Roll 'Em! (page 2)

Taping in a vehicle means either shooting outside it or inside it. The most common inside setup is the driver from the passenger's POV. This is simple to pull off, as long as you don't brace yourself on a firm surface like the windowsill or dashboard. The big problem is matching backgrounds from one shot to the next or from interiors to exteriors. To minimize background importance, you might try these techniques:

• Shoot from a slightly low angle to get as much sky (and as little street or road) as possible.
• Frame off the windshield. Scenery is more blurred when whizzing by the side.
• Use a neutral density filter, which will let you widen the aperture, which ultimately helps to throw the background out of focus.

For a reverse angle on the front seat passenger, you must put the camcorder near where the driver should be. Check the sidebar for a safe way to do this.

When shooting the world through a vehicle window, the big problem is reflections. This is especially true in a train or tour bus with fixed windows. Again, a circular polarizer will help tame reflections. For tinted windows, set the white balance through the window if you can. When you can open a window or sunroof, just follow good hand-holding practice and don't touch vibrating surfaces (which is just about anything in a moving vehicle).

A monopod rig is good for safely moving the camcorder outside the car, most often to avoid including the car in the shot. You can also get closeups of the front wheels steering madly on corkscrew roads and similar dramatic effects. To preserve your camcorder, it's absolutely essential to fit a clear glass filter on your lens. If you've ever had a stone hit your windshield, you'll understand why.

Finally, forget about stunts like shooting from the bed of a pickup truck at all but the slowest speeds. It's very unsafe unless you've been secured with a professional restraining belt and even then, most police officers take a dim view of these hijinks. If you need more flexibility than you can achieve from inside the car, consider getting a car camera mount system.

Contributing Editor Jim Stinson is the author of the book Video Communication and Production.

With a monopod and an LCD monitor, you can position your camcorder where it would be otherwise unsafe. You can also extend your reach up to six feet for all kinds of other difficult setups. If your vision is good enough, you might be able to get by on many shots using your camcorders included LCD. For a more professional setup, you can buy a separate little LCD monitor with input jacks for remote monitoring. Inexpensive models are available and some portable DVD players even have input jacks.

Whatever your transportation you use, you'll often be hand-holding your shot. Here's a recipe for smooth shots:

• Set the lens to extreme wide angle, to minimize jiggles.
• Use lens stabilization if you have it.
• Turn your arms into shock absorbers by holding elbows relaxed and away from your sides.
• Use the external LCD view screen, for flexibility and to keep your forehead from bonking into the camcorder.
• When tracking subjects at a fixed distance, get a focus and lock it, to prevent passing objects from grabbing the autofocus away from your subject.

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