We live in an era in which the image is a fundamental requirement for public institutions too, in this context, how is changed - if there was a change - your job? We had the honor and the pleasure of interviewing Lt. Col. Claudio Martinelli, commander of the Italian Air Force’s Centro Produzione Audiovisivi (CPA), also known as “Troupe Azzurra”, an unit which has the task of creating, collecting and storing the audiovisual and photographic material of the Italian Air Force. First things first: what is the process for joining the Troupe Azzurra? The Audiovisual Center, better known as Troupe Azzurra, started as a Technical Section of the General Staff AM, specializing in photo shooting, video and film, on the ground and in flight. In the past, the Officers were from the Italian Air Force’s Cadet School in Florence, Role of Aeronautical Engineers specialized in Photography, and usually the best students of the specialization courses in photography were assigned to the Troupe Azzurra. The Non-Commissioned Officers, however, were specialized in photography at the NCO School of Caserta and the best students of the course were assigned to the Troupe Azzurra. At the moment, while also changing the roles and locations of training institutes, the process for joining the CPA remains the same. At the CPA, while the officers are specialized in all types of employment sectors of the Center (photo-video-film-audio), the NCO are evaluated for a short period in order to see what features, audio-visual techniques and passion they have, and are subsequently allocated to the sector video, film or photo shoot. In the Center there is also a rate of Officers and NCOs qualified as flight crews and Onboard Flight Operators Photographers; they are winners of an internal competition and subjected to annual medical examination to certify their psychophysical ability to fly on all Italian Air Force’s aircrafts. This is the operating group better known as “Troupe Azzurra”. What is the role of ethusiasm for photography and aviation in this job? Undoubtedly, the passion for photography is essential fo an operator of the Troupe Azzurra and, hand in hand, there is a strong tie with the Air Force and aviation. These are important factors that allow our staff to carry out beautiful and unique photographs and shooting in the air and on the ground. What about the CPA’s technical equipment? We use NIKON D3 and D4 camera bodies and D700 as back-up machines with a set of lenses ranging from 14mm Fish-eye until to the 600mm fixed zoom. The Italian Air Force, as evidenced by the long tradition of CPA, has always believed in the power of images, both photographic and video, especially when made from a privileged “perspective” like that of a military aircraft. Over time, in addition to the historical documentation of the Armed Force, it has added a strong commitment in the field of the current themes, but little has changed in terms of professionalism and ethusiasm. With digital technology, Internet and Social Networking, our work has changed only in the speed of response for the purposes of Public Information and promotion of the Armed Force. But thanks to the technology available and the passion of our staff, always updated on new photographic techniques, we can easily keep pace with the evolution of audio-visual communication, especially in the complex area of video without losing quality. Always at the side of the various ITAF’s Departments to document, with photos and videos, their excellent work at home and abroad: what image of the Italian Air Force do you try to represent with your work? We want to be the “magnifying glass” through which to see and learn about the Italian Air Force, an armed force composed of highly qualified professionals who, in their own sector, contribute to the maintenance of security and peace both in our country and abroad. Are your photos planned or do you try to seize the moment? All photo and/or video missions, especially in-flight missions, are studied in detail. Before flying on a training mission already planned, photographers, pilots and specialists interested in the aircraft participate in a briefing where they set all the necessary parameters, primarily for the safety of the flight, like altitude, radio frequency, distances between aircrafts and routes (depending on lighting conditions). Then they have to keep in mind the scheme of the shots that the Troupe Azzurra’s Officer want do take. Everything is studied in detail to ensure that, once in flight, it should not be improvising nothing. When in flight, it is up to the operator or photographer to capture the moment and/or scenery that will make the photo unique and unrepeatable. Among the photo archive of the Troupe Azzurra stand out numerous images certainly suggestive for the location and for the particular moment they were taken, what are the more difficult or complicated works to accomplish? Surely the situations in which the mission is operational. In this case, as missions abroad, the photographer has life more complicated as he has to “chase” the action. When involved in operational activities, the operator can’t give any indication to the crews to “correct” the position of the aircraft on which he is located, or those he want to photograph. In these situations we rely on the skill of the photographer, who will capture, in fractions of a seco nd, the right light and the optimum position of the aircraft to achieve the depiction. What about air to air photography. Does it require specific preparation? For air-to-air photographing, the photo and video operators must certainly have excellent physical features, especially when flying on aircraft such as the Panavia Tornado or Eurofighter Typhoon which subject the bodies to stresses close to an acceleration of 7 or 8g. This stresses affects mainly the operator’s trunk in a way not always uniform, as he’s seated on board of the aircraft in a position of lateral twisting of the torso required to be able to take images or videos from the military jets. Of course, the weight of all audiovisual equipment makes it more complicated! For this reason Our staff is constantly trained with specific exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles. Actual photos, but also a lot of pictures that tell the past of the Italian Air Force. What are the valuable pieces of this heritage? The CPA preserves the precious archives of ITAF’s Historical Photo Library and Historical Film Archive with with documents dating back to the early ‘900. This, as I always say, it’s an honor and a burden that make me and my precious collaborator proud of our job. We run a continuous monitoring of these archives and we are always looking for a proper preservation system of sensitive photographic plates and films and 35 mm films. What’s in the future to the Troupe Azzurra? There is a strong desire to digitize ITAF’s Historical Photo Library and the Historical Film Archive, just to preserve these precious originals. Next to that - of course – we want to continue to closely follow the Italian Air Force during operational activities, aware that everything we can document today, tomorrow will be the history of Italian Air Force! In azione dalla rampa di un C-130J, mentre riprendono un velivolo dello stesso tipo.
Spotters Magazine
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