How we make XCAR films
[MUSIC]
We were on route to like Ha Patient which is the Brecon Beacon's beautiful area of the world in our trusty Defender, one of our first shoots of 2015, which is the Aspen Martin B12 Vantage F Convertible.
Now, some people would say that filming a convertible in January, in England is inadvisable, and they're right.
Which is why we're taking taking it to Wales.
I just found out there was some heavy snowfall for a few hours and I think our luck is going to run out today, Freezing outside, the rain is pouring, but Alex has agreed to have the top down, whatever.
I'm going to keep him To that because I'm usually the one that's outside freezing while he's got his heated seats on.
So the first order of the day is probably to get some nice details of the car before it gets too dirty.
You'll see actually on car shoots you tend to spend half your life cleaning.
Completely done do you reckon we are done back here?
I really think we are you know,
As good as we're gonna get.
Yeah.
This where the storms roll in.
A little carbon fiber
[MUSIC]
[NOISE]
[LAUGH]
So we're trying to do here is get the sound of the car.
Especially with something like this, like a [INAUDIBLE] of V12.
The thing is, with something this loud, it's actually quite difficult to get good sound.
Because, especially if you get up in the speeds, where the engine starts to sing, things start to get Very windy and loud.
So actually, the trick is to try and get the mic in a hidden place, but quite far away, cuz if you put it too close to the exhaust, even you're half a meter away it just blows out completely.
[MUSIC]
[NOISE]
[MUSIC]
The morning of day two.
A pleasant late start because the way winter works is that we get really late mornings, which is great.
So it wasn't a 5 A.M morning wake up call which is is the norm as the year goes on.
The weather has changed quite a lot from yesterday, where there once was lovely snow there is now mud and water and horrible but we are in Whales where they make the rain.
Will you join me at the
Nice glamorous part, filming at dawn.
We've got the, very, high-tech weight throws camera guarder which is protecting our Black Magic Production camera.
We've been having like ice rain this morning and, it's, not particularly pleasant.
As you can see, with the time lapse I had to, Hold the camera down, so half of my trousers are sodden and the other half aren't just cause I was standing behind the camera while being pelted just to protect it from the wind.
Standing on the tripod just to make sure it didn't blow over.
It's really, treacherous out here.
I'm currently wearing two coats, got my t-shirt tucked into my underpants, so, and I'm still freezing.
Can't feel my feet, legs, or hands.
Alex is currently, probably snoozing in the defender.
Lucky bugger, I might have to go in there to store out in a bit so I can feel my face.
[MUSIC]
This is the tracking car and this is the most dynamic [INAUDIBLE]
The sheets you get some quite interesting movement shots cause both cars are moving.
So you can get a little cool interesting stuff.
You obviously got a driver, myself and Alex, and we'll all be communicating together to get the best shots all on public roads so that he has to be very safe.
But this will my home for the next, probably half and hour to an hour so lovely and comfortable, and warm obviously on the hard metal floor as a defender.
[MUSIC]
[NOISE] You can't [UNKNOWN] it too fast cuz the fender is great but can be a bumpy on these roads.
[NOISE] So I'm trying to keep it for like 30.
And so Alex in the Aston Martin is picking up pace behind us.
It's hailing in the car.
There is hail in the car!
I think, it's steadily, you know...
Racing in this very lovely [UNKNOWN] that happens to be shaped like an Aston Martin.
I'm gonna close the window and dry the inside with my lovely drying scarf now.
[INAUDIBLE] Wales, right?
Welcome to the inside of the back of the Defender where it is currently hailing inside
Inside the car which is quite an achievement.
[MUSIC]
Keeps you warm in these temperatures.
Just something cuz nothing else can at the moment.
Not many people get to see cars like this so I always like to share People, cause I know I'm a really lucky boy, this is my job.
How insane is that?
Seriously as rich as I live, well not while driving, because that is dangerous, leaning out a window going, watch the car, mate!
Well, say it at a petrol station or when we're doing the That's it.
If someone wants to know something about it, I'll happily talk to them cause these are special things, and it's, it's awesome to be able to share them.
Partly through a video on the internet, one of which you're watching now.
Hello.
But partly through shaking hands and talking to people cause it turns out people are interesting.
It just started hail snowing again which is this new form of weather we're dis What we are discovering today is a mixture of sleet and snow, and hail all fired at you at a high velocity.
It not's as nice, you don't get to see the beautiful countryside which is supposedly why we're here.
So we're going to wait for this to clear a little bit longer and maybe try to get some high speed passing shots and maybe get the camera out for more bolt...
Shots.
We're now getting into position for the passing shot.
So this is where we're going to be on the side of the road And having Alex zoom past us so you get some nice kind of static ones and then we'll move the camera about you know, [UNKNOWN] on the radio and he's gonna bring the defender down with all the gear.
Right now we're just sort of scouting a good location to park it and seeing where we can get the best shots from This is when it's good to have the Defender because, I mean, with a standard car we might not be able to park it anywhere, but with the Defender, we can just chuck all the kit in there, I don't have to lug it down the mountain as usual.
We can just park it up anywhere cuz we know it's not going to get itself in trouble on this mud, which is, Surprisingly slippery.
But fortunately I've chosen to wear squash shoes.
Which is the most appropriate footwear when you're trouncing up and down a mountain all day in sub zero temperatures.
It could also act as a nice protective wall from the wind and snow but you have to get the right side of it for that unfortunately.
This is not the correct side to be on.
Feels like our day summed up, really.
Not the right place at the right time.
This has now gone from a bad shoot in terms of weather to comfortably the worst one that Alex and I have experienced.
I'm [BLEEP] freezing.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
It's not a complaint that's going to hold much,
Much credit with our audience but having a sports car or a super car to film indoors and get into these tiny corners with it's, can be really tight to set up and you can't see your shots.
And it's, sometimes you do wish for a, a family saloon.
I know I shouldn't but, they are a big easier to film in.
I know it sounds incredibly ballsy and very pretentious, but it's a very strong look at things a little bit different.
It, so it could sell when it's got a big engine and it does this many MPGs and this or that.
But, smartphones have a, have a little bit of a giggle with it, don't you think?
Have a, try and think around it and hopefully make other people think a little bit.
More around the topic rather than just about A, another car.
But this time we went with madness.
Like, if someone's a bit mad, or some would say certifiable, and they keep insisting that they're not crazy, well, you're gonna think they're more crazy because of their madness, right?
And alternatively, everyone has that little voice in the back of their head that says I wonder what would happen if?
And it's kind of working that into a car.
ironically the sun is shining very brightly as we drive away from Wales after the end of a, I think,
Pretty successful shoot actually.
The difficulty with today was the inconsistency.
I mean, no, clouds were moving so fast in the sky we just kept on getting five minute rainstorms and then five minutes of pure sunshine.
So you'd see a gap in the sun and you'd think, okay, quickly.
We can do something that requires the sun out, something like rear facing tracking.
And we set up and then the moment we'd set up it started pouring with rain so it became useless.
And once you Set up, you wonder do you wait it out or do you move to something else for that only.
So, it was just, it's very tricky and we can't control all the elements.
We just have to sort of accept that.
But once you do, and work with them, you can get some good stuff.
And I think actually the rain in the road today was very shiny in the middle of the road and you got a really beautiful sheen when the sun hit it.
So I think it, you know, in some shots it looks absolutely spectacular.
[MUSIC]
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