Three days prior to this we'd had XCAR's biggest shoot to date, the
BMW roadster film. Despite each of those cars being magnificent in their
own right, it arguably worked as a dress rehearsal for this day. We has
the same location of Castle Combe, the same video crew of four, but
this time, three cars: the Ford GT, GT40 and GT70.
Needless to say this was no ordinary day. Every roadworthy Ford to
have the honour of the GT moniker bestowed upon it, here in our
presence. To our knowledge these three had never been brought together
to be filmed. The Mk III GT40 was one of seven in existence, the GT70
one of six. We were humbled to be among royalty for a day, true
unicorns.
The blanket of detailed darkening cloud ensured a dramatic backdrop as we grouped the
cars
together. We began with all three, then just the GT40 and its
modern-day relative, the GT. Attempting several different angles, nose
to nose proved to me the most striking, a fascinating insight into the
aesthetic similarities and differences between the racing legend and its
modern inspiration.
Even some light rain could not dent the camaraderie amongst us all, as
these machines had an infectious feel on the mood and buoyed us onward.
Opening both GT40 and GT up, the engine bay and the bonnet, was a dream
shot. I love when supercars do this as they appear otherworldly, out of
reach, as if they're about to take flight.
We'd brought stacks of equipment to do justice to every aspect of
these cars, as each camera is suited to a slightly different purpose.
For the static shots we had Ben on the RED armed with some fantastic
lenses. The amount of detail you can pick out is truly staggering, which
more than justified its cinematic sensor on these stratospheric
machines.
Its slow-motion capabilities were also advantageous, as you could
break down each of these cars as they glided through the frame down to
the tiniest movement, as the RED Scarlet can film 120 frames per second
at 2K (full HD). We also had Canon dSLRs and a Panasonic AF101 as
assisting cameras, again with the lenses creating beautiful images, but
with rolling shutter perhaps not as suited to capturing fast movement.
With more cameramen than cars, you might think this day was a breeze,
but we needed to split the team up and ensure everyone was working at
full capacity while taking into account the time, as on days like these
everything is over before you've even gotten into your stride.
Individual details needed to be so thorough, as each car is from a
completely different era and designed for different purposes, each
exterior and interior so unique. While two of us toiled away on this
enviable and infinite task (the more beautiful the car, the harder it is
to pull yourself away -- I could spend the entire day without turning
the key), the other two focused on capturing the movement and sound of
each.
Sound is an aspect often overlooked or under-appreciated, but it is the
difference between a bad and good film. It can be easy to get distracted
by what you see and overlook the sound, but it's just as important and
in the case of cars arguably more difficult to capture.
The GT40's 4.7-litre V8 pumped out a symphony audible throughout the
circuit, it echoed for miles and provided the most pleasant soundtrack
to work alongside. This is a noise you want to do justice, but picking
it up is fairly tricky. The exhaust is the place to be but too close and
the noise will overwhelm the mic no matter how low you get your levels.
And it will melt. As you can imagine, these things run fairly warm. You
also have to remember the wind at these kinds of speeds can become
overpowering, especially in the turbulent air behind the car. Gaffer
tape is most definitely your friend in this instance; it was a case of
trial and error to get the perfect mic placement that allowed us to add
some great sound to complement the drama of the visuals.
As you can see from the above, just one small aspect of the film
isn't the quickest to capture. Setup changes are often lengthy and
cannot be rushed, especially when you realise the cost and rarity of the
vehicles being handled.
The day did not go without incident. The Ford heritage shed is
fantastic at making sure these cars are in good working condition, they
want them to be appreciated out on the road and track where they belong
rather than covering dust in a shed. But the mileage and wear that these
classics have invariably gone through does make the occasional hiccup
unavoidable. The GT70, designed primarily for rallying, had a racing
clutch that tended to cause the odd stall. However, after initially
running fine, it decided not to start without a booster. As there was
also not much sound deadening inside, it made hearing Alex in the
interior pieces very difficult and the balance of being able to hear him
and not blowing out the sound was a fine one.
It was with 45 minutes left that our mettle was truly tested when the
throttle cable decided to come loose on the GT40, with a drag-race
feature and passing shots of the cars yet to shoot. Fortunately Ford's
talented engineers were on hand and did a remarkable job of getting it
running, though by the time the problem was fixed, we had 10 minutes to
set up and film the drag race, meaning we had just one shot and needed
to maximise every angle to get the coverage we needed. This epitomises a
filming day, all the meticulous planning went out of the window.
Although the final product may look effortless, it is often anything
but, yet having seen this project from the initial conception to
completion, it went as close to the plan as it could. Not only that, but
to have driven and been immersed for a day in each one of these living
legends, to have seen the faces throughout of all involved, the
excitement and the passion that we all hope transmitted through the
final product. It may come across as hopelessly cliche, but it was an
honour none of us will ever forget. I finished the day exhausted and
beaten, but it felt like anything but work.
