Marc Wolff

Marc Wolff - a short Biography

Marc Wolff was born in the USA. He spent his childhood in Hackensack, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. After studying industrial engineering at university, Marc entered the U. S. Army and served a five-year tour of duty. He attended infantry officer training school, obtaining a commission as a second lieutenant; he then went on to flight school in Texas and Georgia, graduating as a helicopter pilot. His military service included one year conducting combat flight operations in South Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and helicopter platoon leader where he was responsible for a flight of 8 helicopters. He also served a 2 year tour of duty in West Germany as commander of a mechanized infantry company and later, a battalion intelligence officer. He was promoted to the rank of Captain, making him the youngest Captain in the US Army at the age of 21. He received an honorable discharge in November 1971 having been awarded a Bronze Star for service and 22 awards of the Air Medal.

Marc then took a course of advance flight training at Flight Safety, Inc. in Vero Beach, Florida: gaining commercial airplane, instrument, multi-engine airplane and flight instructor licenses to go along with his commercial helicopter pilot's license. In 1972 Marc moved to Britain where he did further flight training at the Oxford Air Training School in Oxford, England. Here he obtained an Airline Transport Pilot's license for helicopters and later a commercial balloon pilot's license.

He spent four years with a commercial helicopter company in Britain where the flying covered the whole spectrum of commercial helicopter operations including: external load lifting, mapping, long line mineral surveys, agricultural spraying, executive charter, and aerial filming. He resigned as chief pilot and a company director in 1976 to start his own business, providing a comprehensive aviation service to the film and TV industry worldwide; this grew into Flying Pictures which become a world leader. Marc resigned from the company in March of 2020 to focus on directing and special flying projects.

Marc has a wide background of flying experience in mountain, glacier, Arctic, jungle, desert and over-water operations in 62 countries around the world. He has passed Swiss, French, Italian, New Zealand and Canadian mountain flying tests. He has been a UK CAA Type-Rating, Flight-Test Examiner for helicopters, and a US FAA Certified Flight Instructor in airplanes.

Marc first began flying on films in 1972 and has worked exclusively for the motion picture industry since 1976, participating in over 200 feature films, more than 160 commercials and numerous television programs and documentaries. Marc has directed several short films, commercials, and aerial units; he started directing second unit sequences on major feature films in 2005. He now devotes the majority of his time to directing second and action unit sequences and developing his own short films, while also continuing to fly both aerial camera and stunt work on a regular basis.

Marc became a British Citizen in 1987, the same year he began flying hot air balloons. In 1991, Marc became the first person to fly a hot air balloon in Red Square in Moscow.

In 1994, The Guardian newspaper awarded Marc their 'Alternative Oscar' for Best Stunt for the film Cliffhanger, where he organized, coordinated and filmed the transfer of stuntman Simon Crane from the back of a DC 9 airliner to the door of a Lockheed Jetstar business jet at 15,000 feet over the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Shoot to Thrill, a one hour documentary about Marc's working life from Vietnam to the present, and centered around the production of the James Bond Film, Tomorrow Never Dies, was made by the Discovery Channel and shown world wide by Discovery, and on ITV in the UK.

In 2012 the International Moving Image Society (formerly the BKSTS) awarded Marc the Matthew Allwork Memorial Award for 'Services to the International Film Industry'. In the same year, Marc coordinated and flew the stunt helicopter sequence with the "Queen and James Bond" for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

In 2017, the BSC (British Society of Cinematographers) awarded Marc the Bert Easy Award for his contribution to the art of aerial cinematography.

Marc studied directing and film at the London Film School, the National Film and Television School, the London Film Academy, and the University of London.

Marc has 2 children who are the joy of his life: Lily, a multi, award-winning theatre director, who has given him a grandson, Elliott; and Henry, a chemical engineer, who works as a special effects technician and was part of the effects team that won both OSCAR and BAFTA awards for their work on the film 1917.

Marc has lived in London, Cornwall, Vermont and France. He is now living back in London. When not working and travelling around the world, Marc spends his time sailing, skiing, hiking, climbing, reading, playing chess, golfing, watching films, going to the theatre and cinema, and listening and dancing to live music.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:

Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, The Guild of British Camera Technicians, BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), The Chelsea Arts Club, British Balloon and Airship Club, Aeroclub Mongolfiere de Mondovi, Professional Flight Instructor Group of the US National Aero Club.

EDUCATION:

Grammar School: Holy Trinity School

High School: Hackensack High School

University: Fairleigh Dickenson University, Teaneck, New Jersey, Industrial Engineering

Flight Training: Flight Safety Inc. Vero Beach, Florida: Oxford Air Training School, Oxford, England

FURTHER ADULT EDUCATION IN UK AND FRANCE:

At the National Film School, Beconsfield, England: Camera Operating, Craft Editing.

At the London Film School, Covent Garden, London: Directing Actors, Directing as Visual Storytelling, Directing: From Script to Screen, Directing: The Director Prepares, Directing The Short Film, Directing: Storyboarding, Acting: Improvisation.

At the London Film Academy: Editing with Final Cut Pro.

At the University of London: Screen Writing, Psychology.

At the Alliance Francaise, Paris: French Language and Grammar.

At the Institut de Francais, Villefranche sur Mer: French Language and Conversation.