Shooting on the back of a moving vehicle

chromeboy007

chromeboy007

Well-known member
Hey there,

A client is requesting to have footage taken of the streets and buildings from a moving vehicle. I figured that simplest way of getting some decent shots is to climb onto the back of a pick up truck with my Steadicam, but unfortunately that seems to be illegal.

Does anyone have experience tackling this?

Thanks
 
I use on of our stakebed trucks with a steadicam mount attached. Safety rigging is used of course and permits are secured. All is legal and secure.
 
suprisingly no there was no vibration, we were using a wide lens, not sure what mm.
we had full control of the road, with traffic control and police escort. so we could use all the road and
find the sweet spot in the centre.
we found a piece of highway that was expanded into a flying doctor landing field it was very wide as you can imagine, so we used
it for the tracking and side shots. it was smooth as glass.
cheers
 
As it turns out, the client want a frontal frame of the car moving forward, and to have an After Effects pro to motion track it. We did some test shots today with my frig rig over the sunroof but the result was unsatisfactory. I'm not sure what to do short of going Hollywood, which I'm sure my client can't afford. Not to mention we are shooting downtown centre streets, like we will ever get permits even if we have the money.

So we have to go guerilla. Any other ideas?
 
I've had to do some dirty DIY stuff in a pinch on car shoots. Often in the back of an SUV with the hatch up, and sticks sandbagged down. It's worked very well in the past.

Just make sure to secure your camera with a rachet strap or bungie, as well as yourself.
 
FILE0001.jpgFILE0002.jpghere is a rig i put together a couple of weeks ago for a shoot
basically a cheese plate bolted to the tow bar. the dp wanted it as low as possible and this was the lowest i
could get it.
if you go this way make sure the ops are harnessed in.

cheers
 
there is an aluminium bar running from the underneath end of the cheese plate, attached to the bolt that holds the tow bar
to the car. you cant see it on the picture but the wing nut on the cheese plate holds it in place.
it doesnt really need it, but they were putting a fully kitted up red on it and i didnt want to take any chances.
it is suprisingly smooth for for a quick jury rig. it is framed up at radiator height and looks great on screen.

cheers

the dp and focus puller were wearing harnesses attached to the cage in the car. this is most important
as it is easy to fall out.........
 
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Awesome. This would work well for some 'driving through a tunnel' shots I wanted to do. Cheaper (and more peace of mind) than a fixed camera suction-cup rig. Strapped in it would even have a passing chance of explaining it to the cops, doing it guerilla. Had thought about doing it out of the back of a van but in static testing just couldn't find one low enough without putting the camera/myself in danger (notice the order of my concern!). Two people in the back must be cosy though, especially round corners! I imagine the footage would be pretty smooth, aussie cars have the softest springs and inertia does the rest. That said though, last time I was in Melbourne the general state of the roads was something of a concern!

With any luck moving back there in the next few weeks (fingers crossed on my job application). Was hoping to film something in the red desert landscapes over here but a small thing to give up to return to civilisation!
 
you could actually rig it up, frame the shot while stationary, close the hatch and run
a monitor to the back seat for the dp and director and do the shot locked off.

with car shots you dont have to be going fast for it to look fast on screen.

cheers
 
Didn't think of that. Might take a few more passes but definitely safer (on the cop front too). And true about the speed, the lower to the ground you get the faster it looks. That said, I'm not going for an action shot. I'm looking to remove the protagonist from the world for some quiet reflection and contemplation time in his defeated moment. The hypnotic effect of the tunnel and the rolling wheels will hopefully reinforce the emotion of this transitional moment and decharge from the preceding scene. Then he emerges back into the world recommitted and ready to do what must be done. There's a couple of toll tunnels in Melbourne as I recall, they'd have to be virtually empty at night, no?
 
you would probably get away with it with a dslr, anything bigger would look quite obvious

we have quite a few tunnels but the problem is they are monitored by camera and you need an etag to pay the toll.

well no problem really, until they match up the footage with your car registration from the etag and send you a court summons.

you could aproach them to do it legally, say 3am monday morn. you would have to observe all safety protocols.

did something similar on the west gate bridge a couple of years ago and the management were very receptive and helpfull.
 
Argh, I forgot about etag. I got pinged twice when I first got there in 2002, genuinely didn't know what I'd done wrong. Damn them, damn them all to hell! I hate asking permission. Still, you're probably right. Maybe if I just tie a red rag to it like a plumber, hehe. Or maybe this the justificaton to supplement with a GH2? I can always do it on a trip back here to visit the folks if it gets too hard. A tunnel's a tunnel. Won't be for a while yet anyway but all good stuff to know. Thanks.
 
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