What Is Automotive Videography? All You Need To Know
Automotive videography many people think it’s just all about shooting cars; no, rather its more about creating an effect or creating a big picture that has to feature a car as the subject. There are a lot different types of cameras for your car commercial, Drones, Gopro cameras, motion activated hidden camera, car dash camera name it!, all just for that special moment involving your car. It will be ideal for people to follow the rules, the laws and most especially the safety tips before indulging in Automotive Videography session; these is necessary also for your safety.
So here, I will be covering some basic essentials need to be known for anyone whose about making some video, using cars or for whatever kind of car commercial you’re planning for.
Location Matching The Car
It is truly important to remember when doing car commercials that you’re into selling a story than much more of the car itself. Yes, you may have a bunch of ideas on how to shot angles of cars and different shots for car, but bear in mind that you are finally at the end of the day; creating a story that you’re telling. The car is the character, the location is also a character, for example; if you have a Pick-up Truck, make sure you put that Pick-up Truck in a location that makes sense for a Pick-up Truck, or if you are shooting something like a fast car or a racecar; put it on a racetrack. It just kind-of make sense if you pair the car with the right location.
Things That You Need To Shoot A Car Commercial
Now, to begin shooting a car commercial, there are certain things you need to consider having and they include:
1. A Proper Crew: You need about three people to make a crew in Automotive Videography, first one is being yourself ( Camera operator / Director / Producer), and the second is somebody to drive the vehicle you are actually shooting and lastly; the person to drive you in the vehicle that you are shooting from.
2. Means Of Open Communication: This is a prerequisite for car commercial, you’ll need a walkie-talkie, and it’s extremely important especially because you need to communicate with your driver who also needs to communicate with the other driver on how close the two cars should be when doing a Chase shot. Again, this aspect is crucial, if you want a safe environment to shot.
3. A Camera Gimbal: Obviously, when in motion, the car you are in can get quite shaky, so for you to have some good footage, it is highly recommended you bring your gimbals.
4. Slider: This will help you get some details, Macro shots; the badges, the logos, the interior of the car, and honestly; your gimbals may not just do the trick, where at times you need to deal with circumstances where the car just wobble in an up and down motion. So it is recommended you bring along a slider for such an event.
5. Lens: There are about three lenses to recommend for Automotive Videography:
Shade Shots
For shade shots, what you’re going to need are two cars, one to shoot and the other one to put yourself into so that you can shoot the car of focus. Now remember to have a secure location and secure track because you’ll want to be creative with your shots and don’t want other cars driving on the same track, you can orchestrate a set-up for a blocked road, or site your location along a private property; just make sure everything you are doing is legal and you’re paying for the location –doing the right thing.
Now another point to take note in a Chase car shoot is to find a car with a window that slides down at the back, so you don’t have to drive with the trunk open – because if you shoot with the trunk open, you may end up finding some part of it in your video shot. In addition, when it comes to car commercial, it is advisable not to shoot in slow motion, but you’ll find out that the reverse is the case with many Automotive Videographers. So it is ideal to stick with a shutter speed of 24 frames / second, you can make use of slow motion unless it only supports a story like a big truck. If you want to make the cars look like its moving fast, you don’t actually need drive that fast. The little trick is to bring your camera lower to the ground, when you do that; the faster it looks like moving.
Another tip for Chase car is to make sure the two cars are driving at the same pace, then try to get a nice distance, hold the shot on the front of the car, drive a little bit up on an angle, and shoot a little from there, one thing for sure that; both cars and people look good when you’re shooting form an angle. Also you can have the car go in front of the frame, then have shots of the car going across the frame which looks good as it whips passed your car in a speedy agile motion.
If you’re shooting a very wide sidecar profile driving, tighten up the lens, go on the wheels, get on a few details on the car from a side angle. Another nice shot you can take is to try and be in a position when the car to be shot is coming towards you and you whip past the car really quickly.
Now, when shooting for Chase car commercial, alternatively, if you don’t want to hang up to the back of a car, you can make use of a suction cup mount to the back of the car, doing your shooting remotely from your Smartphone by attaching a Gopro – this is another nice way to get chase shot from one car to another, but might not just give you that innovative uniqueness in your shot
Automotive Videography With Drones
If you want to step up your game on Automotive Videography, it is recommended you bring along a drone. One good thing about drones, when using them for car commercials; gives you a wider dimension of capturing epic and cinematic shots that seems impossible to shoot unless you were in an airplane or helicopter, it allows you to find those angles and viewpoints from the air that you just can’t find anywhere else on the ground.
You should take note; the thing about drones is that – when you’re shooting cars, it actually looks like it’s going extremely slow, so you need to find something you can put either on the foreground nice and low to give a view on how fast the car is actually driving or even install a kind of hidden camera adjacent to the wheels, located at the body of the car. Now, for effective use of drone, find a cool location, like areas that have riverbeds that you can fly along and actually chase the car with. Let us look at some interesting views you can capture while using a drone for car commercials.
Shooting Inside Of the Car
Shooting inside of the car is mainly for just picking out some useful detailed shots, there are few things you need to capture:
The Logos: Shoot the logos on the steering wheel and other logos you can find inside the car.
Technology: Capture all the pieces of technology the car is built with; from gear type to dashboard, the incorporated tech it has like maybe a dash cam installation, virtual cockpit, infotainment system, its stellar seats, iDrive display and many more. So just find the unique characteristic features of the interior and shoot it.
So generally, when shooting interiors, try to get the shot from the back seat if the car is moving, hold your camera in between the back seats and over the shoulder of somebody driving the car, also remember you’ll need to take some shots from the outside when the car is not moving.
Mounting A Camera To The Car
Use a Gopro Rig, which is pretty affordable, you can go further to get suction cups to go over all the car. So if you have a Gopro mounted on the front of the car, you can shot from the hood while driving and also, flip the camera around so it can actually see the people inside the car that are driving and having a good time. Now try to put the suction cup at the side of the car, right down by the wheel to get shot of a spinning wheel; whatever logo or part you want to shot around the car, you can as well make use of the suction cup.
Detailed Macro And Tight Shots
For capturing Macro detailed shots of Interiors, first make sure you bring some cleaning utensils so you can actually clean your car. If you spend a full day shooting, the car is going to get dirty, this is why you need to clean everywhere in order to get that clean shot and not to hate yourself while shooting and kind of get irritated. After you must have gotten everywhere cleaned, now this is the section where you’re going to burst out your slider. Open the door to the car and place the slider inside so it can go across the dash and get details of different batches of different technology and pieces of equipment.
Lifestyle In Automotive Videography
When we talk about lifestyle in car commercial, we’re talking about location, and in lifestyle, you have to create a storyline because people have to envision themselves in this car. So create a storyline that suits the car, for example; like a family storyline in a Mini-van, doing some sort of activity that kind of represents somebody that owns a Mini-van so it can portray that lifestyle around the car.
So here, I will be covering some basic essentials need to be known for anyone whose about making some video, using cars or for whatever kind of car commercial you’re planning for.
Location Matching The Car
It is truly important to remember when doing car commercials that you’re into selling a story than much more of the car itself. Yes, you may have a bunch of ideas on how to shot angles of cars and different shots for car, but bear in mind that you are finally at the end of the day; creating a story that you’re telling. The car is the character, the location is also a character, for example; if you have a Pick-up Truck, make sure you put that Pick-up Truck in a location that makes sense for a Pick-up Truck, or if you are shooting something like a fast car or a racecar; put it on a racetrack. It just kind-of make sense if you pair the car with the right location.
Things That You Need To Shoot A Car Commercial
Now, to begin shooting a car commercial, there are certain things you need to consider having and they include:
1. A Proper Crew: You need about three people to make a crew in Automotive Videography, first one is being yourself ( Camera operator / Director / Producer), and the second is somebody to drive the vehicle you are actually shooting and lastly; the person to drive you in the vehicle that you are shooting from.
2. Means Of Open Communication: This is a prerequisite for car commercial, you’ll need a walkie-talkie, and it’s extremely important especially because you need to communicate with your driver who also needs to communicate with the other driver on how close the two cars should be when doing a Chase shot. Again, this aspect is crucial, if you want a safe environment to shot.
3. A Camera Gimbal: Obviously, when in motion, the car you are in can get quite shaky, so for you to have some good footage, it is highly recommended you bring your gimbals.
4. Slider: This will help you get some details, Macro shots; the badges, the logos, the interior of the car, and honestly; your gimbals may not just do the trick, where at times you need to deal with circumstances where the car just wobble in an up and down motion. So it is recommended you bring along a slider for such an event.
5. Lens: There are about three lenses to recommend for Automotive Videography:
- Wide Lens: Because you’re going to need to shoot a wider view of the car in an amazing location
- A Telephoto lens
- A Macro lens: You’ll need this to capture the beautiful details that go into the interior and exterior of a car. Also, if you really want to step up the production on your car commercial; then it’s ideal for you to come along with a drone – if you don’t have one, you can rent or borrow to enable you get a little bit more creative with aerial view shots.
Shade Shots
For shade shots, what you’re going to need are two cars, one to shoot and the other one to put yourself into so that you can shoot the car of focus. Now remember to have a secure location and secure track because you’ll want to be creative with your shots and don’t want other cars driving on the same track, you can orchestrate a set-up for a blocked road, or site your location along a private property; just make sure everything you are doing is legal and you’re paying for the location –doing the right thing.
Now another point to take note in a Chase car shoot is to find a car with a window that slides down at the back, so you don’t have to drive with the trunk open – because if you shoot with the trunk open, you may end up finding some part of it in your video shot. In addition, when it comes to car commercial, it is advisable not to shoot in slow motion, but you’ll find out that the reverse is the case with many Automotive Videographers. So it is ideal to stick with a shutter speed of 24 frames / second, you can make use of slow motion unless it only supports a story like a big truck. If you want to make the cars look like its moving fast, you don’t actually need drive that fast. The little trick is to bring your camera lower to the ground, when you do that; the faster it looks like moving.
Another tip for Chase car is to make sure the two cars are driving at the same pace, then try to get a nice distance, hold the shot on the front of the car, drive a little bit up on an angle, and shoot a little from there, one thing for sure that; both cars and people look good when you’re shooting form an angle. Also you can have the car go in front of the frame, then have shots of the car going across the frame which looks good as it whips passed your car in a speedy agile motion.
If you’re shooting a very wide sidecar profile driving, tighten up the lens, go on the wheels, get on a few details on the car from a side angle. Another nice shot you can take is to try and be in a position when the car to be shot is coming towards you and you whip past the car really quickly.
Now, when shooting for Chase car commercial, alternatively, if you don’t want to hang up to the back of a car, you can make use of a suction cup mount to the back of the car, doing your shooting remotely from your Smartphone by attaching a Gopro – this is another nice way to get chase shot from one car to another, but might not just give you that innovative uniqueness in your shot
Automotive Videography With Drones
If you want to step up your game on Automotive Videography, it is recommended you bring along a drone. One good thing about drones, when using them for car commercials; gives you a wider dimension of capturing epic and cinematic shots that seems impossible to shoot unless you were in an airplane or helicopter, it allows you to find those angles and viewpoints from the air that you just can’t find anywhere else on the ground.
You should take note; the thing about drones is that – when you’re shooting cars, it actually looks like it’s going extremely slow, so you need to find something you can put either on the foreground nice and low to give a view on how fast the car is actually driving or even install a kind of hidden camera adjacent to the wheels, located at the body of the car. Now, for effective use of drone, find a cool location, like areas that have riverbeds that you can fly along and actually chase the car with. Let us look at some interesting views you can capture while using a drone for car commercials.
- The Bird Eye View Shot: This actually gives you a sense of the panorama of the entire landscape – a wide-angled lens is your best option here.
- Slow Reveal: This is a Gimbal-equipped drone shot you need to take using the gimbals effectively in showing landscape areas in front of the drone as it’s moving forwards behind the car.
- Shooting From The Side: This is a more profile shooting from the side of the car, it’s nice to get some view from the middle of trees that gives you that look like it’s really moving fast, also using this technique, you can eventually pull back and across and zoom in to capture details.
- Fly-across Shot: This technique you can employ for stories like a Pick-up Truck, to show a little kind of activity, approaching a vehicle can be a complex set-up. For the drone it’s just a simple movement on the remote.
- Zoom Shot: Zoom viewing is used to shoot a close-up of the actor or driver of the car being shot, so that you can pick out emotion against the setting or landscape.
Shooting Inside Of the Car
Shooting inside of the car is mainly for just picking out some useful detailed shots, there are few things you need to capture:
The Logos: Shoot the logos on the steering wheel and other logos you can find inside the car.
Technology: Capture all the pieces of technology the car is built with; from gear type to dashboard, the incorporated tech it has like maybe a dash cam installation, virtual cockpit, infotainment system, its stellar seats, iDrive display and many more. So just find the unique characteristic features of the interior and shoot it.
So generally, when shooting interiors, try to get the shot from the back seat if the car is moving, hold your camera in between the back seats and over the shoulder of somebody driving the car, also remember you’ll need to take some shots from the outside when the car is not moving.
Mounting A Camera To The Car
Use a Gopro Rig, which is pretty affordable, you can go further to get suction cups to go over all the car. So if you have a Gopro mounted on the front of the car, you can shot from the hood while driving and also, flip the camera around so it can actually see the people inside the car that are driving and having a good time. Now try to put the suction cup at the side of the car, right down by the wheel to get shot of a spinning wheel; whatever logo or part you want to shot around the car, you can as well make use of the suction cup.
Detailed Macro And Tight Shots
For capturing Macro detailed shots of Interiors, first make sure you bring some cleaning utensils so you can actually clean your car. If you spend a full day shooting, the car is going to get dirty, this is why you need to clean everywhere in order to get that clean shot and not to hate yourself while shooting and kind of get irritated. After you must have gotten everywhere cleaned, now this is the section where you’re going to burst out your slider. Open the door to the car and place the slider inside so it can go across the dash and get details of different batches of different technology and pieces of equipment.
Lifestyle In Automotive Videography
When we talk about lifestyle in car commercial, we’re talking about location, and in lifestyle, you have to create a storyline because people have to envision themselves in this car. So create a storyline that suits the car, for example; like a family storyline in a Mini-van, doing some sort of activity that kind of represents somebody that owns a Mini-van so it can portray that lifestyle around the car.