As someone who has owned two Porsche vehicles (a Cayenne and a Carrera) I was excited when Porsche USA got in touch about “documenting the crazy folks who ride in camera cars”. My mentor and frequent subject of some of my work, Jeff Zwart, showed me how to camera operate a stabilized remote head on an early Cadillac commercial I was directing. I used to keep track of my days in an camera arm car, but once that number was over a couple months – the record keeping stopped. I love “work days” when I get to use an camera car. I truly believe it’s the ultimate ground filming platform (sorry drones).
Getting a great shot in a camera car is very rewarding. It’s highly collaborative and takes at minimum a team of 4 to operate: the driver, the arm operator, the camera operator, and the 1st AC pulling focus. Plus you need something to film – so you probably want a race car or something exciting to lead and follow around.
Ive been on commercial projects where the camera car got more attention and photos taken of it on the street than the hero car we were filming. A matte black Porsche Cayenne with a 17ft crane and camera off of it – tends to steal the show compared to a Toyota mid sized SUV.
Thanks to Brian Cooper and his team at C&K, Porsche USA, and the Porsche Experience Center – Los Angeles for the love!