Pushing a Car off of a Cliff...

[Alex]

On Brantley's Forum

Just curious what anyone thinks about how the topic evolved.

[Greg Crawford]

PRODUCTION VALUE, he's [img]cool.gif[/img] looking to place those elements in his film to make it a commercial success, or ... he owns a Pinto!

[Alex]

At first I thought it was a very funny thread. But then when Syracuse mentioned that he (I think he's a he) was an American Indian, it didn't seem as funny.

My first concern is what shape the old car is in. If the car needs to be taken off the road anyway because of pollution and driveability issues, then by all means try and design a stunt shot for the movie involving the car.

I would contact the police and fire and get their requirements. The Fire Department will probably require one of their personnel be present for the stunt, for pay! I'd also see who in the area might be either a working or retired stuntperson.

I'd go to the local salvage companies and see if I could work a deal that they would pick up the trashed car after the stunt at a very nominal charge, and they can keep what's left for parts.

I agree with Greg that these kind of stunts DO add value to a movie. If the stunt can be done safely, responsibly, and pertains to the storyline of the movie, Mr. Syracuse should investigate the feasibility of doing the stunt.

[Alex]

It looks like both sides fueled the situation. I don't think Syracuse should have been completely put down for his idea, but his idea needed to be flushed out and done in a more legitimate manner.

[Cranium]

True... I'll take some hits for my reply. But Igotta say, when you come up with the brilliant idea of "scraping of the VIN" you have to be ready to take some serious jeers.

Had that not been mentioned, I might have thought he had the ability to go about this sensibly.

And I reckon it boils down to the fact that I can think of about a thousand things to make a film really pop before talking about a massive undertaking like this one. And really it is massive. Look at a bridge. They're designed to keep this kind of thing from ever happening. There'd be a great deal of construction involved to make it look "blockbuster" style, and if that's not the goal, why bother?

OTOH, I'd love to see the final footage of the car stuck teetering with its differential hung on the railing... [img]wink.gif[/img]

[cameraguy]

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ August 29, 2003 05:18 AM: Message edited by: cameraguy ]</font></font>

Original message reinserted by the moderator to keep the topic thread intact.

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Hey, I thought Syracusefilm was funny. I'd spring for a stand up comedy Pay Per View special.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 08, 2003 03:04 AM: Message edited by: Alex ]</font>

[syracusefilm.com]

Fair enough Cranium, I was an easy target, haha. Anyway thanks for the input, I'll be shooting at sunset using super8 & 16mm, I plan to do it after a rain so I can get lots of reflections, it'll probably be a cliff, and the scene calls for it being pushed, not driven. Thanks for all the concern, and input to help, although making fun was priority for some, I now know what I can do, and that's what this board is for. maybe I'll keep the board updated [img]graemlins/sheep.gif[/img]

later,

nick

[BolexPlusx]

Wow!, what if you needed a second take?

[Alex]

There's no need to exclude local law enforcement and the local salvage company. You may find that there is some stuntmen's group in the area who may be willing to give you tips.

For instance, if you want the car to roll over and over, perhaps you have to put additional weight somewhere in the car (where I don't know).

Definitely empty all the fluids. Can the car in anyway end up near anything living? Make sure that your cameras have full pan and sweep capability BEFORE you do the stunt.

You'll need walkie talkies for every camera position, plus for the safety lookouts etc...

Perhaps you want to do this as cheap as possible, but I think you're best off doing it as safely as possible. Perhaps you can talk to a local car dealership into buying the footage for their next cable car commerical. (Fed up with your used car...) and use that money to subsidize doing your shoot safely rather than on the cheap.

You mock a lot of professions by trying to do it without their help.

[Alex]

And if you decide to do it the proper way, you should consider putting some type of audio recording device inside the car, perhaps taped to the front seat, you might get some cool audio.

There really is an art to this, I hope you can do it the way a real director would do it.