Fake Car Crash

[Whiteside Production]

What is a way that I could make it look like a car has been crashed into a wall, without actually ruining anything?

[Gopher_Greene]

Get two cars of that match extremly close, paint model etc. One wrecked, one normal. Drive the car upto the wall, cut away, cut back to the wrecked car.

[GenJerDan]

Well...get one that's already wrecked from a junkyard, then choose the good one to match. Easier that way.

[Ralph Oshiro]

I'm planning to do car crashes too. Good idea, Gen!

[GenJerDan]

Yeah, well, I've been thinking about it lately. Got a film I'll do sooner or later and it requires a crash, so...just seems easier to me to go about it backwards. :)

Now, if I can only get my butt back to the land of round doorknobs so I can stop talking and start doing...

[Ralph Oshiro]

I just love the way Europeans call the U.S., "The land of the round doorknobs!" I never liked round doorknobs myself. There's not a single one in my house!

[MarkG]

Get two cars of that match extremly close, paint model etc. One wrecked, one normal. Drive the car upto the wall, cut away, cut back to the wrecked car.

I used to love that in the cheap American soap operas that were on TV in the afternoon when I had nothing much to do during university vacations: character about to die would be driving along in their Ferrari, it would go off screen, then they'd cut to the actor in a wrecked Ferrari covered in blood because they were too cheap to crash a real one. Was always so transparently cheap and wonderfully naff :).

I wonder if you could do something like the classic 'flies towards hill, passes behind hill while someone blows up explosives on the hill so the perspective makes it appear to have hit the hill' helicopter/plane crash from the more expensive shows that still can't afford to blow up a helicopter? I guess cars don't explode when they crash so it's harder to hide, though given how often they do blow up in Hollywood movies maybe that's not a problem :).

[uhrgl]

We used a miniature in a 48 hour film we made:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2961522528263387157&q=venti+vice

[12quidkidinnit]

Here's a way that can work.

Park the car in the required position in front of the wall. (or with a locked down camera for a seamless shot and easier editing later, drive the car slowly towards the wall), then loosen the bonnet hinge bolts on one side of the bonnet, remove the bolts completely on the other. Prop the bonnet up so it looks like it would if it had really been in a crash. Push the bonnet to one side for added effect. You could stick a clear plastic sheet onto one of the front wings to create the illusion that it is creased, and litter the scene with broken glass, bricks, cement dust and broken plastic. Depending on the make and model of car, you may be able to loosen the front bumper and place this in a position that makes it look like it's been bent or twisted in the crash.
If you film the car being driven slowly up to the wall first as well, you should have enough to edit with. Maybe also set the camera running and throw or drop more debris around the front of the car so it looks like it fell off the car when it hit the wall.

[maverickstunts]

We did a very simple one for a commercial that we produced a few years ago. No crash, no scratches nothing.
http://www.maverickproductions.org/montgomery2-H.264%20LAN%20Streaming.mov
I would shoot everything about the crash long lens and stack it up, slide the car to where you want it and add sound effects or visuals like smoke or fire if necessary,
Like we did in another commercial that is no longer up. Rubber cement judiciously placed and co2 fire extinguisher standing by. Mostly get some pros to help you.

[mameragex]

AHURRM!!! And If you need something like an extremely violent crash.... try searching for a really good special effects freelancer to do it. For a small fee they could take the footage of your car and ram it throught anything you need...car, person, tree, Building!! ect with fire, parts & all.:happy:

[GaryinCalifornia]

Trying to thing of the name of the film... but what they did... they had the car speed by the other car on a hilly road in the desert... the car disappears down the hill we hear the sound of the crash... and when the second car comes back over the other car is flipped over (by the crew) and they just flew up dust in front of the cameras on some close ups and I think they had a large or really big fan to stir up dust...

[Capt Quirk]

Here's a way that can work.

Park the car in the required position in front of the wall. (or with a locked down camera for a seamless shot and easier editing later, drive the car slowly towards the wall), then loosen the bonnet hinge bolts on one side of the bonnet, remove the bolts completely on the other. Prop the bonnet up so it looks like it would if it had really been in a crash. Push the bonnet to one side for added effect. You could stick a clear plastic sheet onto one of the front wings to create the illusion that it is creased, and litter the scene with broken glass, bricks, cement dust and broken plastic. Depending on the make and model of car, you may be able to loosen the front bumper and place this in a position that makes it look like it's been bent or twisted in the crash.
If you film the car being driven slowly up to the wall first as well, you should have enough to edit with. Maybe also set the camera running and throw or drop more debris around the front of the car so it looks like it fell off the car when it hit the wall.

Bonnet=hood, for you that only speak American English ;)

[Bogdan]

You may also consider doing the real thing, well, almost real :)

If you want to make it look almost 100% real, if you plan to shoot the scene around the car after the crash, consider buying old, cheap car. That guy in my neighborhood, for example, sold his old Pontiac (as far as I remember) for like $500 (five hundred). It was still good enough to run a few weeks before breaking down completely.

Safety should always come first and only professional stunts can do real car crashes. What you can do is shoot the scene in separate phases.
First, shoot the scene before the crash and end it safely. Then set the car in N, lock the wheel, place a dummy inside (if possible and necessary), push the car from behind with some truck to decent speed, let it go and film the crash. I suggest more than one camera for that scene. You can even fix one inside the car e.g. between the seats, if you are not afraid to damage it.
Then complete the scene after crash (make sure the car is safe, no fuel spilled etc).
Everything else is just a dose of fx in post, clever editing and sound fx. The whole scene will look very convincing.

Permit and insurance will cost you more than the car you crash.

Again, safety comes first. I don't know about your budget and scale of your production, but if you can afford it and if you have good, safe location for shooting it, make it look real.

If you don't want to go into all this trouble, consider ideas posted by other guys here.

[maverickstunts]

I could go into a lot of different ways of doing this without really crashing the car, but I hesitate to do so for the simple reason of liability. If I tell you how to do something like this and you do it and someone gets hurt, you could sue me.
I posted a commercial that has a simulated car crash in it. It was shot in cuts and actually two separate locations. Obviously we shot the crash long lens and stacked everything up. We had two stunt men in the cars and slid the truck up to the car that it was to hit. The truck actually stopped about 10 feet from the front car. The guy in the front car watched in the rear view with his foot on the gas and the other on the brake and timed his jerk to match the stop of the truck. If you were going to hit a wall or a tree, you could do the same type thing. Shoot long lens, stack things up and stop safely before hitting anything. Obviously at some point the car or truck needs to do something out of control, get sideways or something. You also could go inside the car and get reaction shots of your actors. Smoke goes a long ways in helping sell the wreck in the aftermath.

[Bogdan]

Of course, things sometimes go out of control so doing any violent scenes requires extra care. Nobody should be around when scene like that is shot. Even with the driver inside, something could go wrong. If you want to capture the crash from close distance, leave the camera on the tripod. Nobody should stick around, no bystanders.

Personally, I wouldn't do such scene in the city without big budget and professional assistance, but given a lot of safe space, I'd probably go for real crash with dummy/dummies. It really depends on location and the scenario one tries to re-create.

Nothing looks as dramatic and convincing as footage from relatively close distance, but if you decide to do that, get professional assistance.

[maverickstunts]

If you're gonna do a crash, do a crash. it doesn't have to be big budget and cameras should be around. But, the cameras need to be placed correctly, so a director shouldn't experiment with new techniques, and if he/she does, there should be plenty of back up angles to cover it. Crashes are relatively easy, turnovers and canons are the dangerous ones. I have done grab strap turnovers (no cage), t bones, jumps and multple car wrecks. They are all doable, but it is wise to have knowledgable people on hand to do them and film them.
I have been working on Diehard 4 and most of the turnovers so far have been without people in the cars. They ratcheted a car 118 feet with 6 complete rolls before it hit the parked cars the other night. No one in them, but awesome to watch and be around.
the bottom line, be safe, be wise and make it fun. For cryin' out loud....it's a movie!

[Bogdan]

Steve -

Your credits look amazing! I should be quiet and just listen here :)

Could you point us to your website or some behind the scenes and articles about your work?

Thanks!

[maverickstunts]

Bogdan,
thank you for the compliment. I don't really have any articles that have been written about me or anything like that. I am just a stunt neck that has had some opportunities.
We are shooting an episodic horror/cliffhanger series for internet download now. And I am working on Diehard 4 at night.
I certainly don't know how to do everything but being a 2nd unit director helps.
I also learn from everyone on the set just about every day, and I mean everyone including craft service, honey wagon drivers and p.a's.
I like fooling the viewer as much as having them ooooohhhh and ahhh about the stunts.
best to you,
steve

[rjk2000]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2961522528263387157&q=venti+vice
Brilliant!