"...Even that car chase seemed tacked on!"

I'm making a small movie with some friends. One part of my movie involves a car chase, but being only 14 and not being a stunt man, i cannot actually make this car chase. So im left with 3 options:

1. Stop Motion

2. Strings

3. Cancel the whole car chase idea.

(or 4. Find someone who'll do a CG car chase for me, for free )

What do you guys think would work the best?

 

I hate to say it, but can you try to befriend someone who is 16? Just make it known in your school that you're interested in filmmaking, people might be surprisingly willing to help you out.

~Neszis~

 

3. Cancel the whole car chase idea

 

If it's going to involve skidding, crashes and destruction, you run the risk of damaging people and property. Movie car chases are done in controlled environmets with trained, experienced drivers and signed waivers. Your best bet is to either scrap it or be creative with post production.

For example, if the car chase is just high speed driving, you might be able to lock the camera and film two passes for exterior shots - one for the background and one for the car(s) that would be garbage matted, composited, sped up and motion blurred. Interior shots could be blue/green screened composited with a sped up background plate.

You could also use miniatures composited onto a live background. A car jumping over a hill ala Dukes of Hazard could be realized with a miniature car, time lapsed photography or selected frames with motion blur, and moving the camera and/or the car while filming.

Editing can fool the eye into believing multiple events were filmed at the same time. A car launching in air and landing can be two different shots, allowing you to setup the camera, props and set for the particular shot. Do that until you are proficient to pull off long, fluid shots combining live action, props and CG ala "Starship Troopers".

Post production can do wonders. Never underestimate its power. Remember - Lucas uses a lot of blue screened sets instead of live sets when its practical. Always ask yourself, "How can I do this"?

 

1: DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR CHASE. Even if you get licensed drivers, don't actually drive the chase.

2: Make the car chase be at night.
(Makes it seem more dangerous, and requires less detail than daylight shots. )

3: Use lots of close angles and shots of the drivers inside the cars (these are shot with the car sitting still. ) For moving shots, you can site in the passenger side of the car with a video-game steering wheel somehow clamped to the glove box. If you have a following camera car that is slightly behind this "driver", the angle will be such that you can't see the real driver, then you can filp the shot horizontally to make it look like the passenger side is the driver side. Just remember to have two VERY responsible drivers focused only on driving the cars, not the shots, driving the speedlimit etc. DRIVE SAFE. You can use editing and maybe even some motion blur to enhance the appearence of high-speed.

4: Don't feel pressured to make every shot look 100% real. It's a movie. A movie by 14-year-olds. No one expects it to look like BadBoysII or the Matrix.
Use CG the best you can for the crashes and explosions. Make these shots really quick, with lots of cuts to shots of drivers reacting to the action, and just about everyone will be really impressed with what you did and wish the shots had been longer instead of dwelling on if a long drawnout crash sequence looked genuine.

Hope that gives some ideas for getting started.
The biggest thing is item four. Don't feel pressured to make something that looks 100% perfect. Just get out there and do it. When your done, show it off, get some feedback and more suggestions, then get out there and do it again ..... but better.

Just keep it safe at all times. The real magic in movies is making somthing that's actually safe, look like something that's dangerous.

Good luck!
Have fun.

 

This actually reminds me of something that happened in my senior year of highschool.

We were reviewing all of the movies each group had done for their final project, and one group were laughing and telling everyone that they will actually pass the course with their film (many had marks in the 30s).

As the tape rolled, they swereved a car off the road (actually well done, as the car and passengers had received no damage), then, in a totally irrelevant shot, one of the group was HIT by the car at 60KMPH (have no idea what that is in miles). Now, if this was done in post, I would've been amazed as it looked incredibly real. But no, they actually hit the guy with the car (his swollen knee was proof).

Anyway, I recommend NOT doing something this stupid. However, you do only get to be young once, and no one listen's to me anyway

 

Hahah, what idiots!

"Gee, we need a car accident..."

That had to suck to be the guy that got hit.

Well, did they pass?!?!!?

--------------------------------

As for the car chase, it depends on how extensive it is. Are there big explosions and flying cars and stuff, cuz then you may need to cancel it or at least re-write it.

I think the blue screen could be an idea. You could also film the chase at very low speeds, but also with a really low framerate, so when you play it, it LOOKS really fast. Just watch out for people in the background that will be walking at 20 MPH. lol.

 

Yeah, each of them passed with an exact 50% simply because my teacher couldn't believe they really hit the guy with the car. With the credit they were finally able to graduate.

I must say out of all the movies I saw that day it was my favourite.

 

You could always say the car chase happens at night and do the poor mans process to achive the inside shots. Then just film someone of age driving the cars out side.

But car chases can be VERY dangerous. Make sure its planed out to the gills.

 

one of the group was HIT by the car at 60KMPH

60,000?

/y2k omg

 

60KPH is about 40MPH. I've taken a hit at 25MPH...I wouldn't have the balls to do one at 40. Ouch.

 

If it's going to involve skidding, crashes and destruction, you run the risk of damaging people and property.

Hey! No pain, no gain!

I would once love to do a car chase... but I dunno where to find a car that looks good enough
Watch the car chase scenes in Terminator 1, they´re pretty good and teaching.

Place your actor into the car and setup a bluescreen behind the window he´s sitting in front of. Shoot some shakey "close ups" and after words shoot the background video by sitting in the back of a car, filming out the window. Make someone else drive for you there.

I´m quite sure that THAT`s a pretty good way to convice actors of being part of one´s movie... "Hey, I´d like to make a movie!" - "Nah... I don´t wa.." - "YOU WILL LIKE IT! A CAR CHASE WILL BE INVOLVED!" - "REALLY? GREAT! When do we start!?"

 

Also, remove the rearview mirror for shots through the windshield.

 

For the quintessential low-budget car chase scene, see either the Raiders Adaptation, or Marc Linn's Indiana Jones fanfilm.

Car. Over. Cliff.

I can't stress this enough, folks.

 

For fast scenes that are low budget, do the Smokey and the Bandit approach- just speed up the film

I would once love to do a car chase... but I dunno where to find a car that looks good enough

Meh. Just use a regular car. That's cool. What was that one commercial? "You know what you never see in real car commercial? Real cars." The image stuck in my mind is of a station wagon powersliding across the desert.

 

Watch Killing in the Name. While I didn't particularly enjoy that movie, they did a decent car chase without accidents, swerving, or general carnage.

 

For god sakes, don't use 16 year olds to do your car chase. They'll make it real, and then die as a result. Use at least 18 year olds or something.... :S

 

Watch Killing in the Name. While I didn't particularly enjoy that movie, they did a decent car chase without accidents, swerving, or general carnage.
Watch Bluesmoke 4ever too. We did an even better car chase with a guy riding a motorcycle firing an uzi!

 

Whats the car chase about? Something simple?

I'd be willing to shoot a chase, not exactly
the most impressive cars but we can do it.
A white Honda Civic and a grey Hyundai
Accent. lol. You want skidding and
dare i say, drifting(i know its a fwd
car.. i ment, whipping the tails out)

I could do it.. however it'd be around
December. cause i have too many projects
as it is.

Figure i could shoot all the car part
exterriors, and then you can cut some
nice cuts to the drivers all intent or
freaking out. blah blah.



Or make it easy. Just make the chase on
dirt bikes instead of cars. Take out some
ATV's. MUCH EASIER to film in a chase. =)

 

I have a bit of experience with cars in my films, and I have some ideas on how your film can work.
- First of all have your car chase at night. Shoot your actors in the interior of the car while the car is still. Have a couple of people behind the car out of view of the camera shake the car slightly to simulate motion. You can record sounds of it moving when your parents/friends/etc drive you home.
- Get a couple of 16 year olds who look like your actors to drive the cars, and shoot them driving the chase scenes on back roads, which are usually clear, and then speed it up in post, do the garbage matte thing, and add motion blur like Sobiwan suggested. It'll probably look pretty good. Good luck.

 

Yes, we were 16 and a bit insane. I would NOT recommend throwing a car over a cliff or driving as crazy as we did. But, we did it without dying-the worst that happened is we got fined by the Forest Service, but that was ages ago.

You can find a clip of the end of the car chase
Here

or watch the film in its entirety
at theRaider.net

 

I drove a brand new Mitsibushi Lancer Evolution VII,into a two foot wide steel box section gate post at around 60+mph(thank god for airbags and i was wearing a harness),i wish i had that on film(i have a couple of pics of the car).Spent 5 hours in casulty strapped to a spine board,and then had to explain how i managed to kill the car,i was only supposed to be moving it for cleaning,ready for auction(funnily enough they never asked me to drive for them again).
I did £600 pounds of damage to the gate that was attached to the post,as well as killing a £30,000 sports car.Fortunatly for me i was on private property or it would've been bye bye licence.Though i'm sure if i'd been on a public road then i'd have driven far more responsibly.
So my advice would be to find experienced drivers(not just someone with a licence like myself),it's just too easy for things to go wrong.

Edit:"For god sakes, don't use 16 year olds to do your car chase. They'll make it real, and then die as a result. Use at least 18 year olds or something.... :S "
Just being older doesn't make you more responsible,i was 29(i think) when i crashed the Evo,though i am normally fairly responsible.

 

Ummm... that movie, and the car off the cliff...

...why?

Unless it was dead and only fit for scrap. To be honest, that's how I'd want my car to go once it's a rolling scrap heap. Destroyed on film or blown up. Preferably both.

 

QUI_TIN_TARANTINO,

Nevermind about not asking you to drive anymore...where are you located, so I can avoid the roads in that area?!?!?!

 

Southampton in the UK
The only reason they let me drive it in the first place was due to the fact i'd moved about 70 cars that weekend,ranging from Shoguns and MPV's to MR2's and a kitted out GTO twin turbo.And i drove them impeccably(i was the only driver not to be moaned at by the valeters).The Evo was the only car i belted up in so i should've known something bad was going to happen.Live and learn.It was a damn quick car though 0-60mph in about4.6 secs if memory serves and could do 110mph in second gear i got into 3rd gear and lost it on a bend.What is it they say "Power is nothing without control". So let that be a lesson for all,just cos you think you are capable of something doesn't mean you are.