Car sequences/scenes

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  • Car sequences/scenes

    This is really more of a production question, but it may also be helpful to writers thinking of setting scenes in vehicles. I'm producing one of my own shorts and there's a long sequence inside a car (daytime) where the driver and back passenger have a conversation. There has been some debate within my team whether to use a green screen or rig with an actual car going down a street. Those in favor of green screen say it allows much more control (no worries regarding bad weather, noise, traffic, etc.). They also say using a rig with vehicle is a hassle due to permits, insurance, logistics, etc. In addition, those against green screen say it can be a nightmare in post production with all the reflections, etc. They also say if not done right, green screen can look very fake. The DP is in favor of green screen, but I'm not yet convinced. Any thoughts from production people out there?

  • #2
    Re: Car sequences/scenes

    Some thoughts on this:

    Both camps have valid points. Green screen (chroma key compositing) definitely will be more controllable, as you have presented, but using a rig will give you the ambient lighting that will be paired with every take. Reflections of the actors and passing traffic would not bother me, as they are a part of modern life, but the challenge then would be to keep the softbox lighting and yourselves from showing up in a glass or mirror reflection. Green screen offers more creative possibilities and control yet makes more work in post production editing and requires interior lighting, while using a rig will offer more authenticity and credibility to the shots.

    Does the area through which the characters drive inform the scene? If so, then use the rig. If the background through the car windows is irrelevant, use the green screen for its ability to be controlled. You can always defocus the traffic B-roll for a shallow depth-of-field effect, thereby drawing more attention to the faces of the actors (they'll like that).

    Is there a viable way (cost vs. effort) for you to do a green screen test? Dulling spray or applying barely frosted window film to car window interiors might work well for a green screen test. You may be able to be "matte out" in post editing any of the odd specular highlights or possible reflections dependent upon where they show up in the overall shot composition.

    Best case scenario and cost-effective, too, IMHO, would be to combine the green screen shots (with highlight and reflection treatments as above) with the use of a car mount for the camera if only to break up the monotony of the interior shots.

    An external camera on the vehicle would also offer ambient background audio picked up from that recording, audio which is more easily controlled from the Avid or Final Cut Pro edit suite. Continuity of sound is an audio trompe l'oeil that lends itself to smoothing over and authenticating the illusion created by green screen shots. Green screen shots can be so good as to be imperceptible if a proper perspective is coordinated and maintained. If you want to green screen the car windows you'll need traffic B-roll, so be sure to mount the unobstructed camera (no car) at the same height and at the same pitch from the road (x, y, and z axes) as it was for the interior scenes in the car, and, as always, try not to be blatant about violating the 180° rule.

    It's funny now to see older movies with such shots where the car is greatly elevated from the roadway because it's sitting on a flatbed trailer, making the subjects of the shot appear to be "riding high" while perspective of the passing scenery and auto traffic seem a wee bit "off."
    Last edited by Clint Hill; 11-20-2016, 08:03 AM.
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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    • #3
      Re: Car sequences/scenes

      Thanks so much, TigerFang. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Are you a director or DP? Just curious. You really know your stuff!

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      • #4
        Re: Car sequences/scenes

        Originally posted by Pasquali56 View Post
        Thanks so much, TigerFang. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Are you a director or DP? Just curious. You really know your stuff!
        Oh, that. Last night I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. (Nah, not really)

        Long ago and far away, once I was an Avid editor in Burbank. Before that, I worked with a movie crew. Before that, I worked as a bona fide photographer. I've been a job gypsy.

        Let us know what method you decide to use. I'm in favor of green screen if only for safety's sake. The actors will be able to concentrate on the scene without distraction. Also, the insert truck needs a lot of logistical considerations and clearances (as you mentioned).
        “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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        • #5
          Re: Car sequences/scenes

          T.F. -- Whether you use green screen and/or car mounts, are these techniques expensive? Could/should a low-budget film include in-car sequences?

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          • #6
            Re: Car sequences/scenes

            Ask the DP to show you some of their previous green screen work. There are advantages to using this method, but in the wrong hands it could fail terribly.
            "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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            • #7
              Re: Car sequences/scenes

              Originally posted by DavidK View Post
              Ask the DP to show you some of their previous green screen work. There are advantages to using this method, but in the wrong hands it could fail terribly.
              ^^This.^^

              Parent-Child relationships in Adobe® After Effects® will help keep the background B-roll from looming to the fore as an odd creature not in the script (Fixed Point of Car = Parent, B-roll = Child), depending upon which paths you choose to take to accomplish filming your scene.

              Capture "room tone" of a vehicle interior traveling on the highway (no actors or talking). Use this audio to "flavor" the scene for its "sounds of driving." Audio of the actors in your greenscreen car that you capture will be too clean, another unwanted subliminal subconscious standout. By having discrete audio of actors (super clean) and driving SFX (dirty by comparison), you'll have total control over the texture of the audio for the scene; a proper blend will be believable. Sound is as important as Lighting in helping to convey a convincing and credible image to the mind's eyes of the audience.

              Production is a lot of sweat and tears (even some blood, at times), but try to have fun and remain creative at all times. Carry on.
              Last edited by Clint Hill; 11-28-2016, 05:14 AM.
              “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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