Behind the Scenes

A look at what goes into making a PixelWorkers production—from cameras and lighting to helicopters, gimbals, and everything in between.

Most of what we do happens behind the camera. Here’s a look at some of it.

Blue helicopter on the ramp with a GSS gimbal on the nose

Red aerobatic biplane blowing smoke on a runway

Camera cases and gear laid out beside a Land Rover Defender on location

Black Bell helicopter with a camera gimbal parked on the tarmac

Black aerobatic plane trailing smoke over autumn trees

Camera operator with a gimbal controller seated in a red helicopter

Silver P-51 Mustang with invasion stripes seen from above

Blue and yellow Stearman biplane flying toward sunset

Blue helicopter on grass with a GSS gimbal on the nose

Michael Jensen with a camera rig in front of a vintage U.S. Army aircraft

Close-up of a stabilized gimbal camera mounted on an aircraft

Close-up of the radial engines and nose of a B-29 Superfortress

Orange and white Bell cargo drone flying over a lake

Helicopter cockpit instrument panel before a shoot

Silver P-51 Mustang with a red nose flying at sunset

Polished P-51 Mustang with yellow wings over water

Bell V-280 Valor parked in front of the Bell hangar

Bell V-280 Valor flying head-on with rotors up

Bell V-280 Valor filmed during air-to-air cinematography

Crew preparing a helicopter for an aerial filming project

B-29 Superfortress FIFI in flight over water

Bell V-280 Valor in airplane mode over terrain

HondaJet climbing over desert at sunset

White and red biplane trailing smoke over green fields

Red biplane flying against a blue sky

Two crew members in a helicopter cockpit before takeoff

Yellow floatplane flying against a clear sky

Dark helicopter flying over teal water

White helicopter flying over a football field with a star at midfield

Blue helicopter with a camera gimbal parked at night with the city skyline behind it

Fighter jet banking with afterburners against a blue sky

Navy-blue Avenger torpedo bomber in flight

Overhead view of a jet on runway 16

Helicopter with a nose gimbal silhouetted against the sky

Maroon biplane climbing through a sunset sky

Light blue helicopter with a GSS gimbal on the tarmac

Light blue helicopter with a nose gimbal in flight

Army Huey flying over dense forest

Two helicopters on the ramp at sunset, one with a camera gimbal

Camouflaged Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter in flight

Black helicopter with a camera gimbal on a football field

Two helicopters on the tarmac at sunset, one with a camera gimbal on the nose

White Airbus H145 N945DC flying past tan buildings with green roofs

Texas DPS helicopter N901TX with a nose camera gimbal against an overcast sky

Helicopter glass cockpit with digital flight displays and a hand on the cyclic

Red and yellow biplane trailing smoke over a runway

Overhead view of a V-22 Osprey with rotors spinning on a landing pad

Robinson R44 helicopter parked on the ramp

Dark V-280 Valor tiltrotor flying low over dense forest

Four Bell 525 helicopters in formation over rural fields

Vintage F4U Corsair banking over water

Dark helicopter with a camera gimbal parked on grass under a blue sky

B-29 Superfortress FIFI in flight during aerial photography

Light blue helicopter with a camera gimbal parked on the tarmac

Yellow floatplane flying toward the camera against a blue sky

Olive drab U.S. Army Caribou transport taxiing on a wet runway

Crew silhouetted inside the glass nose of a B-29 during an air-to-air shoot

Pilot and camera operator in a helicopter cockpit before an aerial shoot

Helicopter in a maintenance hangar being prepped for a shoot

Camera and gimbal equipment staged for an aerial shoot

Helicopter parked inside a lit hangar

White single-engine airplane with canopy open on the tarmac at sunset

Cinema camera set up in front of a green screen in the studio

Two men on an airfield in front of a dark helicopter with a business jet behind them

Monitor showing a warbird during air-to-air filming

Robinson R44 cockpit with a camera controller and video monitor for aerial filming

Blue helicopter N172AC with a camera gimbal on the tarmac

Cinema camera rigged to the hood of a pickup truck for a driving shot

Color grading commercial footage in DaVinci Resolve

Red helicopter with a camera gimbal on the skid, rotors spinning in front of hangars

Dark helicopter hovering beside an offshore oil rig

Camera gimbal mounted on the front bumper of a black Toyota Tundra

Film lights set up around an aircraft inside a hangar

Lighting setup for a commercial video production

Close-up of a GSS camera gimbal on a cream helicopter nose

Crew inside a navy helicopter, one wearing a helmet with a purple visor

Production crew setting up cameras and lighting on location

Film crew shooting a black helicopter in front of blue screens

Camera pod mounted on a Robinson R44 flying over a grass field

Cinema camera inside a helicopter with forest visible out the door

Helicopter cockpit with a cinema camera and monitor facing the hangar

Four men standing in front of a maroon helicopter with a nose gimbal

Dark helicopter with a camera gimbal in flight against a blue sky

Camera monitor in a helicopter cockpit during an aerial shoot

P-51 Mustang seen through a bomber window during air-to-air filming

Cinema camera filming an actress in an orange flight suit

HondaJet seen through an airplane window over desert terrain

Cream helicopter with a nose gimbal being prepped inside a hangar

Helmeted camera operator leaning out of an aircraft in flight

Cinema camera setup for a commercial video production

Camera operator filming a commercial production

Three men posing at night in front of a blue helicopter

Red helicopter on grass in front of a cable-stayed bridge

Man in a flight vest on the tarmac in front of a dark helicopter with a nose gimbal