How would you get these shots, frugally?

PaulW

PaulW

So we're filming something where we want to get some shots but every time we ask for quotes for this, we're looking at £3,000 or more which is a serious chunk of change. So I thought I'd put this to the collective mind of the IndieTalkers and see what they come up with.

The first shot is to go alongside a bicycle. We're filming closeups of the spokes, the feet pumping the pedals, the rider's face etc...

The second shot is filming a car from in front (i.e. we're filming the front of a moving car).

Third shot is a side shot of the car.

Anyone have ideas how to do this safely with a lot of stability that doesn't involve gaffer taping a DoP to a windscreen or similar? Which, incidentally, I think would be a great idea...
 
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CelticRambler said:
I have an old-school gimbal and "Magic Arm" (?Manfrotto brand, I think) that I bought ages ago for this kind of shot, but never got around to using it.
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Quick confirmation that it is indeed a Manfrotto "Magic Arm" and "Super Clamp" that I have, for which I made the decision to purchase after seeing how it had been used on a SUV's bull-bar to get on-the-road shots for a safari video. The gimbal is just a cheap mini Steadicam knock-off, entirely weight-based, but bought for that very reason.

CelticRambler said:
I recently saw a suction-cup tripod promoted for this exact situation. Was it following a link or discussion on this site? :hmm: Not sure ...
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'Twasn't from this site, after all, but I ended up here: Top 10 Best Dslr Suction Mount Available in 2021 As usual with this kind of list, their definition of DSLR (and equivalent) can sometimes be a bit vague, but a few of the models specify particular cameras that are heavier than a smartphone. If I was seriously looking for something like this, I'd dig a little deeper into the options to be sure of getting something that'd been tested in the real world!
 
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GOLDENMORAL CINEMAS said:
It sounds like an awesome project my friend. In concurrence to what was said earlier I definitely think using a drone or drone(s) would be the easiest way to film those side tracking shots and frontal shots. Would save lot of time in prep and on the day. As for the close up shots of the pedals, the spokes and the rider, there are some AMAZING tricks to get around the issues that can come with filming those shots. The bike doesn’t actually have to be travelling on the road for these kind of shots to be filmed. Basically (idea) for the close up of the wheel you could have your camera in a lower position, looking upwards so that only the sky can be seen behind It. So your leaving out the road. Then basically lift the bike up a bit and spin the front wheel lol. There you go you have your cinematic close up of the wheel “in action” complete. You won’t see the contact between the bottom of the wheel and the ground, but that doesn’t matter because the contact will be seen in the wide tracking shot. I would recommend having the sky be plain and blue so that the audience can’t tell it’s a static shot. But even if there are clouds they won’t notice it’s a static shot because realistically the background clouds wouldn't move hardly at all even when traveling. If your really picky about it though and you want the easiest Way just film the wheel turning in a green screen and edit in a blue sky or slightly moving clouds behind it depending.
Thats the easiest and fastest possible way to do that shot lol.

Then with the pedals shot, it’s roughly the same thing, lift the front of the bike up off the ground. (Make sure the bike is stable) with the back wheel on the ground still and and then get the person to get on and pedal. The bike will be on a slightly upwards angle but no problem, just put the camera on an angle as well, still in a kind of low shot position so the ground cannot be seen only the sky. No need for the bike to actually be travelling for the shot. And again if the sky on site is an issue you can just green screen it in later to be in motion behind the pedals.

And with the close up of the subjects face, you would want the actors hair to be moving in the wind, so if you really wanna do this the easiest way just green screen the subjects head and have a fan blow hair. You get the idea. Thats the easiest way XD.

So yeah I’m not sure if that will help or not, whatever you do I wish you luck. Excited to see the end result eventually.
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This is interesting. I'm going to use this. Not for these shots but for something else. This is pretty cool.
 
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For the car shots, I would use a setup I created for myself for just such occasions. I used a length of square tubing (2 inch sq) that I drilled through holes in to use as a boom arm of sorts attached to the receiver hitch on my SUV. I wrapped gaff tape around the part that goes into the receiver to dampen vibrations. I drilled and tapped a number of 1/4-20 holes in the other end for rigging. I attach my Edelkrone One remote slider and 3 axis head to it. The Edelkrone One is robust enough that it will fly a DSLM with a moderate weight lens vertically. Depending upon how you rig the slider, you can get all kinds of moves. My cameras and the slider/head combination are able to be controlled remotely. You could also use this setup for the bicycle shots.
 
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Lucky Hardwood said:
For the car shots, I would use a setup I created for myself for just such occasions. I used a length of square tubing (2 inch sq) that I drilled through holes in to use as a boom arm of sorts attached to the receiver hitch on my SUV. I wrapped gaff tape around the part that goes into the receiver to dampen vibrations. I drilled and tapped a number of 1/4-20 holes in the other end for rigging. I attach my Edelkrone One remote slider and 3 axis head to it. The Edelkrone One is robust enough that it will fly a DSLM with a moderate weight lens vertically. Depending upon how you rig the slider, you can get all kinds of moves. My cameras and the slider/head combination are able to be controlled remotely. You could also use this setup for the bicycle shots.
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This is amazing. Outstanding.

What are the vibrations like at, say 20mph? Do you have any footage of this? This is the kind of thing I mean. Hollywood would spend $5k a day on this kind of thing.
 
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I don't have any shots of the rig. I'll have to check my backup drives to see if I have any of the footage captured with the rig in storage. The vibrations aren't bad because I use a camera with stabilization. I also edit with Resolve and can apply more stabilization in post if needed. The biggest thing is making certain the arm is secure in the receiver hitch without any free play. Road vibrations are easier to deal with than the arm bouncing up and down.

ETA: Make sure you have a smooth road. Potholes and speed bumps could damage the slider.
 
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