How To Film Cars Like a Pro: 5 tips that will skyrocket your automotive video production
At Driven Films, we don’t just have a passion for car cinematography and automotive video production, we also enjoy teaching other car filmmakers how we do what we love. One of the hottest markets for videography and photography is the automotive industry and doing everything you can to give yourself a step-up on the competition is vital to your success as an automotive videographer.
Check out this tutorial video series that we produced for our YouTube channel that will help you film cars like a pro. If you’re the type of car videographer that likes to read, scroll down for the tips! Otherwise, be sure to subscribe to the Driven Films YouTube Channel for more videos on how you can take your automotive videography to the next level.
#1 Don’t Always Rely On a Gimbal
Gimbal shots with really nice smooth movement, they add a very nice feel to your car films but you don't want to overuse it. Make those gimbal shots feel special by not overusing them in every single shot. Getting some really nice handheld camera movements of the car you are filming is going to add some interest to your shots, it's also going to make it feel a little bit more cinematic because there will be some natural camera shake if you're you know doing handheld movements.
Shots filmed on a gimbal can create very interesting movements but when overused, they lose their appeal.
You could also get some amazing shots of cars with just a tripod. The tripod is one of the most underused tools when it comes to automotive filmmaking. Another thing to keep in mind is that not every shot needs to have camera movement.
Rely on your subject to provide the movement. Set your camera up on a tripod or even on the ground and let the car come into the shot, and let that provide movement, this way when it comes time for you to do your gimbal movements, that makes those shots a little bit more special. You're giving your audience something to look forward to or be amazed by
#2 Vary your shot types
This may sound like a no-brainer, but when filming cars, mix your focal lengths up. What we like to do sometimes is, start with a wide shot of the car. This helps to establish a location, then cut to a medium or close-up shot and that delivers the bait to the audience. This will help keep your car cinematics dynamic and interesting it'll help keep the viewer engaged. Again, establishing location in a car video is key because it's not all about the car. You want to see the setting, you want to see the interesting places that this car is traveling through.
Shooting wide will establish a location. Cars are meant to travel. Show your viewers where that car is traveling by establishing a location.
Flying a drone at a lower altitude helps to establish a sense of speed when the vehicle is traveling. You don’t always have to fly at high altitudes to capture great drone footage.
Another thing you can do to make your car videography more interesting is to introduce a drone shot or two. Adding in drone shots are just another way to keep your edits dynamic. It’s keep them interesting and keep your viewers hooked.
We film most of our drone shots on either a DJI Inspire, or a DJI Mavic Pro. Filming from a drone has it’s advantages, such as filming from angles you otherwise may not be able to obtain with a regular camera.
Whether it’s a high-end drone or a consumer grade drone such as the DJI Mavic Air 2, or even the DJI Mavic Mini, you can capture stunning shots of the car traveling, further establishing location.
So to recap, when planning out your shot list for your car commercial or car cinematic, definitely keep these tips in mind. Mix your focal lengths and your shot types to help create a more dynamic and engaging film.
#3 Record audio of the car
When it comes to automotive filmmaking, one of the most intriguing aspects is hearing the thunderous roar of a V8 engine, hearing the blow-off valve of the turbo, hearing supercharger whine, all these exciting sounds that cars make will definitely help to take your film to the next level.
Let's start with capturing exterior audio while the car is moving. The way we capture that type of audio is we’ll rig something like a Zoom H4N Pro in the trunk of a car and then run a lav mic to the bumper and gaff tape the lav mic to the bumper.
To record sound from the interior of the car we use the Zoom H4N Pro and simply throw it in the cup holder let the driver take off and let the recorder run.
One trick that we use to capture sound coming from the front of the car is, taping a lav mic to one of the side mirrors. What this does is allows us to capture sound coming from the front of the car but it also doesn't pick much wind noise because the mirror itself is blocking the wind.
Capturing all the sound effects while you're on the shoot will help to make your edits a little bit more interesting when it comes to doing the sound design.
#4 Shoot different areas of the car
A car is more than just the exterior. Film the interior and the engine bay too.
Take the time to walk around the car and appreciate it for what it is, and look for different, interesting things that you could film, this way you're not missing out on really nice aspects of the car. For instance the beautiful air inlets on a Lamborghini or something like a huge brake kit on a Porsche. These are things that most people notice about these cars so as a filmmaker it's your job to focus in on those details and present them in the best way possible.
Film things like emblems, film things like the brake calipers the exhaust tips. Film the interior. When filming cars, whether a car show, or a private showcase video of a car, oftentimes people neglect the interiors of the cars. Don't be afraid to ask the owner to pop the hood or to open the door.
Just under the hood alone you have so many options to create some beautiful shots. If the car has a turbo, shoot the turbo, if it has a supercharger shoot that! Even if the car doesn't have anything flashy or aftermarket under the hood, shoot it anyway! Not every car that you shoot is going to have aftermarket parts. So again, mixing it up shooting other parts of the car will definitely help take your automotive filmmaking to the next level.
#5 Planning Your Shoots
Now we're going to dive pretty deep into this because there are several aspects to planning your shoots. First off definitely scout your location. Scouting out your location will help you to better determine the exact shots you want to get. It also helps you to realize any issues that may arise when filming, such as heavy traffic in the area, trespassing warnings, unsightly debris. It also allows you to see if the area is safe for the vehicle you’re filming to drive through! Avoid getting a flat tire by avoiding areas with glass, nails or sharp debris in the road.
The next thing I suggest you do is to create a moodboard (also known as a look book). A moodboard will help you to develop a look and feel of what you want your film to look like. The way we create moodboards is by using shots that we’ve taken in the past, or screenshots from work we admire, and we'll load them up into Adobe InDesign and we'll create a grid of different shots and that'll help us to develop or determine the look that we want for the shots. This way when we show up ready to shoot, we’ve got a look in my mind and we’re ready to capture it.
Now the next part of the planning process and that’s to create a storyboard. There are plenty of ways you can make a storyboard. You could use Adobe Photoshop, you could use pen and paper, you can even use a service such as StudioBinder.com. No matter how you approach making a storyboard, having a storyboard is definitely going to help to define direction and story for your film.
After you've scouted your location, after you've done your storyboard and your moodboard, it's time to create your shot list. A shot list is vital to help keep you organized while you're in the midst of production. You don't have to go into detail, you could do something as simple as listing out the description of the shot and then saying what type of shot it is…whether it's a medium shot a wide shot, or close-up.
So there you have it! There are our five tips on how to improve your automotive filmmaking. If you learned something from this blog post please share it on social media. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us either via the contact page on our site or via our Instagram.
If you’re interested in some of the gear we use to film,
you can check out our Automotive Filmmaking Kit.
DISCLAIMERS:
Driven Films is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This video was not paid for by outside persons or manufacturers. No gear was supplied to me for this video. The content of this video and my opinions were not reviewed or paid for by any outside persons.