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How to create feeling of fire engine without having an actual?


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Hi - I want to show a fire engine chasing me and in next scene being followed by me. However, I dont have actual fire engine. Can it be done through use of clever camera and sound work? Ne advice will be helpful.

 

Thanks

 

I would say if there is any way around it, cut the scenes out. Any method people will suggest will still look cheesy, even the one I'm offering.

 

If you have to do it, you will absolutely need 2 of those red spinning lights that you could stick to your camera car that will be either in front of you or behind you. Have the camera attached to the car, and run in front of it... the lights will illuminate your face and it will look (a little bit) like you're chasing a fire truck. Make it all 1 shot without editing so that it looks more like an intentional, artistic choice rather than a lack of funds. Make sure you have 2 lights, far apart on the car... 1 light will NOT look believable!

 

And obviously, the sound effect of a siren will help a lot as well.

 

Good luck!

 

Jake

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Hi - I want to show a fire engine chasing me and in next scene being followed by me. However, I dont have actual fire engine. Can it be done through use of clever camera and sound work? Ne advice will be helpful.

 

Thanks

 

 

I'm assuming this is a night sequence. The lighting effects will go a long way, as will the sound effects, staying with the character in the car will keep things manageable.

 

Another suggestion is to approach your local fire authority and ask if they'll help with a couple of shots and give them a short, realistic time frame to film the shots. They may or may not help, but the worst they'll do is say no.

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Do you live anywhere near a volunteer fire department? They usually have a practice night where they would be pretty likely to work something out with you. (It would help if you registered with your first and last name as requested by the Forum Administrators as well as your location as I have done).

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Well, this ain't brain surgery :D It's very simple editing and stealthful acquisition of footage. You need footage of a fire truck SSSSSOOOO I'd kinda "camp out" near a fire station with you camera. Try and find one where the fire trucks can only go one direction when they're dispatched. Sit in a car or in a van and wait, and wait......and wait, then when a fire alarm sounds, get ready and shoot the engine as it's coming down the street at you, as it passes you and as it drives away from you. Try and get a few angles over a few days or weeks, THEN shoot you "running away from and chasing after" the engine on the same street, with coverage, close ups, the engine's POV, wide shot ect.(if you can shoot yourself running down the street at the same angle as the fire engine right after it drives past you, looking over your shoulder like it's chasing you. You should be able to cut the two together pretty easily and IF you're REAL good, you might be able to get in the street while the engine is coming down the road and have your camera guy get a shot of the truck from the back, driving toward you, with you in the frame as you run down the street in front of it for a shot time then get out of it's way which would REALLY sell the gag, just make sure you use a long lens setting to flatten out the image so the truck looks much closer than it actually is so you have plenty of time to get out of it's way, you could actually run after the truck pretty easily as it goes past)

 

Try and find a place where you won't get hassled by 5-O for having a camera if you can as well. I'm gonna assume this is a video or small movie camera, NOT a full blown production so it should be just you and your camera and sound guy (you'll want to record your own sound if you can, it'll cut better and help sell the gag.

 

The OTHER alternative is cutting together stock footage with your own stuff, not as good but it could work if you can find the right stock footage. The third and probably the least desirable would be to build or buy a pre-built CGI model and use match moving software to layer it in. You could also find a large physical fire engine model or extremely detailed toy (but it would have to be BIG), fire truck. Ste it up on an apple box or 2, on a flatbed truck, carefully set up your angles, find the right lens, undercrank the camera and film it at so you never see the wheels or road through some diffusion and that MIGHT work as well. The other obvious choise, though it would be expensive is find someone with a fire truck (Shiners maybe though they'd probably have an antique if they DID have one) and rent it OOOOR talk them into being in your movie if they'll let you use it.

Edited by James Steven Beverly
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One other take on the stealth option. Get a radio scanner so you don't have to camp out in front of fire stations.

 

Get the fire truck returning FROM a fire, without the flashers flashing (you can add later in post if wanted) so there is no interfering with the duties of the firemen. And you'll stay out of jail, not get anyone burned.

 

All you need is generic fire truck riding down the street, which you can shoot from various moving car angles and speed up later to appear faster. Just get enough to sell the shot. You aren't doing Die Hard 5.

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