Job Overview
A driver is any person who drives a vehicle leased by the production,
from a big rig and trailer to the cars assigned to individual actors. Generally,
drivers are required to have a commercial driver's license. Union produc-
tions require drivers to also be a member of the Teamster's union.
Job Overview
The camera car operator drives the camera car or process trailer.
"The camera car is a specially designed vehicle, usually built on a
pickup truck chassis. It looks like a large director's set on wheels,"
explains coordinator Gary Duncan, "due to all the aluminum pipe,
known as speed rail, and camera plates and mounts. The purpose is so
you can mount a camera anywhere onto the camera car. The camera oper-
ator, the director of photography, the camera assistant, and the director
can ride on the vehicle while operating the camera and looking at video
monitors to make sure they are capturing the actual moving shot they
need. If you're following a kid on a skateboard or a person on horseback,
the camera car moves down the street alongside. The camera car driver is
responsible for maintaining the speed that the kid on the skateboard is
maintaining, so that the camera operator can keep the camera focused on
the kid without a lot of forward or backward movement in the frame.
That is called free running: the camera car is moving and your subject is
moving. You try to stay in a tandem speed, as if you are attached."
The camera car is also equipped with a tow bar to pull the picture car
behind, so that the camera can look directly into the car and film the
talent as though they are driving. "The actors do their dialogue with the
background moving, as if it were an actual car driving down the road."
The process trailer is a flatbed trailer pulled behind the camera car,
and carries the picture car the talent is riding in. It enables the camera
crew to shoot directly into the front window of the car. "A good example
of this is Driving Miss Daisy or Thelma and Louise. Those two movies made
extensive use of picture cars sitting on the process trailer and being
towed by the camera car."
JOB TITLE: CAMERA CAR OPERATOR
AND PICTURE CAR COORDINATOR
JOB TITLE: DRIVER, TRANSPORTATION
DEPARTMENT
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