MASTERS OF THE AIR PRODUCTION
W orking on the Apple TV+ World War II action-drama Masters of the Air provided DOP Richard Rutkowski with a host of special memories, but one in particular stands out. After shooting the series’ penultimate episode, which introduces the iconic Tuskegee Airmen and their red-tailed P-51 fighters, Rutkowski – a trained pilot – clambered into the cockpit of one of the 76-year-old aircraft and took to the skies. “One of the P-51s was a training plane that was used to train the airmen back in the forties,” he begins, “and contrary to what you might think of an old plane, it was so easy to fly. It’s cleverly designed, well balanced and so overpowered – like riding the fastest motorcycle you’ve ever been on. We could flip her over and come right back around to get level again.” Rutkowski’s enthusiasm is palpable: his passion for the subject and craft is clear as he recalls the time spent in England filming episodes 7 and 8 of the nine-part series, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks as a companion to Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010). Created by John Shiban and John Orloff, the show tells the story of the 100th Bomb Group – dubbed the Bloody Hundredth – a USAF division that flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from their base at Thorpe Abbotts near Norfolk during WWII. It is drawn from
WORDS Will Lawrence IMAGES Apple TV+
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