Do they make camera support gear that can do this?

H

harmonica44

I am looking for two things right now. One is the ability to hook the camera on the front of a car and shoot while driving. But not just that, I want to spin the camera vertically, making the car look like it's rolling, but a convincing car roll spin. I have come up with some things on my own, but no success since I cannot get the spin to look right. That one is pretty out there, but this other thing I want is not so much:

Do they make sliders where you unhook the head of my tripod, then put the slider on the stand, then put the head back on with the camera attached to the head, and slide that? Thanks.
 
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I used my buddies homemade hood mount for the last shots in this..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69uJxNNvZM8


Most the pro and diy sliders on the net work like you describe. Though, you might want to use two tripods on either end of the slider for stability. (light stands can work for this to)
 
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We deleted all the previous videos since they sucked and have to come up with something else. I will shoot more next time, when I can get the contraption to use for the shot, and post.
 
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harmonica44 said:
..............
Do they make sliders where you unhook the head of my tripod, then put the slider on the stand, then put the head back on with the camera attached to the head, and slide that? Thanks.
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Probably, but sliding with only 1 tripod isn't the most balanced way to slide.
You'll need a tripod that can set the legs real wide.

Or maybe not: depends on how the head is connected to your tripod and how the head can be mounted to your slider. And sometimes the slider needs to be mounted on the head. Sometimes having 2 tripodheads is easier.
wheatgrinder said:
....... Though, you might want to use two tripods on either end of the slider for stability. (light stands can work for this to)
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Indeed!
Make sure you know what the slider plus camera weighs and that the tripod/lightstand can handle that weight.

(I own a Cinevate Atlas Track (not really a slider, because it's not really sliding but rolling on a lot of ball bearings). I put it on 2 different tripods (I have to: only one is impossible) than my camera tripod and I have a seperate tripodhead to mount on the track. The bowl on the track has a different size than my tripod, so having one head only costs time and trouble for me. Besides that: I can leave the camera on the tripod while preparing the track or when moving/adjusting the track. This way you don't need to put the camera on the ground, a table or in someone's hands.)

Check out Floatcam.
 
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Im not sure on what you want to archieve with the rolling, like this but then shot from the hood?

I think in reality most of those shots are pure visual fx. If you shoot enough photography on the exact spot of the crash, you can easily recreate the scene with image based modelling, create some wacky moves digitally, and edit in part of the cars hood that is visible. Because the movement is fast, shaky, and involves lots of smoke and dirt, nobody will notice its "faked".

Just make sure the audio matches and people will believe everything :)
 
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jax_rox said:
In terms of a car mount, spinning the camera would make it look like the camera is spinning, not the car.
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Are we talking about with the car in the camera's view? I was going to want to spin it with none of the car showing, so it would hopefully look more real.

And yes I would probably have to use either two tripods or something else for support.

Doing it the visual fx way though will create more post work and I already will have so much post to do already in other shots. I would like to do things on set to eliminate as much post as I can.
 
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I'm really sorry but I can't stand any more questions like this one. I think the best advice I can give to you is to master the basics of film making, like DOF and other basic camera functions before you try to accomplish something more advanced. If you really want that effect you need to do it in post. period.


and PS.

This reply has been filtered by my fiance. TWICE. because I was about to post something really REALLY mean...
 
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jax_rox said:
So, if the car's not in shot, why would you need it to be mounted on a car..?
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I need it to be mounted on the car, in order to simulate the car driving. You don't see the car but you see the road in front of the car, as the car is driving. If this must be done in post, is there any websites or books on how to shoot it in the proper way, in order for the post effects to work? Perhaps I don't have to show the car rolling from a camera mounted on the front of the car, but will the audience get it, if all they see is the driver spin upside down, from a shot in side the car, and no other shots, to assist in the illusion?
 
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You'll probably have to figure it out on your own. There's plenty of info and how-to on the basics (which you do seem to be completely skipping) but for more advanced stuff you just have to figure it out. Nolan and his DP didn't read a book about how to do zero g, they figured out a way to build a set that spins. Lucas didn't read a guide on how to make a speeder hover or how to pull of light sabers, he and his crew figured it out.

Actually, as director/producer, the job of figuring it out isn't yours alone. Hire a DP, stunt coordinator and an VFX coordinator that really know their fields and sit down at a table with some blank paper and figure it out together.

Now I know this advice has been given to you at least a hundred time on this forum so far, but hey, one more can't hurt: Better idea is to focus on the basics until you know what you're doing, then with a good understanding you'll be able to figure out more complex stuff on your own.
 
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Sure. My DP does know a lot when it comes to photography, but has no clue how to get these more unique shots I want, that he has never thought of himself before. But we will learn it all together. Right now we are learning to get certain lighting shots.
 
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How will a car driving along a highway, and then the camera spinning around, look like a car rolling over? If you want the car to look like it's rolling over, you need to make the car roll over..

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you have no budget, you need to mae compromises on your shots - if you can't do it, then you need to cut/change it or figure out a way that you can do it. The reason you can't do a shot that big budgets movies do, it's because you don't have a budget. The shots may look simple, but there's a lot more to them.
 
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This was one way I thought of compromising. Spinning the camera instead of showing the car role. Movies have done this before to simulate Earthquakes or the ground shaking. They will simulate it by shaking the camera, so I thought I could do something similar. I'll see what else I can come up with.
 
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Except they're two very different things. You can simulate a shake easy, as you can simulate a spin. A car rolling over is not a car spinning in mid air, it's a car rolling over and over. The car itself would move from one position to the next as it rolls, not just spin in mid air.
 
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Put camera, with a long lens, in a barrel. lots of bubble wrap.. :) camera looking out the open end of the barrel...

Barrel is in the back of a pickup so the open end is facing out the back of the truck..

Shoot the whole thing in reverse..

START with the truck STOPPED and the barrel rolled so that the camera is at an upside down angle. This is the angle the "make believe movie car" came to rest... you might hold here for a minute or so..

As the truck starts pulling a way you start rolling the barrel in the bed of the truck.. now, you might need to rig something so the barrel can roll more than one time.. or just sorta pick it up and rotate it.. lots of banging and jarring.. then you stop rolling the barrel at the place you want the car to start rolling.. remember your shooting in reverse.. so this is where the car crash STARTS... keep driving the truck for the drive UP to the crash.. make sense?

Enhancements:

Have your camera and lens protected, add some flotsam, light weights bits of acoustic ceiling tile, some flour, old french fries, other bits of interesting junk you might fine flying off of a car loosely in the barrel..

shoot at 60p and use speed ramp effects to cover the obviously strange looking bits.. anything is believable if its slomo!


EDIT: I have no idea if this would work, seems doable but your mileage may vary.
 
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