OT: Tips for Filming Auto Racing

Tinle wrote on 7/19/2006, 5:50 PM

I would welcome any tips/suggestions for getting good footage of vintage sports cars racing at speed.

What are the general principles for adjusting shutter speed to reduce motion blur? Any rules of thumb for this? What are the downsides, if there is ample light for good exposure?

Anything else to consider that related to the high motion rates?

Comments

farss wrote on 7/19/2006, 6:10 PM
Interesting, we just finished cutting exactly this, Jaguars of various vintages in a hill climb.

Yes faster shutter speeds will reduce MB but that can work against you by making motion appear juddery.

We were lucky in that as the same cars run the course a total of 8 times we could get various angles and coverage. A good tripod and a good zoom and focus controller would have helped no end. As the cameraman didn't have any of these the camera was left in full auto (an A1). The only place that caused an issue was when trees got between the cars and the camera causing focus to shift.

However not such a big issue, the imperfections can add to the feel rather than detract from them.

Also try to get some shots of the cars themselves before / after the race. Add a bit of human interest by interviewing drivers. And get some good sound of the cars racing, combine that with suitable music and you can turn boring into exciting. Also factor in your target audience. You and I might think it boring but the car enthusiasts might want to see every second of the action.

And please be careful, even vintage cars racing can be dangerous.

Bob.
Spot|DSE wrote on 7/19/2006, 6:39 PM
Tinle, are you shooting the HOS/Heroes of Speed Tour? We're shooting that in a couple weeks here, just finished shooting the LeMans World Class last week.
John Cline is the best man in the forum on the subject, I believe. We've done very well shooting at 100fps, ND filters (varied, depending on cam positioning, but best with 1.0 with aperture of F4. Follow focus w/cable and op are very useful on a good tripod. If you don't have a really good/heavyweight tripod, weight yours down with sandbags or waterbags. The course here is a bit different than most, I believe, with loads of curves.
Tinle wrote on 7/19/2006, 7:36 PM

Bob & Douglas

Thanks your suggestions

Its Lime Rock, CT and the Shell Ferrari-Maserati Historic Challenge.

I think I'll take the opportunity to camera practice at the "practice races" scheduled on the first day.

Cheers,

Tinle
johnmeyer wrote on 7/19/2006, 7:47 PM
Even though I live within hiking distance of Laguna Seca (big motorcycle race this weekend), I haven't filmed anything for quite awhile. However, from past experience, don't get hung up on shutter speed, unless you are going to need to freeze frame or try to do slo-mo (and even then, you are better off renting a camera that can shoot faster than 60i). If you pan with the cars, the car stays in the frame and therefore doesn't blur.

Multiple camera is obviously important. One at start/finish line, one at end of main straightaway, and one in the pits (although that may not be a big deal for a classic "race"). Try to get lots of b-roll in the garages before the race. I assume you are going to sell this to participants, and they'll love that stuff.
baysidebas wrote on 7/20/2006, 10:37 AM
A nice effect for cutaways is to shoot tripod mounted closeups of car parts (before or after the race) with no backgrounds showing and, locking the tripod controls, smartly rap the pan handle in the downward direction. This will cause a vertical oscillation that, when viewed in the final video, will appear to be the natural reaction of the vehicle to road irregularities. Be spare in how you use this and practice beforehand so you know exactly how to achieve the effect.
winrockpost wrote on 7/20/2006, 4:16 PM
Shot dozens of NASCAR races, and they go a little faster than vintage car races , no different set up than anything else, shutter at 1/ 60 , go watch some practice so you get the hang of following the cars, cause it is a little harder than one may think , and have fun!!!