This was the first video I produced after I got access to the local Public Access TV studio. For the first time I could use professional camera, audio, and editing equipment. A friend of mine was an airplane buff, and he suggested that we attend a nearby air show that featured WWII aircraft. We wrote up a letter to the organizers posing as a professional video team, and to our astonishment they bought it. We got VIP Press Passes and free admission to the show.

My friend was well versed in WWII aviation, but not in video production. I had to coach him on how to conduct an interview. The secret is to ask questions you already know the answer to. He got it right away. He knew just the right questions to ask to get the subjects to cover the kind of material he knew would be informative to viewers.

The project was a learning experience in many ways beyond just using the professional equipment. One was the need for static shots that could be used as a backdrop for voiceover content. I didn't get nearly enough of that, and it presented challenges during the editing process. Another lesson learned was the effort required to write up the voiceover content. It is an exercise in brevity. You need to get across the message you want to convey in as few words as possible to keep the pace moving. It was also a real challenge to actually recite the voiceover segments. It's not easy to read even short passages without any gaffs. Originally my partner was going to do the voiceovers, but he just couldn't get the words out, so I wound up doing it myself.

The video came together not bad for a first attempt. It's not exactly an award-winning production, but we got a lot of things right. The true value lies in capturing the oral history from actual WWII aviation veterans. There were not a lot left at the time this video was shot, and few if any survive to this day. Those who appear in this video have surely passed on by now, so I'm very gratified to have captured their stories for posterity.

This piece stands alone as the only formal documentary in my back catalog of work. It's not perfect, but I will always be proud of it.