Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron The film apparently took a nosedive, but that didn’t stop filmmaker Michael Koepff from getting involved Wingman: An X-Wing Story to live. The action-packed film, which is shown for free on YouTube, takes place entirely in nimble starfighter cockpits. And for 50 minutes, it’s harder than any Star Wars fan film I’ve ever seen.
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Good dogfight sequences are difficult to film, especially because the action is difficult to explain to the actors sitting under the hot lights in full costume. Koepff and his team do an incredible job of integrating the basics, such as maintaining proper eye lines and conveying appropriate weight shift for the actors in a turn. They expand these skills to more advanced elements such as lighting and CGI effects. But then they leave further
What really caught my eye was the amount of space Wingman does in his cockpits. The camera appears to rotate a little further than usual, revealing new and interesting angles not found in any of the existing Star Wars films. The attention to detail extends to the rarely seen X-Wing control stick, which looks more like an RC car’s remote control than a traditional flight stick.
Throughout, Wingman doesn’t just look like a deleted scene Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. I think it looks better. You can find out more about the making of the short film online, in German, with station SWR.