How the final scene of 'Train Dreams' was filmed

Clint Bentley, the co-writer and director of Train Dreams, describes the film’s final scene: Joel Edgerton’s Robert Grainier wanders onto an airfield where airplane rides are being given, and Amelia Hilsen, a real pilot, takes the old plane up. Grainier believes he’s paying $4 for a joyride, but the flight becomes something far larger for the character.

Bentley says the sequence was shot in three parts. Cameras were rigged to the plane and the aircraft was filmed from the ground, but for insurance reasons Edgerton could not fly in the antique plane. Production designer Alex Schaller and her team built a recreation of the plane and mounted it on a gimbal about 12 feet off the ground, while VFX supervisor Ilia Mokhtareizadeh’s team painted out and replaced the sky behind Edgerton’s head.

As Grainier goes through the flight, moments from his life flash before his eyes.

train dreams, clint bentley, joel edgerton, robert grainier, amelia hilsen, antique plane, gimbal rig, vfx supervisor, alex schaller, airfield