How are car chases done?

Post Reply New Topic

I understand the concept of having the car on a trailer with multiple cameras but how are oncoming cars or alot of traffic done? Surely not CGI (they look like real cars/vehicles) Thanks.

it's all choreographed. Stunt drivers are in all of the cars that take part, and are sent at various speeds to do whatever they need done. The streets are blocked off for shooting.

nowadays, probably some of the stuff is computer-generated....

With difficulty. Remember, they have been doing car chases for a long time. It requires skill, and the right shots, but it is often done for real.

Try and get a hold of the DVDs related to The Matrix Reloaded to see how they did the Freeway Chase sequences. A surprisingly high amount was done for real, like the cars crashing after the Agent's leap, and Trinity driving the motorbike against the traffic. They even have a feature on the Ultimate Matrix Collection DVD boxset that shows the original footage, storyboards and animatics parallel to the actual movie sequence.

And if you're a Mythbusters fan, it might interest you to know that they built their freeway on the same abadoned naval base as the Mythbusters frequently use for their experiments, at Alameda, San Francisco.

That, and if you pay attention, you'll realize the cars are hardly moving...maybe not even 25 mph in some scenes.

The stripes on the road are the giveaway.

I wonder how they did the part of the motorcycle chase in the hotel lobby in Ma~ana es Para Siempre.