Stunt bird, spinning bird [video]

The ornithopter on order

We're now waiting for the arrival of our ornithopter—a bird-like toy that flies by flapping its wings. I found that neither Ben nor Erik have seen one of these things fly. They're actually surprisingly realistic. The ornithopter stunt bird will make its appearance flying in silhouette past the church window.

The other day I bragged about Ben's amazing techno crane substitute. You can see the test shot [here]. This rig beats our IKEA lack table dolly rig for low tech goodness: Ben is holding the camera aloft using three strands of fishing line. The camera spins by twirling it one way to "wind it up" and then letting it go. The bird shown in the video is the actual stunt bird we will be using. However, it needs to be suitably bloodied and mangled for its on-screen debut.