Why are car chases so slow?
March 9, 2010 6:36 PM Subscribe
Why are car chases on TV so slow nowadays?
I can remember as a kid cars flying off buildings and going at crazy speeds on shows like Miami Vice and Chips. Now it seems like they never go above 80 km/h (45–50 mph). Is there a new regulation that forbids driving on sets over a certain speed without paying a tonne of extra money?
They seem to mask it with lots of moving cameras and quick edits to other drivers but it looks dead boring. I'm thinking of shows like NCIS, CSI, etc.
I can remember as a kid cars flying off buildings and going at crazy speeds on shows like Miami Vice and Chips. Now it seems like they never go above 80 km/h (45–50 mph). Is there a new regulation that forbids driving on sets over a certain speed without paying a tonne of extra money?
They seem to mask it with lots of moving cameras and quick edits to other drivers but it looks dead boring. I'm thinking of shows like NCIS, CSI, etc.
You could ask at the mildly unsettling Movie Car Chase Database whether they've noticed the same phenomenon. It might be confirmation bias - have you watched Miami Vice recently?
posted by zamboni at 6:45 PM on March 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by zamboni at 6:45 PM on March 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm not willing to necessarily automatically agree with you but it may be reflecting the fact that in reality police policy generally forbids crazy fast chases.
posted by mmascolino at 6:45 PM on March 9, 2010
posted by mmascolino at 6:45 PM on March 9, 2010
They never went that fast. You undercrank the camera to make the car look like it's going faster. Speed onscreen is a stylistic decision, not a production one.
posted by musofire at 6:46 PM on March 9, 2010
posted by musofire at 6:46 PM on March 9, 2010
In addition, I'm betting that your child brain was filling in chases to make them seem much faster.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:09 PM on March 9, 2010
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:09 PM on March 9, 2010
regarding the Not True link:
While Friedkin contends the front-bumper shot is made at speeds of "up to 90mph," director of photography Owen Roizman, wrote in American Cinemataographer magazine in 1972 that the camera was undercranked to 18 frames per second to enhance the sense of speed. Roizman's contention is borne out when you see a car at a red light whose muffler is pumping smoke at an accelerated rate.
posted by edgeways at 8:08 PM on March 9, 2010
While Friedkin contends the front-bumper shot is made at speeds of "up to 90mph," director of photography Owen Roizman, wrote in American Cinemataographer magazine in 1972 that the camera was undercranked to 18 frames per second to enhance the sense of speed. Roizman's contention is borne out when you see a car at a red light whose muffler is pumping smoke at an accelerated rate.
posted by edgeways at 8:08 PM on March 9, 2010
There's genuine speed in The 7-Ups (1973). Check out the suspension bounce, particularly the big turns onto the bridge at around 5:35.
posted by philip-random at 11:37 PM on March 9, 2010
posted by philip-random at 11:37 PM on March 9, 2010
^1973 isn't "nowadays." Human Target on Fox has some good car chase scenes, although they're generally in cities & not high speed. Definitely drama filled, though.
posted by torquemaniac at 10:33 AM on March 10, 2010
posted by torquemaniac at 10:33 AM on March 10, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by carlh at 6:43 PM on March 9, 2010