DIGITAL CAMERA AND A CAR

[TOM VENESS]

I have a problem im shooting a Film at University. The opening shot is a car driving through a tunnel at night. The car then drives through some streets at night. I have very little if no money, but I want a shot from the front of the car as it drives a long so you see whats ahead of it. Is there any equipment used, any good camera technique methods etc....

 

Thanks

[Mitch Gross]

There are various ways to mount a camera to a car hood. THe simplest is to put a blanket or pad on the hood sit the camera on top and rope it down across the handles tightly in every direction that's out of frame. Go to the local hardware store and pick up some ratchet-straps, which will allow you to properly tighten the camera down to the hood. You may also wish to bolt the camera to a small sheet of plywood so that it won't tip over. If your school has a highhat mount for the camera tripod head this would be perfect to use. Don't forget the blanket or you'll ruin the car hood. Another simple solution is that you can rent a heavy duty suction cup mount. Contact local camera rental houses for this.

[Guest Ultra Definition]

don't forget to let some air out from the tires so the ride is smoother

[Michael Nash]

For a recent production we needed just the shot you described, only from a lower angle. Short of money and time (no bumper-mount on hand, and a heavy Betacam camera), we decided to shoot out the back of a minivan driving forward, and reverse the motion in the Avid. Our shot was daytime so no need to create headlights, and it was a plain neighborhood street so there were no pedestrians or traffic moving backwards to give away the technique.