DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

Search

Submit A Story

Car Crash

These are the ways vehicles are rigged for extreme destruction in the movies

by Add Comment

There’s nothing more exciting in the middle of an action movie than some good old destruction, especially of the vehicular kind. They’re the kinds of crashes and explosions that can often make real life seem a bit boring. That’s because most vehicles these days are built to pretty high standards of safety and security. The kinds of explosions and crashes we see in movies just don’t happen in the real world.

In this video from Insider, the team at JEM FX pulls back the curtain to reveal some of the secrets they use in order to make the crashes spectacular and cinematic for the movies. Some of these have been well-popularised in behind-the-scenes videos from movies, but this video really breaks things down – both figuratively and literally – to show just how choreographed and well planned out these crashes really are.

[Read More…]

Photographer nearly killed by semi-truck while shooting a car crash in the fog

by 2 Comments

While news photographer Caleb Holder was covering a car crash this weekend, little did he knew that another accident was about to happen. A semi-truck came out of the fog while Holder was shooting; if flipped on the side, missing the photographer by a whisker. And it was all caught on camera.

[Read More…]

This dramatic photo series shows why it’s important to wear a seatbelt [graphic content]

by 11 Comments

I don’t know about your country, but people in mine often wear a seatbelt only in order not to pay a ticket. However, being financially fined is definitely not the worst thing that can happen if you don’t buckle up. In fact, wearing a seatbelt can make a difference between life and death. Clemenger BBDO Wellington, a New Zealand-based creative marketing and advertising firm, decided to point it out in a series of moving, powerful portraits of crash survivors.

Teaming up with the New Zealand Transport Agency, Clemenger BBDO Wellington created a series of powerful portraits named Belted Survivors. It’s followed by stories from the people who wouldn’t be here if there weren’t for a seatbelt.

[Read More…]

This look inside the IIHS shows us what it takes to make crash test photography for cars

by Add Comment

This video from the Insuurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) takes us behind the scenes to see their camera rigs for shooting video and stills of car crashes. The footage and photos they produce are used to help make vehicles safer in the event of a crash, but it’s also used a lot for other research and it’s even appeared in movies.

It takes a whole lot of rather technical planning and preparation to get each shot and to be able to repeat it with multiple vehicles over a period of time. Every camera is calibrated, measured and positioned very exactly to be able to reproduce the same shot days or even months apart.

[Read More…]

Photographer gets hit by rally car while standing outside of the corner

by 2 Comments

A recent video from Sno*Drift rally shows why you should never, ever stand outside of a corner while a race is active. On Friday, Photographer G David LeClair was hit by a racing car while standing outside of a corner during the race. On Special Stage 2 of the rally, one of the racers lost control over his car. The car started sliding on the icy road and hit the photographer.

Since there were spectators with their phones and cameras, the accident was recorded. Keep in mind that these videos show the moment when the photographer was hit, so viewer discretion is advised.

[Read More…]

Test show that an airbag will smash your camera into your face rather than protect you

by 10 Comments

Filming from moving vehicles has been happening for as long as movies and vehicles have existed. But with the rise of movies such as the Fast & Furious series, it’s becoming more common. Not just in Hollywood, but amongst new filmmakers and even vloggers. And if they’re using something larger than a phone, they’ll usually have a second person in the passenger seat filming.

But what happens to the passenger in the event of a crash when the airbag is deployed? That was the question asked by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). It was put to the test and answered by Dr Cynthia Bir at the University of Southern California, and the results are pretty devastating. It’s not just the camera guy that’s put at huge risk, but the driver, too.

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts