Flying High
Nonfiction Spots, a highly regarded production company housing some of today’s brightest documentary filmmakers, recently added Peyton Wilson to their growing ranks. Wilson, whose life took a dramatic turn a mere three years ago after receiving a phone call from a friend and squadron instructor with the Navy, is realizing said turn - namely the film Speed & Angels -- hitting the big screen later this year.
Wilsonulls friend, Pacco, had just emerged from a screening of the film, Stepped into Liquid, the stylistic and thrilling surf film when he placed an impassioned call to Wilson exclaiming, ‘wouldn’t it be great to do the same kind of film only with pilots and fighter jets?’ It would be the excitement in Pacco’s voice that would entice Wilson to make her way to visit to his squadron – and once finding herself there, she would immediately be hooked on the idea.
“I didn’t know anything about the military at the time,” says Wilson. “And I didn’t think of myself as anyone who would even want to deal with a subject like this. But I met these guys and we started talking – and I knew instantly that there was something so sexy about the jets and the thrill of being a fighter pilot. I simply saw the potential for a great film.”
The resulting documentary, Speed & Angels, is Wilson’s sharp and visually breathtaking story of two young Navy officers as they pursue their dreams of becoming one of the elite few to fly the F-14 Tomcat. The Navy gave Wilson access for over two and a half years while she followed Jay and Megan (Megan was one of the first women ever to become a fighter pilot).
Wilson was able to capture amazing footage including their dramatic dogfights filmed air to air and with special camera rigs, and the officers’ first intense landings on air craft carrier decks in the Atlantic. The director herself was flown in and out by jet for carrier shooting days including being cat-shot (catapulted off the carrier deck) to return from days’ shooting. Along the way Peyton also captured the pilots in their day-to-day lives as their personal stories, the origins of their dreams, and to become the best, unfolded.
“Speed & Angels is not just the amazing high testosterone visuals,” states Wilson. “This is a real story that gets under the skin of who these guys are. There’s emotion and a connection and that’s also what makes it so authentic.”
Wilson brings that same love of capturing stories that ‘ring true’ to her stylistic commercial work with actors and real people at Nonfiction Spots. Her commercial work includes commercials for AT&T, Wal Mart, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Levis.
“I love connecting with people,” Wilson says about directing. “Finding the trust, the comfort level, getting people to open up and share what’s in their heart. It’s the magic of human interaction."
Reel Moments: Peyton Wilson: Speed & Angels
