Difficult Car Wreck

Z

-zach-

Veteran
I know you don't currently worry about this stuff during the writing stage of production, but what I'm considering would be a major plot point if it ended up in the film. I'll be doing filming, directing, all of post and (the little) marketing for the film, so what the hell.

The film is mockumentary style, and during a talking head with our main actor (actor looking directly at camera a lá Survivor) a car crash happens as another main character crashes the car out on the street, which we can see through the window. This would be easy except the main character gets up from his talking head, walks outside, then gets about two feet from the car, and starts yelling expletives at the bloodied up character who's getting out of the car. The front of the car needs to be pretty bashed up, to the point where it is questionable if it can still drive or not.

The easiest and laziest answer to this is CGI!!!1!11. I can't do CGI at all, and this film being almost zero budget doesn't allow me to pay someone to do the effects (especially motion tracking "wreck" effects onto a clean car when the actor is outside).

How would I do this? Any ideas? The shot COULD be split up into cuts, but I'd rather keep it all one shot, worst comes to worst I'll blend shots together in post.

I really think the crash seen through the window and the crash aftermath should be two different elements - the question is what to do to make this look real.

Believe me, I'll be willing to do an elements explosion over a CGI explosion, a minature over a graphic model, a real crash over a simulated one. Don't worry about permits or anything, my first concern is doability and reality of the shot/s.
 
My first thought would be to re-consider if it is really necessary to see the crash through the window. I think with the right sound fx, etc , it might be just as effective to hear the accident offscreen and see the talking head react . Then you just need to set up the post-crash shot.
 
Regardless of whether you shoot the crash practical through the window, I'd cover the transition from inside to out with a body cover / wipe as your character crosses to go outside. You'd start in your frontal shot with window in the bg, and let the talent come in close as you turn the uncut shot into a follow to the wreck.

For the wreck itself, I'd consider seeing the car through the window, with appropriate shallow DOF deployed, as it speeds through. It would be framed through the window like a proscenium. You hear the wreck sounds and cut to an exact model of the same car that you've sourced as both a wrecked and running version.

The wrecked, staged car is waiting outside, the practical, running one has simply sped by and out of the shot.

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This has been covered before, at least a few times. The general PRACTICAL concensus, is to show the good car driving by and off camera, add the sound effects, and let the viewer put scene 1 together with the sfx, coming up with the obvious conclusion. Then you go to car b, which is mangled from the crash. It is much safer, and cheaper. You don't need a stunt driver, nor do you need the permits and insurance which will easily cost you many times more than the entire production costs.

PS- It is also going to be a real bear, if for some reason you don't get the shot the first time. Then you need a new car to crash, with new expenses.
 
A window?

Greenscreen* the window view. Get a wrecked car that matches the good one. Pull it backwards from the final stopping point for a bit, then film the good car going backwards from that point.

Reverse the footage when compositing.

*Don't even need greenscreen for it, just cut out the window with a mask. Greening it just makes it easier.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys.

Captain Quirk, thanks for bringing up the point of the costs, that really helped to put it into perspective.

Here's what I'm thinking:
1.) Shoot the actor with a chroma window and say "crash!" when I want them to react to the crash
2.) Shoot (with the same length of lens and same distance it would be through the window) the car going fast and then breaking really fast (that part will go off the side of the window so it's OK
3) Get a bashed up car that matches the car that was driving, place it in the spot that the car would have crashed (up against a tree, forgot to mention this)
4) Shoot the scene with whatever necessary wipes/dissolves to disguise cuts.
 
-zach- said:
Thanks for all the responses guys.

Captain Quirk, thanks for bringing up the point of the costs, that really helped to put it into perspective.

Here's what I'm thinking:
1.) Shoot the actor with a chroma window and say "crash!" when I want them to react to the crash
2.) Shoot (with the same length of lens and same distance it would be through the window) the car going fast and then breaking really fast (that part will go off the side of the window so it's OK
3) Get a bashed up car that matches the car that was driving, place it in the spot that the car would have crashed (up against a tree, forgot to mention this)
4) Shoot the scene with whatever necessary wipes/dissolves to disguise cuts.
Click to expand...
That's not going to look convincing. It's going to look very goofy when you suddenly see a hood appear wrecked from one frame to another.

I'm also writing a story with a wreck. Mine is even more difficult because one of the characters is going to fly through the windshield.
My idea is this:
First, film a stock footage of what you would see infront the car. If it's going to hit the tree, then film a steady footage of what you would see in the car but without it. Your camera view is inside the car and probably in the rear seat; adjust the camera height on a dolly to the same height that it would be inside the car. Then film moving up to the tree, the same distance that you would see if in the rear seat of a car.
Then have the actors act out the scene with a green screen infront of the car. The most important thing is that your camera is always placed in the exact same place.
So now you can show the scene of them driving and then you can mount it your stock footage.
THen, with your wrecked car, you place the camera in the same place. Take out the windshield and place the car infront of the tree. Then when they "crash", you should use crew to shake the car and maybe even use a jack to lift it and drop it to make it more convincing. And someone should hide infront of the car and throw debrie.

Then film a profile view of one of the characters as they crash.

You now have the basic footage you need to for this composite.
  • You have stock footage.
  • You have the actors
  • You have the wreck footage
  • You have a profile view of one of the characters
  1. First mount the actors on top of the stock footage like I said.
  2. On the wreck footage, cut out everything except what you see through the missing windshield.
  3. Now for the editing. When he says "watch out" or whatever, cut to the profile view of the character and then cut back. When you cut back, take out the stock footage and replace the crash footage.
This is how I plan on doing it. The main important thing on this idea I told you is to make sure the cameras are placed carefully. Make measurements and mark it with paint if you have to. Ofcourse, there's going to be many errors that you might need to fix. Learn to visualise, you need that skill. 90% of the side of my brain I use is my right side. The visual side. Get your juices flowing. Draw it out. Good luck:thumbup: :)
 
P.S.T. said:
That's not going to look convincing. It's going to look very goofy when you suddenly see a hood appear wrecked from one frame to another.
Click to expand...

I didn't picture it in close-up. Seen in the background with foreground things holding your attention, the audience probably won't even notice the car until the impact.

Then there are the angles to consider...how much is actually in frame?
 
What I was saying is that I wouldn't show the collision, I'd only show the car stop, and the front would stop way off frame.

But now what I'm thinking is I could just have the car drive by the window and then we'd show the car "crash" up against the tree outside.

However I do appreciate P.S.T's advice.
 
P.S.T. said:
I'm also writing a story with a wreck. Mine is even more difficult because one of the characters is going to fly through the windshield.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the double post, but I do not think you read my initial post. My initial post didn't call for a shot inside the car. I think you were just posting what "you're" gonna do for your movie.
 
I did a shot in a film a few years ago where a husband and wife get into a heated arguement, and they walk back and forth between inside the living room and walking out the front door to where the wife is packing her bags and getting into her minivan.

The shot is entirely stationary, until the husband storms back inside and the camera pans with the car as it pulls away towards a stop sign at the street corner. The wife blows the stop sign and gets hit by a work truck (Ford Econoline) driving by way too fast.

Now, there was no actual car accident. What we did have to work with was two sides of a house (from the interior) with a front door and 2 large windows on one wall, and 2 other large windows on the other wall.

By panning with the minivan as it takes off, we are able to create the illusion that the car was continuing to move at a high rate of speed when it comes to a blind spot for the camera -- the corner of the room -- where the minivan no longer became visable. This is where the wife character slams on the brakes and has the minivan come to a complete stop.

The fact that the camera was panning left at the same speed the minivan took off at allowed a seamless transition to the Econoline as it barrelled down the road, slams on its breaks and kicks up tire smoke as it slides right through the intersection. In reality, the minivan and Econoline never made contact (though they were about 3 feet away from one another), but what I'm getting at is your scenery and camera movement can help you fake a lot in a car accident.

I get chills every time I think of this scene because of how real it looks on screen... you'd assume the wife and three kids all got killed because of how fast the Econoline is going.

Best of luck.
 
Ya know, I would probably do something like this, at least when you described your shot, here's what I saw in my head.
The talking head is in focus, the tree is out of focus, the window behind the actor is seen of course but the tree is not seen since his head is in the way (most of the time) when the crash happens he is jolted and snaps his head around to look out the window. When his head turns to look out of the window, you can see the wrecked car up against the tree, hood smoking and people start gathering around.
The actor gets up and runs downstairs and out the door to the crash scene (the camera never cuts) and up to the crash victim where he pushes his way through the small crowd and starts screaming at the guy.

Shoot the window scene with and without the actor, this will give you some footage to work with. This way when the actor is talking, the crash scene is actually all set up outside, but the camera seems to show nothing unusual out of the window, although blurred, you can see some cars going by, people walking across the street etc.

Do you get my drift? it's not refined yet and I'm sure there are some things to perfect here, you are just changing the scene out of the window. It's just a concept here, but would look totally believable and as if this wasn't planned. Especially if the camera keeps rolling and never cuts away.

Let me know what you think of this idea, really, I'm interested to know waif you are seeing what I'm seeing.
 
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