Solana Productions, Inc. was recently hired by Ford to shoot on-the-road footage of concept cars to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show.
January 16, 2006 (Press Release) --
Solana Productions, Inc. was recently hired by Ford to shoot on-the-road footage of concept cars to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show. The project began with site surveys to find neighborhoods closely matching the demographics of the potential customers. For Lincoln, this meant upscale, established and wealthy. In other cases we required a younger, kid friendly, starter home look.
Further complicating the shoot was the directive to avoid showing the cars in too public a setting. The auto magazine paparazzi are on the prowl looking to get shots of the cars prior to the Auto Show. For them it’s a real coup to beat Ford to the punch. In addition there are always curious onlookers with everything from home video to cell phone cameras.
After extensive scouting in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties we were able to find isolated, yet accessible neighborhoods. In these days of gated communities just getting in can be a problem.
Because of the “guerilla” nature of the shoots we were limited to a small crew. The gaffer/grip truck footprint would just call too much attention to the cars. Beginning with interior and exterior beauty shots our crews worked the cars over.
We then moved on to driving shots. After a lot of trial and error over the years we discovered that big, open vehicles, like pickups, are not the chase cars to use. The suspension is just too stiff to get the right look. At the other end of the spectrum, SteadiCam mounts are too smooth. We leave that to the commercial film crews who later shoot the cars all over the world.
Our assignment is to get footage that looks real; real people driving in real neighborhoods. The shots are eventually used as a handout tape for television news stations covering the auto show. It provides a lot of free media coverage for Ford without them having to trot the cars out for every crew. It also makes sure that nobody spoils the surprise unveiling.
Solana Productions provides award winning video production services for broadcast, cable, corporate and Internet video productions. Visit their website at
http://www.solanaproductions.com
Further complicating the shoot was the directive to avoid showing the cars in too public a setting. The auto magazine paparazzi are on the prowl looking to get shots of the cars prior to the Auto Show. For them it’s a real coup to beat Ford to the punch. In addition there are always curious onlookers with everything from home video to cell phone cameras.
After extensive scouting in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties we were able to find isolated, yet accessible neighborhoods. In these days of gated communities just getting in can be a problem.
Because of the “guerilla” nature of the shoots we were limited to a small crew. The gaffer/grip truck footprint would just call too much attention to the cars. Beginning with interior and exterior beauty shots our crews worked the cars over.
We then moved on to driving shots. After a lot of trial and error over the years we discovered that big, open vehicles, like pickups, are not the chase cars to use. The suspension is just too stiff to get the right look. At the other end of the spectrum, SteadiCam mounts are too smooth. We leave that to the commercial film crews who later shoot the cars all over the world.
Our assignment is to get footage that looks real; real people driving in real neighborhoods. The shots are eventually used as a handout tape for television news stations covering the auto show. It provides a lot of free media coverage for Ford without them having to trot the cars out for every crew. It also makes sure that nobody spoils the surprise unveiling.
Solana Productions provides award winning video production services for broadcast, cable, corporate and Internet video productions. Visit their website at
http://www.solanaproductions.com
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