Does anyone know an effective way to film somebody getting hit by a car. Obviously I dont plan to take out my actors (just yet), so I am looking for ay advice/tutorials/tips or even original ideas on how to make an effective hit. Ideally I want a Meet Joe Black style shot, but probarbly will scrap that since it would cost too much. Any help would be appreaciated.

A pretty simple way to do this: Using a static shot, Film your actor doing whatever it is they're supposed to do before they get hit by the car, then have them act out as if they were getting hit by a car whenever the contact is supposed to happen. Then, without moving the camera film a car speeding through the area that the actor was standing in. Overlay the two clips in a NLE with the Car footage on top, using a travelling matte. About one frame before the Car looks like it will actually come in contact with the pedestrian, individually export every remaining frame from both clips and digitally and open them all in photoshop. Digitally move the actor out of the frame along with the car as if he is being pushed by the car. If he bends the right way when you shoot the footage this should make it look like he's being hit.

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I don't want FOP godammit, I'm a Dapper Dan Man.

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if your not too picky about the guy actually being hit. You can have sumone stand/run in front of a speeding car and have the car stop before it hits your person. Then move the camera inside the car and film ,through the windshield, the person jumping onto the hood.
in editing you show the car approaching, then switch to the interior shot of the guy jumping on the hood, and you got yerself a cheaters hit and run.

why cant your actor just get hit by the car? Thats what i do all the time. The only draw back is that you loose an actor in the process. What i do is get someone at school that no one will notice if there gone or not.

Hope this helps.

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Alex Conway,
STOP SIGN RUN Productions

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible" - Jonathan Swift

Here's a cheap way:
Have the camera on a tripod, have your actor walk/run into the street, then replace exactly where your actor was standing with a dummy. Have a car hit the dummy at 60mph, then, while editing, cut from the real life actor reacting to the car to the half-second the dummy gets hit. If the cut is really quick and really unexpected, people won't so much notice it's a dummy.

Hope you dont mind, but I copied and pasted this from another similar topic. Just insert whomever you want to hit in the girls position.

First off, your not going to hit a girl with a car. Not really. You cant. That is not a stunt to be messed around with by amatuers. Serious injury, and even death can occur.

There is good news though. Creative shooting and editing will save the day. Just off the top of my head, here is my idea on how to go about it.

Girl walks into street, and we can see the car conming toward her,
cut to
POV of car (you have the camera come toward her, she looks at it scarred)
cut to
Person in car slamming on brakes.
cut to
If you place the camera behind the car, and see it skidding to a stop then have the girl fall into the foreground it will look like the car hit her, she was thrown over the top and lands on the pavment behind it. This way the girl can stand by the camera, and then drop only a foot or so into frame. Add a big thud crash sound effect, and some screeching brakes and your good.

much safer, equally effective. Good luck.
R. Michael

"Luck, is when opportunity, meets preperation." "There are 3 sides to every story. Yours, mine, and the truth, and none of us are lying" -Robert Evans

People were joking around about actually hitting someone with a car. I have some friends that actually did this for their movie and the actor couldn't finish the movie and their car was ALL banged up (broken windshield, dented hood) and so on. The car only hit the guy at like 20 mph but he was still pretty messed up (He bashed his head.) The footage looked incredible, but the consequences were dire. I do not reccomend this strategy.

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I don't want FOP godammit, I'm a Dapper Dan Man.

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ya I'd suggest just trying to film it creatively. Pretty much what Tizzy said, just show a reaction from the actor, maybe the car's POV. You could even have it where you show the car about to hit the actor, and then show the reaction of a witness shocked by what he/she has just seen. Then afterwards show the results.

Take it from the man. This would be the best, most inexpensive, suspense building way to do it. Sometimes the best way to build suspense is to not show it. i.e.-"Signs"

"Pain is temporary, Film is forever"-Peter Jackson