Every time a big, romantic gas balloon drifts across a movie screen, someone had to actually build it. When Amazon Studios went looking for a 19th-century-style envelope for The Aeronauts, the production needed something that would read as authentically Victorian in close-up while still being safe enough to fly real actors thousands of feet into the air. That tension between period looks and modern airworthiness is exactly the problem our crew loves solving, and it’s why we want to introduce you to Goliath, the period-style envelope we built here at Wicked Balloons for film and television work.
Goliath isn’t the aeronauts balloon from the 2019 film. But it was designed with that same brief in mind: a balloon that looks like it stepped out of an 1862 photograph, built with materials and rigging a modern pilot can trust.
Why Film Productions Need a Custom Balloon
Most commercial balloons are built for one job: carrying passengers safely and efficiently, day after day. A production balloon has a second job layered on top of that. It has to satisfy a director of photography, a production designer, and often a historical consultant, all of whom care about silhouette, seam placement, color, and how the fabric catches light.
That’s a very different design conversation than the one we usually have with a company commissioning an advertising balloon shaped like a logo or product. Both jobs demand custom patterning and careful attention to how the envelope will read from a distance, but a period piece adds a whole extra layer: it has to look like it belongs to the wrong century.
The Real History Behind the Aeronauts Balloon
The Aeronauts was loosely inspired by the extraordinary 1862 ascent of meteorologist James Glaisher and balloonist Henry Coxwell, who flew a coal-gas balloon to an altitude high enough that Glaisher briefly lost consciousness and Coxwell, his hands too numb to work the valve line, pulled it with his teeth to bring them back down. The film reimagines the flight with a fictional co-pilot, Amelia Wren, played by Felicity Jones opposite Eddie Redmayne as Glaisher.
What makes that history so compelling for balloon builders is the balloon itself, and it’s a big part of why the aeronauts balloon has become such a recognizable image for anyone interested in ballooning history. Victorian gas balloons were enormous, hand-sewn, and gorgeous in a way that modern hot air envelopes rarely try to be, since most present-day balloons are optimized for nylon weight and burner efficiency rather than looking like something from a science museum diorama. Recreating that look means slowing everything down: heavier fabrics, richer colors, and rigging details like a wicker-look basket and a full net of ropes over the crown, the kind of ropework you’d see wrapped over any classic gas balloon, and the kind of thing that never survives a quick modern redesign.
Building Goliath, Panel by Panel
When we set out to build Goliath, we started the way we start every custom project: with a pattern. A period silhouette tends to be rounder and more onion-shaped at the crown than a typical sport balloon, so our pattern had to be redrawn almost from scratch rather than adapted from an existing shape.
A few things set a period build apart from a standard commission:
- Color and finish. Deep jewel tones and muted golds read as “old” far better than the bright primary colors most modern balloons use.
- Panel proportions. Narrower gores and a fuller crown give the envelope that classic rounded profile instead of the flatter modern teardrop.
- Basket and rigging details. Wicker-look baskets, visible load rings, and a full net over the envelope all sell the period illusion, even though the load-bearing hardware underneath is entirely modern.
- Camera-friendly markings. No modern lettering, no visible manufacturer branding, and nothing that would need to be digitally painted out in post.
Keeping It Airworthy
None of that period detailing can compromise safety. Every seam, load tape, and burner mount on Goliath meets the same standards we’d apply to any balloon we’d put passengers in for a sunrise flight. The vintage look is entirely on the surface; underneath it, Goliath is built and inspected like any other airworthy envelope in our fleet.
What It’s Like on a Film Set
Flying for a production is a different rhythm than flying for passengers. There’s a call sheet, a shot list, and a director who may want the same three-minute ascent five times from five different angles. Wind windows get tighter, because a crew waiting on camera setups can’t always wait out a shift in the breeze the way a morning tourist flight can.
That’s also where a lot of the real-world magic happens on any period production. Practical balloon footage gets combined with visual effects for the widest, highest, or most dangerous-looking shots, while a real, flying envelope like Goliath handles the ground-level and low-altitude work that needs to look and move like an actual balloon because it is one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Goliath the same balloon used in The Aeronauts?
No. Goliath is Wicked Balloons’ own period-style envelope, built independently for film and television clients who want that same 19th-century look. It was designed with the general look of the aeronauts balloon in mind, not built as a replica of that specific prop.
Was the flight in The Aeronauts based on a real event?
Yes, loosely. It draws on the real 1862 high-altitude ascent of James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell, though the film adds a fictional co-pilot character and dramatizes the flight for the screen.
Can a period balloon actually carry passengers or only appear on camera?
A well-built period-style envelope like Goliath is fully airworthy. The historical look is achieved through fabric choice, color, and rigging details on the outside, while the structural components meet the same standards as any modern balloon.
Does Wicked Balloons build custom balloons for other productions or events?
Yes. Custom envelopes are one of our specialties, whether that’s a period piece for film and TV, a branded shape for a company, or a one-off design for a special event. It’s the same design and fabrication process either way, just with a different brief.
Closing Thoughts
Building Goliath gave our team a rare chance to look backward and forward at the same time: chasing a 19th-century silhouette with 21st-century materials and safety standards. If you’re curious about what a custom balloon could look like for your own project, whether that’s a period piece, a promotional shape, or something entirely your own, we’d love to talk it through with you.
