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Topic:

Rig Shots 4: Partial Rig Shots

Author/Copyright:

John Jovic

There are basically 2 kinds of rig shots, 'Partial' or 'Full Car' (my own terminology, call them whatever you like).

Partial rig shots don't show the entire car, ie. a corner or more of the car is cropped in the frame because this is where the rig is attached and the rig needs to be hidden in the shot. These kinds of images can still be very strong images but without all the post processing required with Full Car rig shots. Partial rig shots can require a bit more care to set up the photography stage to avoid seeing parts of the rig, it's reflections or shadows in the shot which may then require removal using Photoshop or similar.

 
Although this rig is fairly elaborate it is still fairly quick to setup.  

The advantage of such a rig is that the resulting images are usually very sharp, due to the rigidity of the rig, so that it is often possible to shoot the car with the engine running. Aside from dust removal there is no need to Photoshop this kind of image as long as adequate care is taken to avoid shadows or reflections of the rig.

 
This is a quick and simple to use tripod based rig. A tripod based rig like this can easily be altered for a range of different shots.   Aside from dust removal there is no need to Photoshop this kind of image.
 
This rig is based on a typical full car boom but just shorter and with triangulation for stability. Such a rig could easily be used for video with appropriate attention given to the weight of the camera, speed and condition of the road surface.    
 
This is an example of a typical partial rig shot used as a detail shot.   And another detail shot.
 
   

 

Partial rig shots are well suited to editorial or video use because they don't require any Photoshop work to remove the rig as the rig is already hidden from view. Sometimes these rig shots are nothing more than a detail shot, such as a close up of a moving wheel, or possibly the view of the driver (from inside the car) whilst driving at night.
 

 
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