Simulating movement on a train carriage

[gspoljaric]

Hi, all. I'm gearing up to film on a train carriage, which will be still. I'm going to black out the windows, as the story takes place at night.

How could I best simulate movement in the carriage? The carriage is too big and heavy for me to get people to push it side to side. Also, I do not have the means to mount the carriage onto a platform.

What can I do on set and in post to simulate movement? Obviously, I will get creative with sound.

How easy is it to add the occasional street light in post so that the carriage seems to be moving?

I am appreciate of any tips, guys.

Thank you in advance.

 

[PaPa]

Hmm, well I guess shooting handheld/shoulder could help since there won't be any relative motion happening anywhere in the scene. Sound will definitely help you sell it.

For the street lamp, are you thinking of adding it as an object passing outside the windows for the viewer to see? Or are you talking about simulating light entering the train carriage as if the train were passing by?

 

[paulears]

gentle wobbles in post, and acting for a few serious jolts, a la star trek. When trains lurch, everyone lurches in sync - jolting the picture without the actors reacting is a give away. When we do it in theatre, a trick is to get the crew to run past the window with lights, to suggest going past things at speed.

 

[Andrius Simutis]

One way to do it is to have a moving flag in front of a light. I've seen this work well for a closeup to fake a moving train. This only works if you shoot at night or completely tent the outside around the carriage window.
For the camera movement, there was a thread on here a few months ago that showed some really cool motion inducing mounts. I've never used one of 'em myself, but they looked pretty cool.

 

[clang]

Yeah, presuming the train is supposedly on a smooth track and your script doesn't need any braking or other lurches, I'd ignore trying to simulate wobbling of the train or passengers - the result is more likely to be unintentionally funny (a la '70s Star Trek) than convincing.

For a night-time trip, implying the train's movement via lights in the darkness outside the windows seems a better idea. I like Andrius's idea of a moving flag in front of a light - moving a flag is likely to be easier than moving a light. Or do it all in post after green-screening the view out the windows (as was done in the movie Source Code) - that would give you much more control, but does expose you to the horrors of green screening...

 

[Shooter]

In the film 'Snowpiecer' which is entirely set inside a constantly moving train...thaye did not bother with movement.

I wondered about it for a while when I watched it in the cinema and soon forgot about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0

 

[gspoljaric]

Thank you for the responses, all. You guys rock. I like your comments about not worrying about simulating movement in the train if the train is meant to be smooth. There is one lurch in the script, which I suspect we'll be able to do easily.

We do have to imply movement using lights, so I'm thinking we'll do it practically. The flag suggestion is good. Unfortunately, we probably won't be able to shoot at night, so I'll have to add lights in post.

For the street lamp, are you thinking of adding it as an object passing outside the windows for the viewer to see? Or are you talking about simulating light entering the train carriage as if the train were passing by?

Hi, PaPa. Both of these are viable options.

 

[morgan_moore]

id defo get some moving lights or flags outside to play on the actors.

For tight shots the actors could sit on a bit of plywood on the seat, the plywood extended into the aisle and a member of crew adding appropriate motion (jiggling the actors)

S

 

[Andrius Simutis]

We do have to imply movement using lights, so I'm thinking we'll do it practically. The flag suggestion is good. Unfortunately, we probably won't be able to shoot at night, so I'll have to add lights in post.

You can shoot during the day and tent the outside of the window to make it dark, which could work assuming you're not shooting this with the Arizona sun blazing right on that window and can't get enough material to block the light. The reason I'd still recommend that over just adding lights in post, is that the light coming in to the train will hit your actors and the background and look like real light because it is real light. Adding light in post to everything will be exceptionally hard unless you've got a lot of time and budget (but that kind of budget would also allow you to roll this train car inside a studio and shoot it with real lights). Blacking out a window with trash bags looks like a blacked out window with trash bags if you get close to it. A dark void outside a window still looks like a dark void.
Of course, a lot of this is going to depend on your desired light levels inside the train. Is this a well lit Victorian era dining car? or is this the passenger seats on an Amtrak? or is it a sleeping cabin with the lights turned down? Those are all very different looks.