tracking

[william koon]

I have a day shoot tracking a car driver and the front passenger from a low truck where I intend to mount my camera on a tripod. What shall I do to get the best without car mount of course.

 

How to get a 2MS visibly accepted without a polarizer ? and do I have to run 32fps to absorb the vibration as it has no dialogue?

TQ

[Francis Kuhn]

I have a day shoot tracking a car driver and the front passenger from a low truck where I intend to mount my camera on a tripod. What shall I do to get the best without car mount of course.

William,

 

Unless you're moving very slowly, I think you'll be in trouble if you mount the camera on a tripod. If the road is anything but perfectly smooth, you may even have a tough time moving your face to the viewfinder without getting a black eye.

 

Years ago I tried exactly what you are talking about with a camera mounted on a motorcycle sidecar and the footage was mostly unuseable due to vibration. The motorcycle rider/operator then suggested a rubber-mounted camera support that was almost as bad. There were some smooth sections, but every three or four seconds you'd see the camera jump. The next day we got a Steadicam arm and rigged it to the speedrail on the sidecar and it worked perfectly. Can you possibly get this kind of rig?

 

I realize it's probably not in your budget, but to see how far equipment has evolved in the pursuit of this type of shot, take a look at this link: http://www.ultimatearm.com/

 

It's taken this kind of technology to accomplish what seems like a simple shot, and even now, the crew has to be really good to make it work. Still, if you only need low angles you can do really well with the Steadicam and a little practice.

 

By the way, you've probably thought about this already, but just make sure you're taking proper safety precautions on the back of the truck. Maybe think about a good helmet and a safety harness so you don't end up as someone's hood ornament.

[Guest Ian Marks]

I don't have any direct experience with this kind of thing, but years ago I obtained a demo tape from an Australian company called Cinekinetic which sells something called a "Cinesaddle." This something like a heavy duty beanbag with a very tough canvas exterior and lots of attachment points for rope, bungee cords, etc. On the tape, they demonstrate how you can attach the Cinesaddle/Camera combination to a car in various positions to obtain smooth shots while driving. The shots on the tape were very impressive.

 

I see that they've put some clips on their website - go to www.cinekinetic.com and click on the "car mount." This might be a low-cost way of obtaining the shots you're after.

[william koon]

I don't have any direct experience with this kind of thing, but years ago I obtained a demo tape from an Australian company called Cinekinetic which sells something called a "Cinesaddle." This something like a heavy duty beanbag with a very tough canvas exterior and lots of attachment points for rope, bungee cords, etc. On the tape, they demonstrate how you can attach the Cinesaddle/Camera combination to a car in various positions to obtain smooth shots while driving. The shots on the tape were very impressive.

 

I see that they've put some clips on their website - go to www.cinekinetic.com and click on the "car mount." This might be a low-cost way of obtaining the shots you're after.

 

FKP 1 & ian Marks,

thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate your prompt feedback.