HOW TO FILM INSIDE A CAR TRUNK - IndieTalk

Genetos · 01-03-2017, 10:04 AM

pls i have a scene i want to shoot, it happens inside a car trunk, i dont know how i will go about it, in the case of lighting and shooting the scene. like do i use a real car trunk or will i have to construct a fake car trunk. like "buried" with Ryan Raynolds..................... pls any help thanks

AcousticAl · 01-03-2017, 12:22 PM

Safety first.

Yes, you can use a real car trunk, but NO you should not shoot the interior of the trunk while the car is driving.

Does the rear seat of the car fold down? There's a perfect access for camera and sound. You can also shoot with the trunk open. Either way, you can use black flags, fabric, furni pads, or whatever you have to block light. Shoot in a garage so that you have a controlled environment (or a studio if you have access to one that can take a car).

Shoot exteriors of the car driving with nobody actually in the trunk, and if you need a shot of the trunk opening after the car is stopped, and someone in the trunk or climbing out, those are certainly just fine to shoot outside/on-location.

Genetos · 01-05-2017, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcousticAl

Safety first.

Yes, you can use a real car trunk, but NO you should not shoot the interior of the trunk while the car is driving.

Does the rear seat of the car fold down? There's a perfect access for camera and sound. You can also shoot with the trunk open. Either way, you can use black flags, fabric, furni pads, or whatever you have to block light. Shoot in a garage so that you have a controlled environment (or a studio if you have access to one that can take a car).

Shoot exteriors of the car driving with nobody actually in the trunk, and if you need a shot of the trunk opening after the car is stopped, and someone in the trunk or climbing out, those are certainly just fine to shoot outside/on-location.

thanks, really helpful. but what about lighting ad i don't think i can do much camera movement with this technique

AcousticAl · 01-05-2017, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genetos

but what about lighting

What about it? That is a very broad, very non-specific question.

If somebody is locked in the trunk of a car, it will be very dark. Does the person manage to get a bit of light by knocking out a tail light? By pulling a lighter from his/her pocket? From a cell phone? Your job is to convey the darkness and constraint of a car trunk, and to light to mimic whatever minimal source the character happens to access.

If you're shooting with an open trunk, or through the rear seat access, you'll want to block out external light sources and add artificial light where you need it.

Like most things in TV/film, it's better to over-light and then stop your exposure down a little either with ND filters or by aperture, but you want to make sure that the camera gets a good image without noise. Color grading in post can drop it down more to get the right amount of darkness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genetos

ad i don't think i can do much camera movement with this technique

What kinds of camera movement are you wanting to add?

Genetos · 01-06-2017, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcousticAl

What about it? That is a very broad, very non-specific question.

If somebody is locked in the trunk of a car, it will be very dark. Does the person manage to get a bit of light by knocking out a tail light? By pulling a lighter from his/her pocket? From a cell phone? Your job is to convey the darkness and constraint of a car trunk, and to light to mimic whatever minimal source the character happens to access.

If you're shooting with an open trunk, or through the rear seat access, you'll want to block out external light sources and add artificial light where you need it.

Like most things in TV/film, it's better to over-light and then stop your exposure down a little either with ND filters or by aperture, but you want to make sure that the camera gets a good image without noise. Color grading in post can drop it down more to get the right amount of darkness.

What kinds of camera movement are you wanting to add?

thanks again for replying, the person is locked in a car trunk and the source of light is just the screen light and the touch light from her phone. how can i mimic that kind of lighting without getting noise into the shot, thats the problem.

and for the camera angles and movement, i am very limited by the space a of a car trunk and cant to somewhat like a camera movement like lets say a 360 shot or a pan to reveal or a pov shot.... just to have creative shots in the film, not just what u see is what u get kinda shot

thanks again

mlesemann · 01-06-2017, 08:40 PM

Have you considered faking the fact that it's in a car trunk?
Can you build something that would allow for more movement, perhaps by adding removable walls?
Just a thought....

Genetos · 01-08-2017, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlesemann

Have you considered faking the fact that it's in a car trunk?
Can you build something that would allow for more movement, perhaps by adding removable walls?
Just a thought....

yea, thats what im thinking, but thinking also of the cost

thanks for replying

indietalk · 01-08-2017, 06:04 PM

Cost is minimal! Scene is pitch black except for a crack of light you can let seep in and control with flags or anything homemade. Some fancy editing, camera shakes, and sound effects of "bumps" and the car driving... it's not just the lighting, it's the perception, that YOU create with multiple elements.

Genetos · 01-09-2017, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indietalk

Cost is minimal! Scene is pitch black except for a crack of light you can let seep in and control with flags or anything homemade. Some fancy editing, camera shakes, and sound effects of "bumps" and the car driving... it's not just the lighting, it's the perception, that YOU create with multiple elements.

so you saying its best to create the trunk instead of shooting in a real trunk?
thanks for replying

indietalk · 01-09-2017, 03:36 PM

In scenes showing the car and trunk open, no. You can cut together, person getting in, getting out, with footage of built trunk inside, pretty easily.

Stage things to keep continuity and trick the eye. Put a jack on the right side as he gets in and closes the lid. Now, in "fake" trunk, his head is on the same jack. Etc.

Genetos · 01-10-2017, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indietalk

In scenes showing the car and trunk open, no. You can cut together, person getting in, getting out, with footage of built trunk inside, pretty easily.

Stage things to keep continuity and trick the eye. Put a jack on the right side as he gets in and closes the lid. Now, in "fake" trunk, his head is on the same jack. Etc.

thanks really appreciate