Person Getting Hit By Car?

A

Austin Whitelaw

Member
I want to make it look like a person is getting hit by a car. I don't want one of those things where a person walks in the street and a car flies across the screen, that doesn't look good.

I'd like it to look really nice, as in something like the crash in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S75Rfva9O8

That one looks great, and I would like to make something similar, I just don't know how.

Are there any tutorials or anything? I could find any.

Thanks.
 
That after effects tut is pretty cool, but it won't give you what you're looking for if you want it like the crash in the video you posted. I had a situation where I had to imply in a corp video a little girl getting hit by a car. I'll tell you, people see it and frequently say "Oh, s**t!" because they're so scared for her and the trick is relatively easy.

http://vimeo.com/14425593

Whatever else you add, the "Oh, s**t!" moment is what sells it and it's accomplished like this:

The key is to shoot the same exact framing and shot composition twice. Once with the girl crossing the street and once with the car running over the crosswalk. In post, you layer the girl's shot ontop of the car's shot and then crop the top layer with a feathered edge, revealing the path of the car, as far as you can without cutting off the girl. Because the two shots are identical except for the girl and the car, no one's the wiser until the car hits her.

Then you want to really sell it. the slow motion sequence in your video is the killer and it will take some compositing, but here's how I would do it.

1. Frame up a close-up of the windshield from one side, either driver's side or passenger. Make sure to use a polarizer filter on the lens if you can in order to make the windshield reflective so you aren't distracted by action inside the car. Get your actor to lay his/her head on the windshield. On action, have them snap it away from the windshield as quickly - and safely - as possible. For best results, shoot it overcranked. Reverse in post and plug into AE to add windshield shatter, flying glass chips, etc.

2. Notice you never see the pedestrian inflict that preposterously devastating damage to the car's fender? Go to a junkyard and buy a damaged fender or grill or something just like the car you are using. use close-ups of that fender in a few shots of the pedestrian rolling over or being struck. Wherever necessary, use the reversing trick.

3. Notice in your video and in mine, there's a lot of selling the action by close-ups inside the car, the driver's fingers on the radio dial, tapping on the steering wheel, punching the accelerator, hitting the brakes, the hood ornament. Notice how these things are shot very loosely handheld to make the viewer out-of-ease, like being a drunk passenger inside of someone else's car with tunnel vision, unable to focus on the big picture of what's going on. Out-of-control.

4. Use real momentum. Go driving in a parking lot with the driver and shoot them overcranked as they get up to 20 mph and then hit the brakes. Catch their hair moving, things flying from the dash or center console, etc. If you are overcranking, chances are, it looks like it's much faster than 20 mph but just really slowed down.

Use props metaphorically. Note that I made a big deal out of focusing on the girl's red iPod and made it take the fall for her.

You can use puppeting and the like in After Effects, but you're going to get a lot of that "fake" look you're talking about. i would only use compositing for shatters, debris and such.

That's how I would do it. Hope that's helpful.
 
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Love your work there JoeRawlins! The claustrophobic & handheld ECUs really do their job.
 
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