Best way to record sound for feature in moving car on noisy road.

Clint Nitkiewiz Hernandez

Clint Nitkiewiz Hernandez

Well-known member
So I am wondering what other people are doing to record their talent, usually in conversations in the car while driving on a road where other cars pass, and the sound of the engine is quite overwhelming. I only have a mkh 70 shotgun mic.

I was even thinking about green screening it and recording the audio perfectly, but it takes away from the realism effect I am trying to do.

I know big budget films usually record reference audio which may be crappy, then take it to do adr, or do green screen and record the audio perfectly on set, other times they tow the car, but I have no budget for towing cars, or doing adr but do have sountrack pro which i figured out how to do adr, and also have the option of going green screen which I feel i could pull off.

Any ideas?
 
I'd recomend recording the ambient sounds without dialogue of the car, passing cars, etc, and then green screening the shot, and in post you can put in the ambient sounds but at a much more acceptable volume. This also frees you to record multiple cuts of the engine and fine tune it's sound in post, as well as not having to worry about mixing it all during shooting... especially if you have use of a green screen, that's my advice!
 
thanks

thanks

Yeah I was thinking about green screening it also, I mean I am a good compositor, I could make it work, but I just wanted to capture the pure realism in the car, shakey cam, shakey talent from the bumps in the road, etc, but this seem more possible, I can always add shake in post. Thanks!
 
I shot in a car using a Sony lav - actualy better than I thaught it would and the added realism of the actor driving paid off.
 
I was just suggesting how to do it with the mic he already had. If you wanna go out and get some gear, you could totally pull it off. Otherwise, i'd recomend just doing the composite version. If you got some guys around, maybe sit in the car with the camera and have them shake it from the outside while your talent does the lines
 
A shotgun mic is a challenge in this situation. Depending on the camera's POV (if you'll see behind the dash), you could mount the shotgun under the dash, between the seat and the console. maybe a shorty stand with shockmount, but be sure to apply gaffer's tape liberally to keep everything in place. This also brings up the noise of the car itself. Lavs are the best way to go. If you can't buy now, rent them for the shoot.

In a perfect situation, you'd be on a process trailer with no engine noise from the car (would be added in post). But if the car is actually being driven, you have to consider wind noise if the windows are down, plus engine, etc.

I spent a weekend on a short, and we shot for two days in a '57 Chevy. One day was on a trailer, the other day was actually driving. Lavs all the way, but not necessarily used in the traditional fashion.
 
If it's a moving car with its engine on you'll most likely end up looping it in post for acceptable sounding dialogue. At least it will look real. Not that that's a bad thing- pretty typical. Green screen car driving takes a lot of work to get it looking good.

Noah
 
I'm a fan of rear projection personally...

But keep in my, many productions use camera cars and add the ambient sounds in post.
 
I wouldn't be driving on a busy road while shooting anyways. That is a terribly dangerous idea. At least see if you can get a tow car. Honestly there are way more concerns than the audio at this point.
 
No, any shoot like this requires that the road be shut down. That costs money to get approval, and to get the police/security presence to do it.
 
if you're going to green screen, record the audio in the car or use a convolution reverb with an auto interior preset, because there's nothing worse than "in car" audio that sounds like the trailer announcer read it with a LDC in a vocal booth.
 
Hollywood does it by towing the car around on a low flat trailer. That way there's no direct road noise transmitted through the car's tires, no engine noise, and no need for the people to be actually driving while trying to act.
 
badjuju said:
if you're going to green screen, record the audio in the car or use a convolution reverb with an auto interior preset, because there's nothing worse than "in car" audio that sounds like the trailer announcer read it with a LDC in a vocal booth.
Click to expand...

Could I just add this preset or filter in post? Shouldnt I try to get that clean announcer voice first, then tweak it as desired in post?
 
Clint Nitkiewiz Hernandez said:
Could I just add this preset or filter in post? Shouldnt I try to get that clean announcer voice first, then tweak it as desired in post?
Click to expand...

Abolutely. Never record with effects. If you later decide you don't like the effect parameters, it's too late. These are strictly post-audio items, where you have total control to tweak until you have it right.
 
I'll toss my 2 cents in. I did post on a short that was shot ~~70% in a moving car. It was a nightmare. If you look closely at your shot list and do a little planning you should be able to eliminate most of the talking while the car is moving. On the short of the 70% (with horrible road boise) 90% could have been done with the car stationary and the engine off. Close ups etc often don't show any exterior action. Second that shotgun is going to be near useless. Lav's taped to the visors work pretty well, maybe a plant hyper or two.
Lastly shooting on a busy street is both illegal and very dangerous. With out knowing the script it's hard to say but I bet you don't actually need a busy street. Or more accurately I bet you can create the "busy" street with editing and sound and shoot on a quiet street.
 
Noiz2 said:
Lastly shooting on a busy street is both illegal and very dangerous. With out knowing the script it's hard to say but I bet you don't actually need a busy street. Or more accurately I bet you can create the "busy" street with editing and sound and shoot on a quiet street.
Click to expand...

Which comes right back around to police/security. You're always better off finding a quiet street and hiring security (with permission of local government) to stop any traffic while you shoot.

Hey, Noiz2. Noticed your avatar. Springers are an incredible breed! (I have a black and white.)
 
Back in 1984 I recorded the dialogue of two female actors for a locally produced drama in Sydney called "Sons and Daughters" inside a moving Morris Minor and yes the location from memory was all pre hired and locked out. The side road used was part of Oran Park race track here in Oz. Its that long ago , however from memory I think we used lavs and I layed in the back with an Audio Developments pico 145 mixer. Camera was drivers side door mounted.
The recorder I think was a 1 inch ampex which was loaded in the boot.
Cheers
 
Did a car scene for a bit of fun a while back. The conversation audio was captured as the scene played out in my driveway with dead sound.

Shot the scene over the next 2 days with mounts. Synced up the previously recorded sound with the video, (had to speed up & slow down a couple of audio tracks to match) & it worked like a charm. You couldnt tell anything was up & no one noticed that both audio & video were recorded seperately.


Steve
 
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