Masters of the Air

• NEP Group , the leading media services partner for content creators worldwide, has named Wyatt Bartel president of its virtual production company, Lux Machina Consulting (“LuxMC”).
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240409401079/en/
  Wyatt Bartel has been appointed president of Lux Machina Consulting, a global leader in virtual production, in-camera visual effects and display solutions for film and TV, broadcast, live events and permanent installations.
• “I want to give my deepest thanks to Phil Galler, whose leadership, along with Zach Alexander’s, has shaped Lux Machina.
• I’ll be looking for new creative business and technology leadership opportunities that are synergistic to the work of Lux Machina and NEP.

• The series is based on Donald L. Miller’s history book of the same name and is produced by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
• As a historian with interests in the history and memory of the 8th Air Force, I was largely impressed by the show’s historical accuracy, especially the recreation of the base at Thorpe Abbotts.

The European air war

• Like many of its cinematic predecessors, Masters of the Air examines the doctrine employed by the 8th Air Force – daylight precision bombing.
• Focused on the “choke-points” in the German war economy – oil refineries, fighter production, ball-bearing manufacture – it was a key point of divergence with Britain’s Royal Air Force which attacked German industry through nighttime “area” bombing.
• Read more:
  Masters of the Air: ten other films and TV shows about the 'friendly invasion' of the American Eighth Air Force

Missed opportunities

• The result is a rich story which avoids an overly repetitive format based purely on bombing missions.
• One is that the series gives relatively little space to exploring the deep bonds between aircrew and East Anglians.
• This is a shame given the important role long played by the latter in zealously guarding the 8th’s memory.
• The only African American units to fly in combat, they served with distinction in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.

An uncertain future

• For all its stirring soundtrack (Blake Neely’s score certainly makes the spine tingle) the series lacks the power and punch of previous Spielberg-Hanks work.
• Band of Brothers – with which the series will inevitably be compared – was made in the halcyon days of the turn of the 21st century.
• The conflict retains this sheen in the American imagination, and Masters of the Air is in thrall to the “greatest generation”.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
Sam Edwards has previously received funding from the ESRC, the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the US Army Military History Institute, and the US Naval War College. Sam is a Trustee of Sulgrave Manor (Northamptonshire), the ancestral home of George Washington, and of The American Library (Norwich) a memorial to the 2nd Air Division of the US 8th Air Force.

• LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Electronics (LG) welcomes visitors to the company's booth at CES 2024 with a wealth of entertaining and dazzling experiences through the webOS zone.
• The webOS smart TV platform breathes life into immersive visuals and inspiring narratives, aligning with the company's visionary transformation.
• LG's awe-inspiring webOS zone will be on show at CES 2024 from January 9-12 in the company's booth (#16008, Las Vegas Convention Center).
• For more information on LG products unveiled at CES 2024, please visit CES 2024 Press Kit .