Shooting a moving vehicle from a moving vehicle

B

Brentincal

Member
What is the best way to shoot a moving vehicle from a moving vehicle? I need to shoot a number of cars while they’re driving down the road. I need different angles, front, side, back, low, high, close ups of wheels rolling, the driver etc. I’ve tried shooting from the back of a pickup and holding the camera aimed at the car, and in most cases the footage is too shaky. Can anyone help suggest an inexpensive way of shooting this and smoothing/stabilizing the camera? If not, how do the pro’s do it? What specfic tools do they use? Thanks!
 
Ive seen a camera jib/crane extend from the back of an SUV like a ford explorer. It gave the camera more room to move up and down allowing them to get lower shots, ie grill and wheels. the camera operators were sitting in the back of the SUV with the lift gate open operating.
 
You can always buy or rent camera mounts for the car you need to shoot. You could find a low trailer and put the car on that and tow it around town with cameras and lights attached to the car on the trailer. Lastly I posted this before you can mount the camera to the bottom part of a "HOE" ( I am referring to a GARDEN TOOL) make sure it is securely mounted to it. If your in a pickup truck you can just hang the camera very low to the ground, whip the camera around and do all kinds of stuff. A friend of mine shot a feature on Harley Davidson owners and he mounted his camera up on a hoe and I was VERY surprised on some of the shots he was getting of motorcycles on the highway!
 
DVX100Shooter said:
You can always buy or rent camera mounts for the car you need to shoot. You could find a low trailer and put the car on that and tow it around town with cameras and lights attached to the car on the trailer. Lastly I posted this before you can mount the camera to the bottom part of a "HOE" ( I am referring to a GARDEN TOOL) make sure it is securely mounted to it. If your in a pickup truck you can just hang the camera very low to the ground, whip the camera around and do all kinds of stuff. A friend of mine shot a feature on Harley Davidson owners and he mounted his camera up on a hoe and I was VERY surprised on some of the shots he was getting of motorcycles on the highway!
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>>>Some good points... but... I don't think a fixed camera mounted on my truck would work because it wouldn't allow me to pan or zoom etc., since it would be fixed to the truck it would probably be more shaky/bumpy. If I need shots of the car I'm shooting rolling, moving on the ground, or driving, putting it on a trailer wouldn't work. I believe my Canon XHA1 is too big to be mounted on a hoe, but a really cool idea!
 
What about using a Glidecam Smooth Shooter and Clidecam 4000, sitting in the back of the truck and shooting the car. Would that work?
 
This is the sort of stuff that Steadicam is great for.

Just keep the rig out of the wind, and you are set.

- Mikko
 
mikkowilson said:
This is the sort of stuff that Steadicam is great for.

Just keep the rig out of the wind, and you are set.

- Mikko
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Thanks, I do have a steadicam question. I spoke to someone the other day about using a Glidecam 4000 for this purpose. They said that using the Glidecam 4000 by itself would be a problem because it gets heavy and awkward. They suggested using it with something like a Glidecam Smooth Shooter. Can I pull it off without the Smoother Shooter? I can afford to buy a Glidecam 4000 now, but I’m not sure I can buy both. And if I can’t buy both now, I am wondering if just buying the Glidecam 4000 by itself is a waste? Can I ask what your opinion would be? Thank you.
 
I have the smooth shooter.
This would be the perfect set up for your shot.
If you can't buy, then I would recommend to hire somebody to do it,
2 things.
First,
If you buy the glide came 2000 or 4000 you just can't strap on a camera and start shooting smooth shots....
It will take some time to get to a comfort zone in learning how to operate it ...
I'm talking a couple of months...
Second,
If you still want to go that route, then get the smooth shooter vest, and arm to support the glidecam... Your arm will not be able to sustain that same shot because you will get tired. Even though it is not heavy, after 10 minutes you will start hurting...
As stated before, hire someone who has this it is defiantly worth the cost.
If you can't afford it, then try and work something out with that person. You would not regret it...
 
Yeah, hiring an experienced operator is the best way to get these shots, and to learn how to do them yourself too. .. There are some safty issues that need to be addressed when shooting from a moving vehical, pro operators know how to handle these.

- Mikko
 
Obviously, you don't have the budget to rent a Shotmaker or any other camera car, so, let's get down to reality. I used to shoot commercials for Mitsubishi and other car makers so I could use all the goodies, but, sometimes, low tech was the best way to go. Lower the tailgate. You can mount your camera on a high hat with a base using a fluid head. Secure it with as many sand bags as you can muster to prevent your set up from bouncing around. This will give you a good straight ahead shot and you can do some zoom in. For side and tires spinning shots, use baby legs on a spreader, again with lots of sand bags to hold it down. For shots looking at the car ahead of you there is no substitute for a basic hood mount with the suction cups (It's not that expensive to rent) and lots of gaffer tape to hold it down (Just in case). I have also done shots of the star car tires (When there was no budget), shooting from the trunk, hand holding the camera with a wide angle lens by using the handle and pointing in the right direction. With your video camera you will be able to actually see what you are shooting. Mind you, I used to do this maneouver with an Arri III 35 mm movie camera so you should be able to do it with yours. Make sure that there is someone with you in the trunk to HOLD YOU DOWN. Speaking of low tech, I shot something like that with my 100a using a home made rig fashioned from a 3' dowell and a handle from an old shovel, all put together with gaffer tape. I was able to do mini crane shots by bringing it up and or down. This rig also works for the side shots of the car. Finally and most important is the oldest trick in the low budget filmmaking book. To avoid your "camera pick up truck" from bouncing around take some air out of the tires, this works wonderfully. Good luck.
 
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