car Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Well, either it's just a coincidence or there is something to the rumor that the Bond franchise was looking for a new car for their super-spy. Market Watch reports that Ford Motor announced at a press conference today that they had sold the famed sports car unit Aston Martin to a group of investors. The consortium includes the racing mogul David Richards, and two unnamed Kuwaiti companies. It is believed that the sale was prompted by Ford to help with their struggling bottom line. Originally, the Aston Martin was part of a grouping of high-end European cars that Ford hoped would be a great source of revenue, in the end it cost them almost $2 billion -- so it looks like Ford is looking to pay off some debts (an article in The Financial Times had estimated that the sale could be worth as much as $868 million).

Rumors had surfaced about the switch not too long ago, and the sale of Aston Martin has given some credence to the rumors that Audi was expecting to step in. Although, Ford did keep 15% of the company, so I doubt they would be willing to give up that kind of exposure, especially if they are struggling financially -- they need all the free advertising they can get. So between the sale of Ian Fleming's "Birthplace of Bond" and the deal with Aston Martin, it certainly seems that all things Bond are profitable again.

We've been getting bits and pieces about the next Bond film going all the way back to last year, and the rumor mill has never left high gear. Our cousin-blog Autoblog has a new log to throw on the fire -- they received a tip from one of those ever so helpful unnamed sources that an Audi TT was spotted with a set of 007 plates. As the story goes, the source noticed that an Audi TT had been prepared for video shooting and a driver for the shoot confirmed that the car was being used in a "James Bond Commercial." Whether that means an actual promotion for a film, or just another way to trade off the Bond glamor to hawk a few extra cars, remains to be seen.

By now I think most Bond fans are resigned to change when it comes to their beloved super spy -- although at the risk of ticking off certain Bond fans, I never quite understood why a the idea of a "Blond Bond" caused such a fuss. We've had the demise of the Cold War villains, a decrease in bed-hopping antics, and in Casino Royale there was nary a gadget to be seen, except for the glovebox defibrillator. Is a different car really that big of a deal anymore? Since Bond 22 is a long way off, we might as well sit back, relax, and watch the gossip fly.

Devon DeLapp has posted an extremely handy guide detailing how to use the "Poor Man's Process" when shooting a scene featuring actors talking to each other in a car while driving at night. You independent filmmakers, budding directors, and veteran cinematographers will find this very useful.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, a friend of mine had started work on his own independent film. We tried for days to shoot scenes inside a moving car, and realized what a headache it is. You have to not only contend with the normal elements of filmmaking like the camera, the actors, and the lighting, but you also had to try and find a way to mount the camera on the car, locate a stretch of road you can use over and over, deal with traffic, think about gas, etc. It turned into such a headache for him that he ultimately decided to have the scene set next to a parked car, rather than in a moving one.

The genius of the solution on DeLapp's journal is in the extremely low-tech methods used to simulate effects in the scene: a light pointed at a rotating mirror for passing streetlights, lights mounted on wheels moved back and forth behind the picture car for traffic, Christmas tree lights in the background as the twinkling lights of the city in the distance. These are the kinds of things that once you have them explained to you, make you slap your forehead and say, "Well duh, of course." The only thing that will make this a true poor man's process, however, is if you aren't paying your crew. It takes roughly 20 people to pull this off properly, so call in some favors and get to work.

Check out his step-by-step instructions, along with the great illustration that he drew himself!