Filming a Classic Car (Moving)

spamgnome · Jan 8, 2020

I've been asked to create a video for a friend of their classic vehicle. Part of it will involve tracking the car while it drives along. Has anyone done this that would like to share their videos? I'm looking for inspirational ideas.

Recoveryone · Jan 8, 2020

There are some parameters that need to be looked at first.
1. which drone will be used
2. will the drone be the only camera in use
I'm sure there are a few more, but those are the ones that jump out in my head.
Tracking a vehicle is not hard, but you have to remember that the tracking will only work up to about 25-30 Mph tops. To do a good little video I would suggest using 3 cameras;
1. Gopro ( for inside shots)
2. Video camera/phone on gimbal for ground level panning
3. Drone for overhead shots
Editing will be the key factor of what will be the finish effort. Try to make sure all the cameras shoot in compatible FPS rate (makes editing smoother)
Here 's a quick sample of one I did when I first got my Spark over a year ago

pmshop · Jan 9, 2020

practice manual tracking:
My first attempt at a moving object 0:57

jimlips · Jan 11, 2020

Nevermindyourown has some experience tracking with his Phantom & his Skydio 1 here:
Not sure I'd do things that way, but at least you can see what to expect and prepare for.

spamgnome · Jan 14, 2020

Thanks for all of the advice and examples. Here's my 1st attempt.

jimlips · Jan 14, 2020

I noticed some "jerking" on the lateral shots (where you were yawing) - what FPS were you shooting in, and what was the final FPS in the editing program? I know if they don't match, that causes the jitter sometimes. You might condering setting up a static camera at ground level (or just use the drone down low, hovering) and do a few drive-bys. But nice first-job!

May I ask where you shot this? In the U.S.? It was awesome that you had no traffic while you were videoing. Where I live, there is ALWAYS traffic going by, even on remote country roads.

spamgnome · Jan 14, 2020

jimlips said:
I noticed some "jerking" on the lateral shots (where you were yawing) - what FPS were you shooting in, and what was the final FPS in the editing program? I know if they don't match, that causes the jitter sometimes. You might condering setting up a static camera at ground level (or just use the drone down low, hovering) and do a few drive-bys. But nice first-job!

May I ask where you shot this? In the U.S.? It was awesome that you had no traffic while you were videoing. Where I live, there is ALWAYS traffic going by, even on remote country roads.

Thanks! Good question about the frame rate. I shot it all at 24 fps, BUT knowing what I know NOW about filming something like this, I think I'd opt for 60 fps next time around. The one scene where the jerkiness is most noticeable was sped up by 15%, so that's why it looks that way. I agree that there were better ways to handle that shot.
I filmed this in TX just outside Austin.

pmshop · Jan 14, 2020

Howdy neighbor

I saw that jerking effect also in my videos.
It was created with post editing...could not see it on my originals.
I use Sony Vegas and found out my rendering preview did it.
Oddly enough, I turned down the render preview thinking it would render faster.
But I discovered the jerking so I turned it back and it looks like it is normal again.