Driving scenes backdrop

[steffn]

Hello, new member here. I hope you can help me out with a project I want to realize.

I would like to learn more about the technique used when filming driving scenes back in the days before computers and greenscreens. Below are two screen captures from the film love and a '45 where they do this in a quite obvious and sort of ironic way.



First of all. what do you call the technique?

I assume you have to project the background film to a semi translucent screen or something.. Any info or links on how-to-do-it would be very much appreciated. particulary how-to's for a micro budget..

I also assume that there were people and companies back in the days and most likeley still are. That did the actual filming of background material, either outsourced for the particular film or collecting different sceneries, sort of like stock clips, that they then sold to the production. I am very interested in getting hold of some old clips of background material, preferably early 1970's. Any ideas as far as where I should start looking for this?

Also if you can't answer any of the above questions, but you can namedrop a movie which has a great driving scene, please post it. Or better yet upload the scene to youtube and post a link!

Thanks,
Steffen

[oslobeach]

Hi

The pre greens-screen technique was called 'rear projection', they would project film onto a screen behind the car.

It's not totally dead. Wes Anderson used in the Life Aquatic. In the scene where Cate Blanchett is interviewing Bill Murray and he pulls a gun on her, the window behind him with the killer whale swimming past is actually a projection. Alot of the backdrops in the beginning of 2001 are like this too.

[BolexPlusX]

Isn't it fairly common to put the actors, car and the camera crew on a trailer and just use a real background?

[BigBeaner]

Yes and those screen captures look like green screen to me, look around the second shot at his hair.

[MovieStuff]

Yes and those screen captures look like green screen to me, look around the second shot at his hair.

Even more telling is that the car interior goes out of focus but then, suddenly, the distant background goes back in focus (because the background plate was shot in focus). Not only is this green screen, it's a perfect example of green screen poorly planned and executed badly.

Roger

[steffn]

Yes and those screen captures look like green screen to me, look around the second shot at his hair.

Even more telling is that the car interior goes out of focus but then, suddenly, the distant background goes back in focus (because the background plate was shot in focus). Not only is this green screen, it's a perfect example of green screen poorly planned and executed badly.

Roger

Yes I agree with you that this is probably green screen. It doesn't really matter though as the images worked for their purpose which was to better explain what I am after.
But I guess

are more accurate examples.
As far as the scene in love and a 45 beeing poorly planned and executed badly, I don't agree as the scene is making a point out of being a "fake driving scene". but that is a completely different discussion not relevant to this topic.

@BolexPlusX: that might be true, but I am actually planning on taking still photographs. And it is very important that it does not look realistic.
I guess the best reference i can give would be the opening credits of Natural born killers (http://www.stage6.com/user/tyurutyuru/v ... tle-credit)

Thanks for the replies I have been googling a lot since I saw oslobeach's reply. and found a few sites that provide some DIY tips, one of the most interesting ones talks about using shower curtains for screen. I am a bit worried because the screen would probably have to be quite big, as it should most likely have to be placed at least a meter behind the car.

But the biggest issue for me I guess would be to get hold of some of the frames of a background film from an old movie.

More suggestions, links and comments are very welcome!

[oslobeach]

green-screen looks pretty bad in that second still.

[Billy F]

I don’t mean to veer off the specific topic completely, but what is the technique used when the illusion of driving is created with lights only?

Lacking a screen grab, or link, I mean that we see occasional light from what we accept as oncoming cars in the other lane, or cars changing lanes behind, maybe some light in the side view mirror, a dash of brake light red here and there, and finally the shadows cast from presumably passing under streetlamps and sign structures, like on a highway or street at night, and sometimes depicted as if it were a rainy night?

Is lighting like this orchestrated by way of dimmers and maybe something or someone that passes a gel or gobo in front of the fading up light source now and then, or?

I think if it could be done with essentially a car in a garage at night, it’d be a cool look to know in tandem with or as an alternative to green screen.

[BolexPlusX]

I like the way they did it in Airplane!

[Billy F]

When I catch the Airplane every 5 years or so, I always have to see that scene. :lol:

Naturally they weren't the 1st to use rear project as a means of comedy, but that guy on the bike does make it the funniest rear projection scene I know of.

[bakanosaru]

I don’t mean to veer off the specific topic completely, but what is the technique used when the illusion of driving is created with lights only?

Lacking a screen grab, or link, I mean that we see occasional light from what we accept as oncoming cars in the other lane, or cars changing lanes behind, maybe some light in the side view mirror, a dash of brake light red here and there, and finally the shadows cast from presumably passing under streetlamps and sign structures, like on a highway or street at night, and sometimes depicted as if it were a rainy night?

Is lighting like this orchestrated by way of dimmers and maybe something or someone that passes a gel or gobo in front of the fading up light source now and then, or?

I think if it could be done with essentially a car in a garage at night, it’d be a cool look to know in tandem with or as an alternative to green screen.

Check out Pierot le Fou (Sometimes referred to as "Crazy Pete") by Jean-Luc Godard there's a night-time driving scene where you can see the apparatus used to create this lighting effect. (It looks like a wheel with green and red gel circles in it that is being rotated in front of a lamp.)

[Jim Carlile]

I'm pretty sure that specific shot in North by Northwest was filmed on location near Bakersfield. Only the closeups of him down in the ditch were shot on a set with rear projection.

Easiest way to do it in S8 is just set up a big piece of tracing paper, project onto it from the rear, and use an XL camera to avoid ghosting and flicker. Might turn out pretty well.

Anyone know how Spielberg did that 10 minute long driving shot in War of the Worlds? Pretty fantastic looking-- I know Hollywood craft guys who cannot figure out how it was done...

[S8 Booster]

i never watch Spielberg films but from clips on youtube it looks like he nicked the digital techniques developed for The Beatles music video Free As A Bird (1994) uniquely developed for that purpose in 1993/4.

shoot.....

[S8 Booster]

this may be of general interest:

number of patented techniques 1935 to 2003
Filming using rear-projection screen and image projector

shoot.....

[mattias]

First of all. what do you call the technique?

so last of all, the answer: process shot. it's a term used whether you're using chroma key, front- or back projection, rotoscoping, superimposition, or whatever technique that achieves basically the same result.

/matt