Roadshow behind the scenes: How we film car-to-car shots
Cars
Here at roadshow, we pride ourselves on two things, the accuracy of our content and the unique look and feel of our videos.
And today we're going to flip the camera backwards so you can see how we capture some of those dramatic shots.
With the behind the scenes look at our car to car rig, and our 2018 Mercedes Benz metrics fan.
To create the gorgeous videos here at roadshow our producers use a variety of filming techniques.
From static tripod pans to high flying drone photography.
Today we're gonna give you a look behind the scenes at how we pull off one of the most specialized automotive production techniques.
The car to car shot.
It all begins with the camera car.
I've seen big-budget productions use Porsche Cayenne or Lamborghini Huracans.
But our production vehicle is a 2018 Mercedes Benz Metris.
AKA the Wu Tang Van.
We've already gone into detail about how its capaciousness makes for a great production car.
But today, we're more interested in its big, flat, vertical rear end, which we'll be using for mounting our camera rig.
We start by gathering and checking all of our equipment on location on the morning of the shoot.
Set up begins by affixing the cloud mount to the vehicle with suction cups and a network of metal arm.
We use suction cups to prevent permanent damage to the vehicle and double up with a healthy dose of gaffer tape for additional security.
The cloud mount adds a bit of spring loaded isolation from the van's movements and holds the camera gear away from the mattresses body.
Next is time to build the power gimbal we use a BJI Ronin, its compact, fairly lightweight and adds additional stability to the footage.
The motorized gimbal also enables remote motion control which we'll get back to in a bit.
Now we break out the camera which gets loaded up with the lens [UNKNOWN].
The camera is then mounted onto the gimbal along with our remote video transmission gear, which must then be meticulously balanced to ensure maximum stability, both for the smoothness of the footage captured and the safety of our gear.
Combination of physical adjustment and electronic calibration is used to make sure everything is balanced perfectly.
The entire gimbal and camera assembly is in mounted atop the cloud mount at the back of the van.
Our producers use an inverted orientation upside down from how you'd expect at the recommendation of the cloud mouth manufacturers.
Between the gamble, the mount and the van suspension I believe we've got like five axes of stabilization.
Which we need because the roads we shoot on or [INAUDIBLE] aren't always the smoothest.
In the van's cabin our producers mount a wireless remote display to view the live footage from the camera near the passenger seat.
They also connect to the Ronin Gimbal with it's remote control, which gives us wireless pan-and-tilt control.
After a quick check on the camera's focus and exposure, it's time to hand out radios to the crew and capture some sweet shots.
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Car-to-car photography is at least a three-person job.
One producer drives the van and keeps in radio contact with the talent.
That's me today, who pilots the subject vehicle.
A second producer controls the camera's movements and monitors the captured video.
And we spend some time carefully capturing a variety of shots.
The radios ensure the safety of the crew and allow us to coordinate movements such as passes, retreating, or advancing on the camera.
With the footage in the can, we finish up for the day.
The car-to-care shots are combined with in-car footage, drone shots, static shots, and more, and then cut together by our expert producers into the gorgeous videos that populate the Roadshow feed.
So there's been your look behind the scenes but just one aspect of how we make our videos which you can check out and all of their cinematic glory over on the roadshow.com.
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