Advice on shooting a car chase at DVinfo.net

Tim Kerigan · February 15th, 2011, 11:38 PM

Not sure if this is the best place for this, but here goes!

So I'm gearing up to shoot my senior short and our script calls for a car chase. My producer really wants to film most of the chase scene from the cars rather than from the sides of the road. We don't have access to a trailer to put the car onto, so I'm trying to figure out other ways we can rig cameras to shoot this.

Here's what we have available to us for equipment/rigging:
EX-3, 5DMk2, and PMW-350
16' and 12' jibs, C-stands, Magic arms

We have a decent budget to so we can borrow/rent some extra equipment.

My best ideas so far have been:

Putting one of the jibs in the back of a pickup and using it as a chase car
Suction Cups + Magic Arms to mount the 5D on the car itself somewhere

Never done anything like this before so any help would definitely be appreciated!

David LeGroin · July 15th, 2011, 04:05 PM

Tim, here's a method I devised. Cost is about $5 for the steel. Then it just needs two holes drilled (one for the hitch pin and one for the camera) and to be shaved a little where it slides into the trailer hitch. Best of luck.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/support-...es-motion.html

Justin Molush · July 15th, 2011, 05:38 PM

What are you looking to output in?

Depending on what you are outputting, shoot in 1080p, stabilize, and output accordingly.

If you have access to a jib, mounting it in the back of a pickup wouldn't be a bad idea. Secure it tightly, and have some practice with it. When it comes to dampening the road motion, a jib helps a lot if you have the feel for it and if you weight it according to your own feel it should be useful. It really comes down to feel and skill. Try not actually getting the jib balanced, but I would let the camera end be a bit heavier and just use a bit of effort to keep it stable while letting it dip from road motion.

A little trick I did for stabilizing in post was putting a little green dot on the front of a car as the stabilization point and just clone it out in AE after I stabilized it and then reintroduce the camera jitter with some camera smoothing.

Obviously you want to deal with this as much as you can in the camera as stabilized footage with motion blur really doesn't cut it haha

David Aronson · August 21st, 2011, 04:36 PM

I'd see if you could get a steadicam and operator for the wider shots and then use the arms and suction cups with the 5d and a wide angle lens for the tight shots.

Bob Hart · August 22nd, 2011, 08:35 AM

This might interest you a little. They do not show the construction method of their mount. The mounted a Canon digital SLR.

Camera mount test - YouTube

February 15th, 2011, 11:38 PM	#1
Tim Kerigan Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Chicopee, MA/Upland, IN Posts: 57	Advice on shooting a car chase Not sure if this is the best place for this, but here goes! So I'm gearing up to shoot my senior short and our script calls for a car chase. My producer really wants to film most of the chase scene from the cars rather than from the sides of the road. We don't have access to a trailer to put the car onto, so I'm trying to figure out other ways we can rig cameras to shoot this. Here's what we have available to us for equipment/rigging: EX-3, 5DMk2, and PMW-350 16' and 12' jibs, C-stands, Magic arms We have a decent budget to so we can borrow/rent some extra equipment. My best ideas so far have been: Putting one of the jibs in the back of a pickup and using it as a chase car Suction Cups + Magic Arms to mount the 5D on the car itself somewhere Never done anything like this before so any help would definitely be appreciated!

July 15th, 2011, 04:05 PM	#2
David LeGroin New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Palm Beach, FL Posts: 23	Re: Advice on shooting a car chase Tim, here's a method I devised. Cost is about $5 for the steel. Then it just needs two holes drilled (one for the hitch pin and one for the camera) and to be shaved a little where it slides into the trailer hitch. Best of luck. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/support-...es-motion.html

July 15th, 2011, 05:38 PM	#3
Justin Molush Major Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Montreal Posts: 388	Re: Advice on shooting a car chase What are you looking to output in? Depending on what you are outputting, shoot in 1080p, stabilize, and output accordingly. If you have access to a jib, mounting it in the back of a pickup wouldn't be a bad idea. Secure it tightly, and have some practice with it. When it comes to dampening the road motion, a jib helps a lot if you have the feel for it and if you weight it according to your own feel it should be useful. It really comes down to feel and skill. Try not actually getting the jib balanced, but I would let the camera end be a bit heavier and just use a bit of effort to keep it stable while letting it dip from road motion. A little trick I did for stabilizing in post was putting a little green dot on the front of a car as the stabilization point and just clone it out in AE after I stabilized it and then reintroduce the camera jitter with some camera smoothing. Obviously you want to deal with this as much as you can in the camera as stabilized footage with motion blur really doesn't cut it haha

August 21st, 2011, 04:36 PM	#4
David Aronson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 84	Re: Advice on shooting a car chase I'd see if you could get a steadicam and operator for the wider shots and then use the arms and suction cups with the 5d and a wide angle lens for the tight shots.

August 22nd, 2011, 08:35 AM	#5
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Re: Advice on shooting a car chase This might interest you a little. They do not show the construction method of their mount. The mounted a Canon digital SLR. Camera mount test - YouTube