A secret that most don't know is that fast cars don't typically look very fast on film even when they're flying. Top Gear has a few tricks up their sleeve and they're about to break them down for us in this Secrets of Filming Cars at Speed special.
Jon Richards is the Series Director at Top Gear and so he knows a thing or two about how to make cars look quick. It's not about big long continuous shots either. You might notice that when watching racing on TV, even Formula 1 cars don't look all that quick. Bump up to a sport like NHRA Drag Racing and yes, the Top Fuel cars look fast but do they really look like they're going 300+mph? Not really. That's where multiple fast shots come into play. Jon says that's one major key. He demonstrates just a few types of shots you can put together to make a quick montage where the car looks quick itself. The Jousting shot is perhaps the simplest. That's where two cars drive towards one another during filming. The combined speed of the two makes the one in the viewfinder look just that much faster. Then he talks us through something called the bagdrop where a camera is pointed at the destination of the car. He'll also add one that will catch the same car as it goes by this location. Now you've got three different shots and angles of the car moving quickly. Then he talks us through simple tricks like shaking the camera to add a bit of drama or driving next to the car from afar to show it moving through space. Did we mention the drones? Top Gear has a lot of cool little tricks they're using. All in all, it's clear that there's a lot more that goes into filming cool car videos that just hitting record.
Hit the link below to watch the full video and let us know below. Have you ever filmed your own car videos? Will you use these tips now that they're out there?
Keyword: Top Gear Teaches a Class on Making Cars Look Fast on Film