Shooting a moving car's wheel!

M

mjpr

New member
I want to film a moving car wheel, fixed shot. similar to the image supplied.
I need to film from the car in question on a sony hc1. what sort of rig could I build/ is there anything cheap available that I could buy that isnt too obtrusive (british roads are narrow) . its imperative that the lense is central to the wheel and is rigid.

wheel1za2.jpg


any help would be great
Cheers Matthew
 
Hmm sounds interesting. A lot of suction mounts, ratchet straps and rods etc will do the job. Your lucky your camera is fairly small. Maybe consider getting a wide angle adapter so you can have the camera closer to the wheel. Have you tried seeing how far away from the wheel the cam would have to be to get the shot you need?

Come to my house, i will knock you something up. Im junction 4 of the M40.

or rent one of these:
http://www.feralequipment.com/carrig.html
 
I would build a sturdy frame member of 3/4" electrical conduit that attaches to the bottom of the unitized body or suspension of the car in four places.

Your shot needs will determine where you attach the rig. If you want the wheel showing up and down motion of the car, then attach to the underside of the body. If you want a lock down shot of the wheel moving then attach ONLY to the base of the shock mounts near the rotating assemblies of the wheels.

Imagine a large 'U' shape where the downward parts of the U are attached to both sides of the undercarriage across the whole bottom of the car and then loop around the outside of the wheel. Change direction with 12" 90 degree bends leaving the bottom of the 'U' straight, and parallel with the side of the car.

Before bending the second 90 degree angle, slide on a 1" conduit (5" section) to the 3/4" frame tubing. This will later be your adjustable camera mount slider on the outside loop. Now 6" inboard the base of the 'U', cut and weld in a 3/4" straight piece parallel with the present outside of the loop... Don't forget to add a 5" long 1" tubing slider section to this addition.

What you have is a strongly supported U shaped piece of metal tubing mounted to the bottom of the car that has two parallel tubes outside of the wheel with sliding tubes on them. Cut and weld a piece of plate to the two sliding tubes. Drill a hole in the plate for the camera mount. Drill holes in the two sliding tubes for 1/4"-20 sized bolts. Weld on two 1/4"-20 nuts over the holes and then screw in the bolts to lock the sliding camera mount in the position outside of the tire you want to film. This rig will be adjustable for many camera angles of the tire.

Add a safety strap from the outside of the rig upward to the top of the fender. Safety strap the camera. Put a barrier on the leading side of the camera when using the rig to protect your camera from debris.

You now can film your tires to your heart's content and then easily remove the rig for later use on that vehicle.

I hope this instruction is plain enough for you if not PM me.

-Gary
 
If it's not going to include any background...just the wheel, why not put the car on a couple jacks(front if front wheel drive, rear if rear wheel drive), setup a tripod, put her in gear, and give her some gas.
 
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