Cip: In Car at Night. Questions? Comments?

ZombieSquid

ZombieSquid

Well-known member
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this look better? Try to ignore the scratch sound, this was the first time I'd actually tried the stationary-vehicle-shake-the-bumper-with-my-foot-while-I-shoot thing. This is also with no color correction....Thanks!

http://www.zombiesquid.com/afmclip.wmv
 
the real thing missing is the feeling (maybe I should say the only thing missing) of movement. you could get flashlights on sticks, lights on poles, anything to pull past the car to give the illusion of passing lights. I think the lack of an outside reference makes the scene visually shallow. Not saying the work is shallow, only the illusion of movement is not pulled off.

The rest, the dialogue, movement, and composition is great. you could pobably fake lights in post and save your original footage even.

Other than that, the usual sounds of diriving (wind, engine, radio, bumps of the road) would lend to the piece, but are also all able to be added in post, and would give you more latitude, since you could really alter and tweak them seperately.

The piece is solid as a base. I can go nowhere but up.

EDIT. There are a few lights there, and they look good, but with no background and/or additional lights, it isn't enough to convey movement.
 
I just watched the clip and it looks pretty good. I second Rapier about the background and noise aspects. I also noticed that when the driver lifts his hand up you can see a big shadow covering his face from his hand. That tells me that the light is coming from below.I think if you added some lights on and off his face from through the windshield like passing cars that would help a lot.
 
I was at work and watched it with no sound. It looked nice tho. I'd stylize it to make it look more filmic. Maybe Brightness and Contrast, along w/ some gain (for grainyness)? Nice work.
 
what is that small red light doing in the drivers window? it goes straight up not right to left.....looks weird.
 
Justin_Kirch said:
what is that small red light doing in the drivers window? it goes straight up not right to left.....looks weird.
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Shhhhh . . .

That's my laser designator. I am trying to call in an air strike. Keep it on the low down. . .
 
totally agree with the other posts previous. scene would definately benefit from having random lights trail on the sides of the window. would help aid in the illusion of the vehicle traveling. lacking other ambient sounds like the wind, and tires. could be added in post no prob. lighting is definately a give away. it's too bright and too warm.
 
Rapier_100a said:
Shhhhh . . .

That's my laser designator. I am trying to call in an air strike. Keep it on the low down. . .
Click to expand...

I was wondering why the car exploded while were shooting the scene....
Thanks a bunch for the input, everybody! Here's a grab of what it looks like cleaned up with a little CC.

still1.jpg


what is that small red light doing in the drivers window? it goes straight up not right to left.....looks weird
Click to expand...

Luckily I've got about 8 takes from that angle! Any suggestions on how I could fake background lights in Vegas, AE, or Photoshop?
 
I think your cc version looks great... With the implementation of some of the suggestions offered, your clip will look very believable... I'm looking forward to hearing techniques for adding bg lights because I too have a car clip that needs work as well... Good luck.

SmithHouse

P.S. Please let me know if you come up with anything.
 
i watched your clip and I think if you could diffuse the light just a bit, it seemed you have quite a strong keylight coming from the dashboard and it looks pretty bright when teh driver puts his hand there...how many lights did you have? I have a scene coming up inside a car at night, and I bought some dome lights...nice diffuse
 
ZombieSquid said:
I was wondering why the car exploded while were shooting the scene....
Thanks a bunch for the input, everybody! Here's a grab of what it looks like cleaned up with a little CC.

still1.jpg




Luckily I've got about 8 takes from that angle! Any suggestions on how I could fake background lights in Vegas, AE, or Photoshop?
Click to expand...


At this point, you would have to track the rotation of each window, and using masks which have that track data, lay the lights in. Time consuming to be sure, but unless you want to shoot the whole thing again, that's what you need.

Personally, I would fix it in post rather than set up the whole shoot, as you still have the option to change the lights at any time to suit your needs.

As for the kinds of lights, take your camera, point it out a window at night and shoot. You will get motion blurred & differnt colored lights streaking past.

You could even go so far as to have the lights spill into the car a little, by increasing the size of the light layers by a factor of at least 4 (in a seperate composition if you want), blurring the hell out of them and lowering the opacity slightly. That, and the proper blending mode to taste will bring the lights into the cab and give it even more realism. If you don't understand this last part, I can go further with an example.
 
Not to be critical, but . . . NOTHING "SELLS" a vehicle shot better than vehicle mounts for your camera while actually driving. A "hostess tray" for your side angles, and a suction cup dealie on the hood for the two-shot.
 
NBCshooter said:
Not to be critical, but . . . NOTHING "SELLS" a vehicle shot better than vehicle mounts for your camera while actually driving. A "hostess tray" for your side angles, and a suction cup dealie on the hood for the two-shot.
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And insurance out the kiester so when you don't secure your camera properly in your haste to play with the new technique and it gets demolished at 90mph you can get it replaced. :grin:
 
NBCshooter said:
Not to be critical, but . . . NOTHING "SELLS" a vehicle shot better than vehicle mounts for your camera while actually driving. A "hostess tray" for your side angles, and a suction cup dealie on the hood for the two-shot.
Click to expand...

Not to be critical, but...those things cost money. I'm broke, Buddy.
 
You need something behind them too, when their both in the shot, like two lights traveling behind the car... could be easily done by having someone reverse, and drive forward during the shot.. although that may look weird..

sounded good though.
 
First off, I think you did a pretty good job...shaking the car worked well for me, plus I'm digging the red laser.

As others suggested, why don't you try and sell the scene with some decent sound effects?

- Change the rhythm of the car's engine just ever so slightly over time
- Add the sound of passing cars
- Maybe a police siren way off in the distance

If you are going to re-shoot, then try these suggestions if you want:

- Interior car light - What are you using? A florescent light will be softer and the shadows won't as hard as a flashlight.

- Have the actors keep objects from between the light and their faces, otherwise you'll get a shadow on the face.

- Put a tiny light in the back seat to give the actors a little definition...especially the guy in the black cap.

- Simulate passing light by tying a small flashlight, horizontally, to the front tire on a bicycle. The more bicycles and more flashlights the better. Prop them up so the spinning tire will reflect light on the windows. Multiple bikes means you can have multiple lighting angles and different lighting speeds. You want the car to go fast, just spin the bike tire faster. You can also exercise great control over the amount of flashlight by placing tape over the lens.

-mb
 
As far as background lights, in the scene they are supposed to be in the middle of the forest....no traffic/street lights. And the sound on the clip is just for scratch.....oh, and it was a flourescent light! Too big...Thanks, guys!
 
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