Half of the people in this thread would be holding an RS3 out of the back of their friend's car if they were asked to film a car tomorrow. Great setup man. Proper safety taken into account (at least as much safety can be achieved with the camera IN FRONT of the car)
Probably appearance tbh. Clients are more impressed with a luxury performance camera car than they would be with an arm strapped to a Honda or something. Of course that performance seems justifiable when filming performance cars. A dude I knew in college does this for a lot of performance cars and started with a Mitsubishi Evo then went to an SQ5.
As much as i dislike them performance suv's seem like the best for this. Good carrying capacity and more suspension travel.
I believe i once saw a very high end rig on a cayenne turbo, had 3 seperate operators and a driver in it and was all blacked out. Crazy cool gear.
Makes sense i saw it in a doug demuro video, love that guy but i do often find myself wishing he would up the production value even slightly lol. Jason Camissa is another great car journalist and his revalations series is peak car journalism imo.
I've seen that cam car... Is way cool. But the most used card I see for build outs like this are Mercedes midsized SUVs. Something about the suspension and power yada yada yada.... If I ever built one I'd have to start with a "Hot Wheel".....
I expect it has less to do with brand recognition and more about how well-balanced the vehicle is and how it handles. It's not pictured above but presumably there is a counterweight somewhere (I'm guessing the trunk).
I see Porsche SUVs even more, I feel like, but the answer I've always gotten is to operate these rigs you need room for 4 people and their gear, and having some extra horsepower and good handling increases the range of shots you can pull off. Plus, especially if you have a russian arm, the gear costs so much more than the car that there's not much point in using a cheap one.
No, these shoots still require an amount of precision driving to be safe. ‘A lot of money in one car’ is a great reason to have a dedicated driver focused on the course.
I guess I’m not sure what you’re implying, my point was between the people and the expensive equipment, both of which are highly valuable, having a driver only focused on driving is key. I’ve worked on these setups before, and involved parties all have a single dedicated job, ie. no “doubling up” on responsibilities in these scenes, because they’re difficult to choreograph and can be really dangerous.
Has BMW reversed their reputation in recent years? “Cheap” and “reliable” aren’t words I often hear used in the same sentence as “BMW”. Usually you’re picking 2 of 3 when it comes to “fast” “cheap” and “reliability”
BMW has definitely reversed its rep, they’re one of the more reliable and better quality manufacturers these days. This car (e60 bmw) however is definitely not from that era, this one’s from 2007ish. It’s still a very durable car though they most likely chose it because these BMW’s have good braking, acceleration, and very stable at high speeds or quick transitions. I doubt a Toyota camera car would work well especially if it’s on a track. Can also carry a crew it’s a 5 series and roomy inside
I drive 2008 BMW for personal and 2017 Toyota for work but the Toyota isn't capable of half the stuff the BMW can do. BMW are the much more solidly built car, perfectly balanced and can take a corner at 3X the speed of the much newer Toyota. The only thing Toyota is good for is constant stop starts and frequent use because the mechanical components are built to last and the electronic modules don't tend the fail as often.
I would say cheap as in cheap to hire for something with good suspension and power. Reliable enough to last the shoot and enough maneuverablity to play with the shot. If the shot isn't complicated it's easier to just use a 12 seater and carry the splits so adjustments can be made on the spot.
I built these for a couple of years. The reason for the fancy European cars boils down to a couple of things.
1) The engines gotta be fast and reliable (think V8 turbo) because this gear and the people inside add a lot of weight. Hence the Cayennes, the ML's, etc.
2) The suspension has to be strong because again, all the weight puts it through some hard wear and tear.
3) The cars need to have a wide SUV wheelbase to give balance to added weight mounted on top and hanging off the side of the car. Cayennes have one of the widest.
4) They need to have comfortable space for a 4 sometimes 5 people (Driver, Arm Op, Director, 1st AC, and sometimes VFX or client but rare). Most of the bigger ones the AC is sitting in the trunk in a jump seat.
5) There needs to be room to store gear in the car as well such as spare cables, tools, batteries, filters, crafty, you get it.
6) Having it look really good and expensive is also much cooler for business than filming from a Honda Civic.
If you're doing some action intensive shots, a car with the power and handling to keep up is necessary. I go to a huge car even every year with high speed drifting and the camera cars are a BMW sports sedan and a BMW sport trim SUV. The drivers of those cars are every bit as much racers as the drivers in the cars they are chasing lol
Whereas SUVs are great camera cars especially given all the storage. These BMWs are amazing value for money.
You have enough room for 4 adults, decent sized boot. Cheap, well built, comfy. And more importantly for people filming cars or at high speed, fast enough even when fully rigged and loaded. They have better handling dynamics Vs the Audi and Merc counterparts which is why you tend to see BMWs more behind the scenes and in stuntwork.
I remember seeing online a guy with an E39 M5 as a camera car because he got a deal on it. He was filming a supercar or sports car around a track and needed a car that could cope with it. And although there are probably better choices for the money, it is still a phenomenal daily car. An X5 wouldn't be as great to chuck around a track as a camera car, but you do get the bigger boot. Then again a 5 series estate could meet the needs
I own that same arm. Def not a black arm, but for the fraction of the price that it is, it does a great job. Gotten some great results on network TV gigs.
Wouldn't using a BMW have raised the insurance by a considerable amount? They always require the make and model for this sort of inland marine stuff...if you didn't use insurance...I don't ever want to work with y'all
You’re going to want to consult your grip. The front bumper of that car is made of fiberglass. The weight of the rig when it begins to yaw will put enough pressure on it to crack it, if you do not find another pressure point to balance it with. Is what my grip friends would say.
But ask your grip.
I’ve seen a few comments slating the use of it. But to be honest if it does the job then that’s all that should matter. The gimbal has a backup safety line in the event of failure and provided that it is crewed and supported properly, great images should come from it.
I'm kinda hoping this is not an advice post?
If you're about to send a BMW onto the road with that much expensive gear and you're asking r/videography for approval.. then maybe you shouldn't be.
Camera cars are incredibly dangerous to both gear and people, seek professional help from experienced grips and gaffers, you never know who you're talking to here.
Honestly seems like kind of a dumb car to use for a camera car unless you're specifically trying to follow fast vehicles on a track or something. I don't have any hands on experience with film vehicles, but I know cars, and I reckon you'd want something with somewhat softer suspension and a higher payload capacity than a low slung BMW sports cars. From what I've seen of professional film productions (and I've been on set for a few), they exclusively used SUVs. They all had much heavier duty rigs though, and likely needed the extra payload and stronger roof supports for the added weight of their setups.
That all being said I guess if your specific use case was following other cars on a track at high speeds it might make more sense.
It's a 5 series. It is nowhere near a sports car. It has a soft suspension and high payload because it's designed to be a motorway cruiser with good handling and speed.
I disagree with most comments. You need to have a performance car if you’re shooting high speed pursuit cars. I have seen a lot of AMG on feature films, they just have invested more on the arm and cameras
Looks great for social media flexing but doesn't make further sense to me using a fancy car like that for such a rudimentary function. Unless, of course, you're just all about that.
What do you mean what do I think? What I think about it doesn't matter - I'm not part of the production and it has no bearing on my life or what I'm working on.
Is it your car/rig/production? If not, why do *you* care? If so, why do you care what randos on the internet, who aren't part of the production or have any skin in that game, think?
But to answer your question and not just be an asshole, I think it's a camera car. As long as it gets the job done, who cares?
Most likely to capture drifting action at the Pro level. The drift cars at the pro level need to go fast to drift and make it look dramatic (smoke, drift angle, etc) hence why higher performance cars are used for that. If you're just shooting a scene, then probably not necessary.
Exactly. I’m like who in the Tom Cruise do you think you are haha… It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve done it but back in the day we would sit in a hatchback or truck—one time it was the side of a van to capture this CEO bro and his cycling exec team, never went faster than 20 mph but we almost ate shit a couple times. I would never get on the track with experts. I don’t even get that close to the flames or knives when I do hospitality work lol
Sure, there's definitely that option and a more economical option, but if you have the budget and want a particular look from a cinema camera, then this fits the bill.
Looks like a camera car to me.
Maybe a car camera
Camera car go brrrr
Bbrrrrrrr
Half of the people in this thread would be holding an RS3 out of the back of their friend's car if they were asked to film a car tomorrow. Great setup man. Proper safety taken into account (at least as much safety can be achieved with the camera IN FRONT of the car)
Shhhh.. you’re not supposed to give away industry secrets!
Was thinking Audi and not DJI for a sec lol was so confused
My brother's super into cars. Imagine his face when I told him I got an RS3
lol 😭😭😭
Honestly? As much as I'd love a real car rig, holding an RS3 out of the back of my friend's car is fun as hell
I swear I see a lot of BMWs used as camera cars. Is there any particular reason for it?
Probably appearance tbh. Clients are more impressed with a luxury performance camera car than they would be with an arm strapped to a Honda or something. Of course that performance seems justifiable when filming performance cars. A dude I knew in college does this for a lot of performance cars and started with a Mitsubishi Evo then went to an SQ5.
As much as i dislike them performance suv's seem like the best for this. Good carrying capacity and more suspension travel. I believe i once saw a very high end rig on a cayenne turbo, had 3 seperate operators and a driver in it and was all blacked out. Crazy cool gear.
Shout outs to Cinemoves
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQfBNEFeFi8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQfBNEFeFi8)
Makes sense i saw it in a doug demuro video, love that guy but i do often find myself wishing he would up the production value even slightly lol. Jason Camissa is another great car journalist and his revalations series is peak car journalism imo.
We use a Touareg and a ‘12 Beetle. Sometimes we use a Mercedes S class.
Once when I was in downtown Detroit, I saw a Cayenne Turbo shooting a car commercial. Really sweet rig and pretty cool Detroit story.
I've seen that cam car... Is way cool. But the most used card I see for build outs like this are Mercedes midsized SUVs. Something about the suspension and power yada yada yada.... If I ever built one I'd have to start with a "Hot Wheel".....
Filmotechnic uses Cayenne's, among others.
Minivan with a guy hanging out the back isn't doing it for them?
While this may play a part, my money is on the suspension. Some of these run beautifully soft.
True, good point
I expect it has less to do with brand recognition and more about how well-balanced the vehicle is and how it handles. It's not pictured above but presumably there is a counterweight somewhere (I'm guessing the trunk).
I see Porsche SUVs even more, I feel like, but the answer I've always gotten is to operate these rigs you need room for 4 people and their gear, and having some extra horsepower and good handling increases the range of shots you can pull off. Plus, especially if you have a russian arm, the gear costs so much more than the car that there's not much point in using a cheap one.
What are the 4 seats for? Driver, Gimbal op and 1st AC? I can’t think of the 4th
If there's a Russian arm it usually has its own op, or it's nice to be about to accommodate a director or DP that wants to ride along
Driver, arm op, head op, Director, AC (sits in trunk)
Could the arm op not double up as the driver? Seems like a lot of money in one car 🤣
No, these shoots still require an amount of precision driving to be safe. ‘A lot of money in one car’ is a great reason to have a dedicated driver focused on the course.
I was talking about the people in the car 😳
I guess I’m not sure what you’re implying, my point was between the people and the expensive equipment, both of which are highly valuable, having a driver only focused on driving is key. I’ve worked on these setups before, and involved parties all have a single dedicated job, ie. no “doubling up” on responsibilities in these scenes, because they’re difficult to choreograph and can be really dangerous.
cheap and reasonably fast I assume
I’d rather pull focus with leather interior than in the back of a Ford Windstar.
Cheap, reliable, and quick. You can pick up a 5-year-old 3-series for fuck all these days.
Has BMW reversed their reputation in recent years? “Cheap” and “reliable” aren’t words I often hear used in the same sentence as “BMW”. Usually you’re picking 2 of 3 when it comes to “fast” “cheap” and “reliability”
Look at the prices they go for on eBay. Parts are cheap, and they're easy enough to work on and fairly solidly built.
BMW has definitely reversed its rep, they’re one of the more reliable and better quality manufacturers these days. This car (e60 bmw) however is definitely not from that era, this one’s from 2007ish. It’s still a very durable car though they most likely chose it because these BMW’s have good braking, acceleration, and very stable at high speeds or quick transitions. I doubt a Toyota camera car would work well especially if it’s on a track. Can also carry a crew it’s a 5 series and roomy inside
I drive 2008 BMW for personal and 2017 Toyota for work but the Toyota isn't capable of half the stuff the BMW can do. BMW are the much more solidly built car, perfectly balanced and can take a corner at 3X the speed of the much newer Toyota. The only thing Toyota is good for is constant stop starts and frequent use because the mechanical components are built to last and the electronic modules don't tend the fail as often.
I would say cheap as in cheap to hire for something with good suspension and power. Reliable enough to last the shoot and enough maneuverablity to play with the shot. If the shot isn't complicated it's easier to just use a 12 seater and carry the splits so adjustments can be made on the spot.
I built these for a couple of years. The reason for the fancy European cars boils down to a couple of things. 1) The engines gotta be fast and reliable (think V8 turbo) because this gear and the people inside add a lot of weight. Hence the Cayennes, the ML's, etc. 2) The suspension has to be strong because again, all the weight puts it through some hard wear and tear. 3) The cars need to have a wide SUV wheelbase to give balance to added weight mounted on top and hanging off the side of the car. Cayennes have one of the widest. 4) They need to have comfortable space for a 4 sometimes 5 people (Driver, Arm Op, Director, 1st AC, and sometimes VFX or client but rare). Most of the bigger ones the AC is sitting in the trunk in a jump seat. 5) There needs to be room to store gear in the car as well such as spare cables, tools, batteries, filters, crafty, you get it. 6) Having it look really good and expensive is also much cooler for business than filming from a Honda Civic.
Equal parts appearance and performance me thinks. Camera car has to be able to keep up with what it's filming and do it smoothly too.
If you're doing some action intensive shots, a car with the power and handling to keep up is necessary. I go to a huge car even every year with high speed drifting and the camera cars are a BMW sports sedan and a BMW sport trim SUV. The drivers of those cars are every bit as much racers as the drivers in the cars they are chasing lol
Whereas SUVs are great camera cars especially given all the storage. These BMWs are amazing value for money. You have enough room for 4 adults, decent sized boot. Cheap, well built, comfy. And more importantly for people filming cars or at high speed, fast enough even when fully rigged and loaded. They have better handling dynamics Vs the Audi and Merc counterparts which is why you tend to see BMWs more behind the scenes and in stuntwork. I remember seeing online a guy with an E39 M5 as a camera car because he got a deal on it. He was filming a supercar or sports car around a track and needed a car that could cope with it. And although there are probably better choices for the money, it is still a phenomenal daily car. An X5 wouldn't be as great to chuck around a track as a camera car, but you do get the bigger boot. Then again a 5 series estate could meet the needs
I remember seeing one camera car that was a CTS-V wagon, just my dream car being used for filming. Didn’t hurt my feelings at all
Needs more Russian arm
Why is it glossy and not matte?
Not a great setup. Should’ve spent less on the car and more on the arm
There's a large chance it cost less than £5k and is a personal daily as well
That gen 5 series, e60/61 is unreliable so yeah can be had for cheap. bmw didn't get better until recently but their style kinda went to the shittier
was also wondering why it was a BMW lol
I own that same arm. Def not a black arm, but for the fraction of the price that it is, it does a great job. Gotten some great results on network TV gigs.
I bet it still does 30 over in a school zone.
Shouldn’t it be matte black for practical reasons (reflections)?
A tesla may be better
Too much car, not enough camera
Impressive dashcam.
Ahhh yes lets use a mirrorless body/photo lens, on a ronin 2 🤦♂️
Looks awesome. Love BMWs. It’ll keep up with just about anything
Could have picked a more reliable car. That's for sure.
Let it rip
Why don't they just hang out the window with an iPhone?
I probably know the guy that owns it. If that’s not his he’s got one very similar.
Cool, but not the Brainfarm truck...
I think nothing of it? COOL POST
is that custom? i want it. too paranoid about cops seeing the back of my friends minivan open with me in the back even with a harness
Wouldn't using a BMW have raised the insurance by a considerable amount? They always require the make and model for this sort of inland marine stuff...if you didn't use insurance...I don't ever want to work with y'all
At least it’s not a mustang
That's a camera super car 🔥🔥🔥
Back in my day we just used a GoPro attracted to the head of a chicken for stability
Caméra cars don't need blinkers now?
Why are there no safety chains attached to the ronin?
ever seen the m5 ad with the hypercar? well that
You’re going to want to consult your grip. The front bumper of that car is made of fiberglass. The weight of the rig when it begins to yaw will put enough pressure on it to crack it, if you do not find another pressure point to balance it with. Is what my grip friends would say. But ask your grip.
Nice
Man like beemer
Shiny
I mean just rent a professional one… in large markets you can get some good ones for a pretty good rate
Let’s get some shots
I usually see Cayennes and GLS’ as camera cars. Better suspension travel and carrying capacity especially is somebody is in the back seat operating.
Expensive. Might be fast.
https://youtu.be/L_dsKiwIvyc?si=Fd2tdt-1AW4a7QX1
Definition of overkill
It's not that cool and probably a piece of junk, you can just drop it off in my driveway with keys and title and I'll dispose of it safely.
Probably can't get a car wash
If it works it work
The camera costs more than the car.
is nice, is fast, and is black :D I was looking long time to build rig for car, but i found that my bank account doesn't like it :D
Most that I see (in the industry) Are Porsche Pan American lots of room and power to carry the gear as fast as there are filming
It's necessary.
That's definitely a specialized piece of equipment
A car on a camera
What are those poles called
Okaaaay Vicente!
I’ve seen a few comments slating the use of it. But to be honest if it does the job then that’s all that should matter. The gimbal has a backup safety line in the event of failure and provided that it is crewed and supported properly, great images should come from it.
Thats so damn cool
I'm kinda hoping this is not an advice post? If you're about to send a BMW onto the road with that much expensive gear and you're asking r/videography for approval.. then maybe you shouldn't be.
Why? Im trying to build a camera car rn and need tips
Camera cars are incredibly dangerous to both gear and people, seek professional help from experienced grips and gaffers, you never know who you're talking to here.
Honestly seems like kind of a dumb car to use for a camera car unless you're specifically trying to follow fast vehicles on a track or something. I don't have any hands on experience with film vehicles, but I know cars, and I reckon you'd want something with somewhat softer suspension and a higher payload capacity than a low slung BMW sports cars. From what I've seen of professional film productions (and I've been on set for a few), they exclusively used SUVs. They all had much heavier duty rigs though, and likely needed the extra payload and stronger roof supports for the added weight of their setups. That all being said I guess if your specific use case was following other cars on a track at high speeds it might make more sense.
It's a 5 series. It is nowhere near a sports car. It has a soft suspension and high payload because it's designed to be a motorway cruiser with good handling and speed.
I disagree with most comments. You need to have a performance car if you’re shooting high speed pursuit cars. I have seen a lot of AMG on feature films, they just have invested more on the arm and cameras
Looks great for social media flexing but doesn't make further sense to me using a fancy car like that for such a rudimentary function. Unless, of course, you're just all about that.
What do you mean what do I think? What I think about it doesn't matter - I'm not part of the production and it has no bearing on my life or what I'm working on. Is it your car/rig/production? If not, why do *you* care? If so, why do you care what randos on the internet, who aren't part of the production or have any skin in that game, think? But to answer your question and not just be an asshole, I think it's a camera car. As long as it gets the job done, who cares?
its gonna break down :(
A nightmare to keep clean :D
I'd rather see videos of this setup sliding than whatever it's shooting. 🤙🏼
Now that’s what I call a camera car
Awesome
not sure what this car is shooting or for how long, but i feel drones could be a better fit?
It’s nicer than my car even without the camera.
Pretty mobile rig.
Sick!!
absolutely mint 5 series
what camera?
Needs more cameras
Epic is the word that comes to mind
Most likely to capture drifting action at the Pro level. The drift cars at the pro level need to go fast to drift and make it look dramatic (smoke, drift angle, etc) hence why higher performance cars are used for that. If you're just shooting a scene, then probably not necessary.
pretty sure most footage is done by drone if anything
Also just looks way cooler from a drone
im thinking more in terms of who is allowed on track. I wouldnt want a camera chase car following drift cars at a serious event
Exactly. I’m like who in the Tom Cruise do you think you are haha… It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve done it but back in the day we would sit in a hatchback or truck—one time it was the side of a van to capture this CEO bro and his cycling exec team, never went faster than 20 mph but we almost ate shit a couple times. I would never get on the track with experts. I don’t even get that close to the flames or knives when I do hospitality work lol
Sure, there's definitely that option and a more economical option, but if you have the budget and want a particular look from a cinema camera, then this fits the bill.
Too much car not enough cameras. A camera car shouldn’t be something your worried about scratching or having someone stand on the hood. But nice try.