300 FPS Breaking Glass - Green Screen

[walg]

I have been asked to shoot a scaffold pole being fired through a car windscreen. The camera is to be the rear passengers POV and therefore in the back seat. We will be doing repeat passes for the interior and exterior lighting and passengers etc. I want to shoot as very high speeds, i reckon about 300-400 FPS, on 35mm.

 

I have only been shooting film for 10 months and my knowledge is therefore limited. I am used to lighting greenscreen but the shattering glass in an unknown quantity.

 

Have you any hints, tips, techniques that i can use?

 

with thanks

john.

london.

[Mitch Gross]

There are a few high speed camera systems out there for this sort of thing. The Image 300 is a nice unit, and Photosonics makes a few models. You should see what is available for rent in your area.

 

Often high speed cameras are so specialized that they will come with an AC specially trained in their service as part of the rental arrangement. This is a good thing, as lubrication, cleaning and loading really need to be kept on top of with these cameras. Every shot will be an entire roll and there is ramp up time so you have a narrow window with which to get the shot. Be ready to blast through a lot of film!

 

Lighting can be difficult because you'll need to get some kind of exposure at 1/600th of a second. You can get strobes from a company such as Unilux that will sync with your camera, giving you a usable light level without melting the car. Most high speed camera rental facilities will have these units or be able to direct you to those that do.