 film To Fly!|date=June 21, 2019|author=[[MacGillivray Freeman Films]]|url-status=live|access-date=November 25, 2021|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/macfreefilms/2070590189852819661|archive-date=March 6, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The balloon, in shots where it actually flies, was piloted by Kurt Stehling, with whom MacGillivray has collaborated in ''Above San Francisco'' (1973).<ref name=":12" />

[[Aerial work platform]]s were used to support the balloon basket and camera; two platforms supported the basket as it moved in opposing directions to heighten the illusion of flight.<ref name=":8" /> The balloon was decorated with 13 American flags, the number of states in the US in 1831, sewn by a [[vexillography]] shop.<ref name=":49" /> To create a shot in which a [[Sierra No. 3]] train seemingly hits the camera, inspired by the allegedly jolting effects of ''[[L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat]]'' (1895),<ref name=":12" /> the crew placed a mirror in a diagonal position at the rail facing towards the camera, which imaged the mirror for a symmetrical view of the rail as the train approached and shattered it. The illusion of pilots flying was made by filming close-ups of the aircraft backdropped by the sky while the camera dawdles within a rigid [[camera dolly]].<ref name=":8" /> Bob Wills flew a hang glider above the [[Nā Pali Coast State Park|Nā Pali coastline]].<ref name=":12" />

Various kinds of transportation were used. In one scene, a [[stagecoach]] races with the train; previously there is a [[Conestoga wagon]]. Aerials of the 747 were filmed from a provided [[Boeing 737|737]]. [[Frank Tallman]] flew a [[Curtiss Model D]] for the mechanical flight scene. A [[Ford Model T]] was used in the scene talking about the invention of cars; the succeeding scene was filmed above [[Coastal California]]. Meanwhile, the Blue Angels flew [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk]]s. Other filming locations included the [[Gateway Arch]], [[Lake Powell]], [[Monument Valley]], [[Zion Canyon]], [[Yosemite Falls]], the [[Appalachian Mountains]], and the [[Sierra Nevada]]. The barnstorming scene was filmed in [[California]], and the opening sequence's forests in [[Parsons, West Virginia]]. Filming also occurred in [[Alaska]] and [[Craftsbury, Vermont]]. A [[barn raising]] scene from the opening was cut from the final release. Overall, {{Convert|150,000|ft|m|abbr=none}} of film stock were used.{{Efn-la|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name=":18">{{Cite news|last=Kernan|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Kernan|date=July 1, 1980|title=Flight of the Filmgoer|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/07/01/flight-of-the-filmgoer/45695717-730e-4ed6-9323-988aaa8dd2e2/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417140134/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/07/01/flight-of-the-filmgoer/45695717-730e-4ed6-9323-988aaa8dd2e2/|archive-date=April 17, 2018|access-date=August 18, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=''To Fly!''|url=https://www.si.edu/sites/default/files/imax/to_fly_standards.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020060540/https://www.si.edu/sites/default/files/imax/to_fly_standards.pdf|archive-date=October 20, 2019|access-date=August 5, 2021|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|pages=1, 3}}</ref><ref name=":35" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":47" /><ref name="Airspace" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Metraux |first=Daniel A. |title=Craftsbury: A Brief Social History |series=The Hazen Road Dispatch |year=2001 |oclc=3372581 |location=[[Greensboro, Vermont]] |page=1}}</ref>}}

==== Space sequence ====
[[File:Apollo 4 separation of interstage ring.webm|thumb|upright=1.2|Video of the [[Saturn V]]'s [[interstage]] ring, also shown in the film]]

''To Fly!''{{'s}} space sequence depicts the launch of the [[Saturn IB]], before showing a fictional spaceship [[Interplanetary spaceflight|voyaging around]] the [[Solar System]]. Five [[nebulae]] are then depicted before ending with a view of Earth.<ref name=":41" />

The filmmakers were given permission to film the launch, marking the first time such was filmed in IMAX.<ref name=":8" /> They took this part more seriously because it could not be repeated.<ref name=":35" /> After filming {{Convert|1,200|ft|m|abbr=none}} away from the [[launch pad]], they left their camera outside for a day, forming condensation inside and exacerbated by seasonal thunderstorms. It was found wet and jammed, and the crew spent three hours cleaning it to recover the recording. Meanwhile, a shot of the [[Saturn V]]'s [[interstage]] ring jettisonning back to Earth was filmed in [[16 mm film]] from the actual rocket's [[S-II|second stage]], during [[Apollo 4]] in 1967.<ref name=":28" />

With a low budget, they initially conceived the space sequence as merely a compilation of astronomical images but realized they needed some kind of movement for an IMAX film, and thus saved money on the live-action filming in order to achieve a better space sequence. They expected ''To Fly!'' to be compared with the film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968), and tried to make the sequence as reminiscent of that film as possible. They learned that small objects like stars on an IMAX screen are much smaller on a traditional presentation, and typical small stars would be oversized in IMAX; after some difficulty, they were able to create perfect-sized stars on an {{Convert|8|×|360|in|cm|abbr=none|adj=on}} [[Lith print|Kodalith]] [[Negative (photography)|negative]] [[sheet film]]. Because of the nature of IMAX, filming some scenes at six and twelve [[frames per second]] (fps) was preferred over [[stop motion]]. George Casey and [[Lester Novros]] of special effects company Graphic Films{{Efn-la|They had worked on another IMAX film, ''[[Voyage to the Outer Planets]]'' (1973).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bear|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Bear|url=https://www.gregbear.com/pages/fleet.php|title=The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater: the Early Years, and Before|access-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321121036/https://www.gregbear.com/pages/fleet.php|archive-date=March 21, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>}} provided planetary models and a studio, and also assisted the crew.<ref name=":28" />

The spaceship seen was a transparent {{Convert|2|in|cm|abbr=none|spell=in|adj=on}} portion of a larger {{Convert|36|in|m|abbr=none|adj=on}} model built by MacGillivray and Freeman, backlit on a glass frame.<ref name=":28" /> As [[special effects supervisor]],<ref name=":8" /> Blyth designed it to have the same color palette as the 747, and inspired by concepts of advanced [[ion thruster]]s and [[magnetically confined fusion]]s like [[deuterium]] and [[helium-3]]. It took 150 hours to create, with Collins as technical advisor. For a shot in which the spaceship passes [[Jupiter]] and [[Io (moon)|Io]], the crew filmed each object one by one; the film would be rewound back to layer in the next object. The camera was placed on a motorized dolly. Some shots, including the one of [[Saturn]], were filmed at an [[animation stand]]. Others used a faux version of the [[slit-scan photography]] kit used for ''2001: A Space Odyssey'': the sheet film was projected onto a white board, which the fisheye-lensed camera was put close to. Models were attached to a [[peg bar]], near where their glass frame was suspended on. To film extreme slow shots with distinct movement, a [[geared head]] and a zoom-motored gear were used, creating a slight [[Panning (camera)|pan]]. They filmed all these on 16&nbsp;mm first to see if it could be done on IMAX.<ref name=":28" />

[[Bellows (photography)|Bellows]] and close-up lenses by Hasselblad were used for the penultimate nebulae shots; the camera was facing a tray filled with water and a mixture of black ink and white [[enamel paint]] lit by [[color gel]]s. The materials' temperature, thickness, size, and type had to be precise to achieve the reaction. Unable to film at the desired 96 fps, [[mineral oil]] and [[paint thinner]] were poured into the tray to slow down movement; the thinner was favored because it created more interesting 3D-like movements. Often, a short wire was shaped and dipped in to create specific patterns.<ref name=":28">{{Cite magazine|last1=Blyth|first1=Jeff|date=July 4, 1976|title=Filming the Space Sequences for "To Fly"|magazine=[[American Cinematographer]]|location=[[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]|volume=57|issue=7|url=https://proquest.com/docview/196331873|via=[[ProQuest]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Special effects]] designers Jim Palmer and Barney Kaelin created laser patterns, the first in any IMAX film.<ref name=":8" /> Overall, the space sequence took four and a half months to prepare, test, and film.<ref name=":28" />