Disclaimer: This article showcases a 3-camera car set currently being used in a television series. In many states/provinces/countries, it is illegal to record while driving, obscure the view of the windshield, or otherwise set up a car for video and audio recording. If you choose to set up your car this way, please do so at your own discretion and be sure to check with your local authorities to ensure you are not breaking the law or causing any illegal conduct by filming in this manner.
A few weeks ago, I got together with my friend and colleague David Thies. TV station That way he could show me around his custom-built Mercedes ML350 SUV, which he’s currently using to film a reality TV show. While I don’t shoot a lot of reality work myself (as I’m more involved in the narrative/commercial side of things), I’m always fascinated by how different types of productions approach automotive rigs, for example shooting multi-camera in a car has never been a An easy task. Rather than just take some set photos and write about it, Dave and I decided to actually jump in an SUV and drive around Los Angeles for a few hours to show how it all works—to document our reality with him The entire process of the conversation.
Over the course of the video we not only dive into the car setup, but also dive into a host of other gear and industry discussions – touching on trends in the camera industry, new equipment, production techniques, working at heights, broadcast requirements and more. The video is embedded at the bottom of this article.
It’s always great to chat with Dave as he is an extremely talented director and DP who currently works heavily in the reality TV space, as well as having a strong background in commercial/narrative/music video production which makes him Have a unique perspective on the industry. He has directed and photographed numerous television shows (including MTV’s Fantasy Factory) and also owns a rental house that provides all the equipment he needs for his productions.
Before watching the video, though, check out my written breakdown of Dave’s car gear as that will help put much of our discussion into context. Although many readers of this site are into narrative filmmaking (this particular setup is for live action), I would encourage anyone interested in filming a car scene on a budget to take a look at how Dave set up this car, because The general concepts can be applied to any type of shoot. By simply changing some of the camera bodies used, and making some other minor adjustments, this setup can also be great for narrative work.
Automotive equipment
Dave is currently working on a TV show similar to Confessions of a Taxi (setting wise), but his camera choices and rig are completely custom and completely unique to the show. Each episode takes place in a car, capturing real-life conversations between 2 and 3 people driving down the road, which naturally makes for challenging filming scenarios. Not only was the space too small to allow the crew to be in the vehicle during filming, but the equipment (audio and video) also needed to be rock solid, as the entire show hinged on footage shot in this SUV. The vast majority of reality shows obviously don’t take place primarily in cars, which allows them to keep simpler settings when dealing with automotive material. It’s common for regular reality shows to just throw a few GoPros on a car and start rolling – but as you can see in Dave’s setup, that’s certainly not the case.
While Dave occasionally uses a GoPro or two on this show to capture special shots, he chooses to use the small Marshall SDI output cameras as his main cameras because they fit his intended setup better and don’t force the crew to rely on GoPro’s unprofessional and possibly unreliable HDMI output.
Over the course of the video below Dave breaks down in detail what was used in the car setup and why, but in a nutshell he mounted the three main Marshall SDI cameras on the front windshield (with suction mounts) and Let them run three Odyssey 7Q recorders in the suitcase. He then used a fourth camera to capture reference footage of the monitor in the trunk and wirelessly sent that signal to the following car, which was always following closely behind. This reference image is only used to ensure that the camera is still functioning and has not experienced any glitches. As you can see in the photo below, everything is powered by the car’s battery, which actually charges while the vehicle is running. This prevents them from having to stop to change batteries while filming.
His audio setup also connects to a recorder/mixer in the trunk, capturing multiple channels of audio, including audio from wireless lavalier microphones for everyone in the car, as well as from two small hidden microphones mounted on the roof. Audio. Customized rope lights are also hidden on the roof and other parts of the vehicle to create the overall ambience inside. These lights, combined with the heavy limousine accents (all around the car), allowed Dave and his team to control the lighting inside the car as much as possible without having to use the really powerful lights on the exterior of the SUV. All in all, this is a really great setup that just goes to show that there’s a solution for any type of shooting situation – sometimes it just requires you to think outside the box and create some custom solutions.
gear talk
As I mentioned at the top of this article, Dave and I decided that instead of just showing you a picture of the setup, we decided to actually get in the car and drive it around to show you what this rig is really capable of. Watching this video will give you a real idea of how the rig works, but keep in mind that there are some differences in the overall image compared to the actual TV show. First, I set this footage in black and white (to fit in with some of my other videos), but more importantly, Dave, who is usually in the follower car keeping an eye on everything, is actually driving the vehicle here. This of course meant that he couldn’t make adjustments on the fly, so there were times during the 75+ minute film where scenes were overly bright or had suboptimal lighting. In a real shooting situation, Dave would make adjustments from the far end of his follower car, and in some cases he would have the camera car turn around and go in a different direction.
The first 30 minutes or so of our conversation focused on the gear itself. I wanted to know everything – from why Dave chose the cameras he did, to lighting controls, audio settings and everything in between. But naturally our conversation petered out after a while as we launched into a lot of full gear talk… So if you’ve got an hour or so to kill, grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy Take this journey!
Dave and I will probably be making more Gear Talk videos in a home studio setup in the near future, so if you enjoyed this, be sure to let me know in the comments below and feel free to suggest topics for future episodes.
For more information about David Thies, please visit his website: www.tvacom.com & www.gripgear.tv
