Here is a typical rig:
http://www.adorama.com/BG3289.html

It essentially is a suction cup that you can fasten to the inside of a car window or on the outside of the body and look through the windows.

Be careful with the car, however. I did a shoot using a similar device with expensive antique cars, and the suction dimpled the metal - whoa!

Depending on your needs, here is the dream.

You get a car trailer or large flatbed and drive the vehicle up onto it.
Shazam! No motor or ground noise. You can put the camera wherever you want. You can actually stand and run the camera.

If I were doing a job, and the scene was critical... that's the only way I'd proceed.

On the other hand (again depending on the job) - simply get into the car - look for a good angle - and handhold the camera - done!

Whatever you do, try it out BEFORE the client arrives.

Good luck,
v

v

You could look at a Cinesaddle (which I don't have), seems a device with many uses.
There's also Stickypod (which I do have).
If you've got some money but con't afford to put the vehicle on a trailer there's also gyro stabilisers from Kenlabs.

Also lighting inside a vehicle can be a problem. If daytime think ND gel on the windows, small Kinos under dash, use stickypod or manfrotto sucker to hold small lights with small softboxes (Photoflex have some cheapies). Hope to get some Zylights shortly which would be ideal for this.

The other way to do this is rear projection or even front projection can be made to work, don't need expensive projectors either.

Bob.

If there is residual shake, you can use Deshaker. Guide is found here:

Deshaker

I just did a test for someone two days ago, of stabilizing old Super8 movies taken from inside a moving truck. They were going over a dirt road and the motion was beyond belief. Just using the standard Deshaker settings produced some pretty amazing results. Here are links to the two small (380K) WMV files (links good for seven days) that demonstrate the before/after:

Before Deshaker

After Deshaker

John, I have some bus footage from my recent trip to Peruvian Andes. Hand-held in a rollercoaster bus on endless dirt switchbacks. Looks alot like your "before" clip (but better scenery ;-). I'll give Deshaker a try.

Paul, Vic & Bob, thanks for the links and tips. Is this topic covered in a book somewhere?

Not that I know of.
BTW, if you know you're going to have to deshake your footage higher shutter speeds help.

Bob.

I use The Gripper and it works really well with a PD170. Check it out here:

http://cinemasupplies.stores.yahoo.net/gripexsucvac.html

Plus, here's a good article comparing the stickypod (a suction cup device) to The Gripper:

http://digitalproducer.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=28807-0

Hope this helps.

The important thing is lock the camera to the vehicle (by any of the various devices mentioned) because this is your frame of reference. People bobbing within this frame of reference is what the audience expects. If you're shooting scenery from the vehicle, generally the vehicle is still much steadier than any handholding. The vehicle is less affected by bumps and swerves than people within it. If you must hand hold, get to a spot about mid between front and rear wheels (less jerk there than over the wheels). Handheld at normal shutter speeds (1/50 sec) suffers from blurred frames when the camera moves, which is the reason Bob suggests higher shutter speed (probably 1/100) for better results with DeShaker. The disadvantage of this is that passing scenery and bobbing people then can look jerky because there is less motion blurring. If you plan to deshake you must be careful about camera moves; DeShaker can produce very "Salvador Daliesque" distortions when new objects enter frame (such as window frames). The length of the scene is important; the audience will cope with a short scene bopping in all directions, but will quickly tire of it.

Auxillary lighting in tight interiors (eg. cars) can be done with small 12v flourescents (daylight) taped to the underside of the roof.

Edit: here is an extract from CML-Lighting on that subject:

Led clip together light bars....... run from 12v.. even dim them with a dc dimmer (NE555 or some such)
www. superbriteleds.com
12inch long X 0.82 WIDE x 3/8 INCH DEEP
Stick them places with Gaffer tape or double sided. You can gel them... no heat, diffuse them and even run them from their own. small 12v sealed lead acid battery
Another option is cold cathode tubes, available from auto accesory stores..... called mini flouros here (Aust)... same deal no heat .. available in white and colours 12v plus small power supply... can be dimmed about 30%.

If it's a feature/short film then best option is simply not to shoot inside moving wehicle. Little thinking and you can stage the actions around the car rather then inside while driving. If you really have have HAVE to shoot inside the car then your best option is a flat bed. All those suction devices are too shacky for anything bigger (and including) XL2 or DVX100.

Yes, the circumstances haven't been spelled out. I'm thinking the flatbed isn't within the imagined scope, which I expect is more documentary-style productions. Shooting inside a car is done often enough (professionally) and that involves solving a lot of problems associated with the limited space, lighting and background noise. Cinesaddle isn't flexible and although good for strapping a camera on the bonnet of the car I don't think it's useful for many inside-car camera locations. Haven't used the suction cap devices, but would have thought a 3 strutted one with lever-action cups would be adequate. There are more rigid mounting rigs solid enough to mount an Arri 16BL on a door, so they'll easily take the usual pro-sumer cameras.

And of course, the "dream" setup (which I have used a number of times) is a camera truck with a boom arm on it, towing a flatbed truck. You mount large HMI lights on the back of the truck and sit on a boom arm. Whoopee...
v

VIc, you are soo much UP in the air about things...... of course, it can be a little buggy up there during the summer... ; )

Did this once several years ago, from the grip end. The truck was an eye opener because it had a manual leveling system. One grip there on the lever watching a bubble and keeping the pedestal upright. Pretty low tech from what the guy said later.

Traffic control was our dearest friend that day.

Rob Mack

Douglas did point out that he's been shooting doco style in buses in Sth America (I think) so most of the fancy solutions are not practical for him although the Stickypod (the three sucker variant) might be doable.
Just one tip from some reviews of the stickypod, keeping something in the frame that moves with the camera will avoid the motion sickness issue to some extent. For example if shooting out a window of the bus try to keep the window at the outer edge of the frame.

Bob.

You're right Bob. I quickly learned in Peru to cradle my camera on the dashboard, with fingers wedged under it to get a solid base that moved with the bus. This was much better than hand-holding, or using my knees as a base (with feet up on the dashboard), or my tripod used as a monopod. Alas, there was a bus in front of us kicking up a huge cloud of dust. So I don't think my footage will make it to Cannes. But I'm learning. I'll take a suction cup gadget with me next time, especially for out the side windows.

Well as i said before, we've got both the Bogan / Manfrotto sucker AND the Stickypod. The Stickypod does give some vibration damping via the soft rubber suction cups, you should be fine with it and lightweight cameras. You could also consider the Cinesaddle on a dashboard. The important thing in your scenario is something light and simple.

Best moving vehicle footage I've got was from the hard sleeper trains in China, top bunk with window open was an ideal camera platform. Just wish I had a better camera with me at the time.

And don't forget to take time to enjoy the scenery yourself.

Bob.

The disadvantage of the Cinesaddle is the price. After all, apart from the straps to tie it onto the outside of a vehicle, it's just a bean bag with attachments. Good solid canvass, with pockets to stow the straps. But A$450 is a lot for a bean bag.

I'm about to make some beanbags/sandbags from some old Levis pants legs. Sand is heavy, and beans aren't very stable. Does anyone have a suggestion for bag fill that is both light and stable?

I've never even held a Cinesaddle so take this as hearsay. I believe it has mixture of materials as the filling, that's why it's more than just a bean bag. Something like shot at the bottom to hold it down and then lighter balls further up.

As I said I have zero direct experience. I agree it's a tad expensive.

Bob.

I've played with a Cinesaddle and I believe its foam beads right through. It's quite light and made in a saddle shape so the camera snuggles down into it and can be strapped in (as very necessary for camera-on-bonnet" shots). If you don't like beads you could use wheat, but that will make it very much heavier.

EDIT: Bob: I believe that the only thing helping to hold the bag down is the weight of the camera (and the straps).

I've been misled (again)!

So, if you're right then one could perhaps make a better one yourself cheaper, lead shot in the bottom and the rest foam beads would surely be the go. The shot would let the bottom mold to curves surfaces and hold it down and the lighter beads help hold the camera.

For a smaller camera, you could use two $19.95 buckwheat-filled U-shaped "neck pillows" facing each other with the camera resting in the hole so to speak.

I bought mine at an airport somewhere, worked well for its intended purpose too.

One solution I have seen is to put the camera on a 2x4 mounted across the interior. As somebody pointed out, the key part is to lock the camera to the vehicle's movements and let the people do what comes naturally.

Don't forget also that if you are shooting a mix of shots to the side and to the front or back, you need to slow down the car by about 30% when shooting with the side windows in view. That will then give the same apparent speed as in the forward/backward shots.

The trailer comment earlier reminded me of when I lived in L.A. back in the '70's when the "Chips" TV show was popular. It was about a couple of motorcycle Highway Patrol cops, who patrolled the expansive Southern California freeways, seemingly seeking out babes to impress with their skin-tight CHP uniforms and perfect poofy hair styles (how DID they manage to look so good after wearing those helmets?).

Anyway, it was fairly common to see the camera crew shooting these guys on city streets. The camera would shoot from the back of a pickup truck, and the truck would be towing a little trailer just big enough for two strapped-down Kawasaki police special motorcycles, with the actors astride.

I guess it was the best way to control the environment and get usable dialog, but it sure looked stupid going down the street.