How do you get good video of something so small that moves so fast?
To say it takes the right equipment is superfluous: of course it does! But there has to be more to it than that! Over the last 6 months or so I’ve spent some decent money on some small specialized cameras I was hoping might produce decent “in-car” video. Although I’ve made some OK vids with these devices and had fun using them, overall I’m disappointed. At the outset I knew I was unlikely to achieve what I really wanted, but I didn’t even come close. This lack of success has caused me to want to dig much deeper into the methods that were used to make the TV commercials we grew up with in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s; the ones that show unbelievable close-ups of racing action!
For a sample, here’s a montage I made of the kind of shots I would love to get, taken from various AFX, Tyco and TCR ads from that era, although the very last shots are actually from a Matchbox commercial from all the way back in 1971!
Somehow, as far back as that, someone had the hardware and the skill to film something that small moving that fast and to stay with it as it moved, producing this literal CAR CHASE effect to the video which is the coolest thing ever!
I want to be able to do this! I realize it may take an investment at a level I’m unwilling to make, but I’d still like to know what it would take: what video equipment was used to film and edit these, and what types of rigs or gantries were used? Is it actually trick photography, an illusion that makes it appear as if the camera is following the car when in reality it’s the scenery that’s moving? If so, how was that done? I know there’s someone out there who knows the secret to getting shots like this…
So, how’ bout we take a look at a vid on YT made by someone who clearly knows!
Killer! Really well done! Hats off to you, sir!
So, is there anyone out there who has done this, or knows how, who is willing to describe the cameras, the rigs, the software, and the overall method to make a video this cool? You have a willing student eager to learn!
Well, as you know, I know nothing about video but I appreciated seeing the montage and I remember many a cool commercial from my childhood. It does beg that question, how did they do that!