Just remembered a point you missed, JG- the fact that Baby Driver was in Atlanta- while you got the eastern location that many will be familiar with, you totally missed the GRM noted richness of Craigslist Atlanta- which has become quite similar to the Answer as a highlight here....
Just a quick note of thanks - JG, I really appreciate the invitation to be on the show. When I stumbled upon the grm forum, it was amazingly therapeutic; here was a gaggle of like-minded folks when I had felt like a lone sheep in the desert :)
Contrary to my experience with baby driver, I (and 99.7% of all stunt performers) generally are not sought after when the job is finished. And I like it that way - I'm blessed with a great job.
So I probably won't make it to any film festivals any time soon. But you'd better believe I'll take you up on the offer!
alfadriver wrote:
Just remembered a point you missed, JG- the fact that Baby Driver was in Atlanta- while you got the eastern location that many will be familiar with, you totally missed the GRM noted richness of Craigslist Atlanta- which has become quite similar to the Answer as a highlight here....
We actually talked about that a bit in the preshow, we just weren't able to get around to it in our allotted time. And, yeah, the fact that it was shot in Atlanta wasn't lost on me at all. It was cool seeing areas I recognized, and just cool seeing the location provide a different backdrop for the type of movie that's usually set in LA, New York, or Vancouver pretending to be LA or New York. Don't get me wrong, those cities have some iconic landscapes—and who doesn't love a good car chase through the LA flood control channels—but seeing something both different and recognizable was a treat.
PS: There's a legitimate business case to be made for opening one of those 'Exotic Car Driving Experience' type deals, but instead you let people drive hot rods in the LA river.
jfryjfry wrote:
Just a quick note of thanks - JG, I really appreciate the invitation to be on the show. When I stumbled upon the grm forum, it was amazingly therapeutic; here was a gaggle of like-minded folks when I had felt like a lone sheep in the desert :)
Contrary to my experience with baby driver, I (and 99.7% of all stunt performers) generally are not sought after when the job is finished. And I like it that way - I'm blessed with a great job.
So I probably won't make it to any film festivals any time soon. But you'd better believe I'll take you up on the offer!
Thanks so much man. I really appreciate those rare occasions that my car nerd and film nerd sides get to work together for a common cause.
You might not have been around the board long enough to know this, but I have a little side hustle building low-cost motion and mounting gear for indie filmmakers. Basically affordable, portable, adjustable dollies that let grassroots filmmakers put a little motion in their shots for a fraction of the cost of pro gear. We've sold like 3000 of the things all over the world to everyone from students to CBS Sports. So I'm a bit of a dork for a well-moved camera. The insane steadicam, Edge, and rig shots in Baby Driver—and your ability to work in such harmony with those operators—made for a pretty special experience at the theater.
Thanks so much for being a part of the show, and a part of the scene here.
jfryjfry wrote:
Just a quick note of thanks - JG, I really appreciate the invitation to be on the show. When I stumbled upon the grm forum, it was amazingly therapeutic; here was a gaggle of like-minded folks when I had felt like a lone sheep in the desert :)
Contrary to my experience with baby driver, I (and 99.7% of all stunt performers) generally are not sought after when the job is finished. And I like it that way - I'm blessed with a great job.
So I probably won't make it to any film festivals any time soon. But you'd better believe I'll take you up on the offer!
I have a friend of mine that's not much of a car person, but she's a huge movie fan, and she's now seen Baby Driver 4 times. She loves it. One of her comments was that the cars were normal cars, not like sports cars and muscle cars most car chase movies use. It did not go unnoticed to her at least. I enjoyed it quite a bit as well. Having a non-CG car chase was epic! I think you've now gone to the top of having everyone on here's dream job!
Copying this from the other thread that's apparently been abandoned:
Just watched the recording. A couple of questions for jfryjfry:
How do the biscuit rig controls connect? Is it drive-by-wire?
How do you attach the car to the biscuit rig?
I've always wondered about what mods are done to the Russian Arm vehicle with its ultra-high CoG. I'm guessing beefy sway bars are standard. Do you know if they use hard springs or do they have to keep them soft to keep the picture smooth? Do they go all-out and put FRICS on them?
In reply to GameboyRMH:
You would love to check these things out! The pod is just bolted to the top, often using the roof rack mounting points. They used to cage the cars and bolt to that but have realized that was overkill.
They can be drive by wire or direct mechanical or hydraulic or a combo. They used to have ujoints and shafts going down the apillar and connecting to the rack but now it's hydraulic. Usually the feel is pretty vague and not self-centering. Sometimes there is slop in there as well. These are not fun to drive. At all.
But some of them feel great and it is not a hindrance.
The shifting is usually left alone and has to be done by a person in the car. Sometimes the ignition also falls into this category.
Brakes can be done with a mc and hydraulic unit on the pod with brake lines running down and a vacuum line running up. They can also use a hydraulic cylinder mounted on the stock brake that is actuated by a master on the pod.
Overall, they are surprisingly stable, although they really need good anti-sway bars and springs to cope with the weight and raised cg.
The camera cars have all the stability and vibration control built into the head that the camera mounts onto.
I can't speak to the current fleet of vehicles but the older ones definitely have power, brake and suspension improvements.
They are very impressive vehicles but only as good as their drivers, arm operators, etc...
As far as the biscuit rig goes, the cars or bucks (stripped out cars) are usually bolted down. They make mounting bosses on the car that line up with some of the myriad of mounting holes on the rig. They can also be ratchet-strapped, or a combination.
I need to get a picture of that thing up on my Instagram. It's a vicious beast :)
In reply to jfryjfry:
Have you had the opportunity to try out The Mill's Blackbird rig yet?
It seems like it's usefulness would be a bit, I want to say suspect but that's not quite right, limited for action sequence type items.
Still would be interested to hear what it's like vs the biscuit rigs or if it's even a viable replacement since such a huge deal was made out of it.
In reply to The0retical:
I don't have any firsthand experience with it but Robert Nagle who helped design and drives the biscuit rig was involved with the blackbird. Sounds capable and allows for very cool stuff but has limitations and extra costs.
Time will tell if it becomes something that is used a lot or just does a few things.
Just saw the movie. Indeed, it is great. I am commenting so I can more easily find the video in the future. Cheers!
Hey thanks for answering my questions jfryjfy. Saw the movie on the weekend, don't think I've ever seen a musical action movie before Great movie, and it easily earns a spot in the car chase pantheon.
Just watched this Jeffry. Man, that's some good driving. Great movie too. Your name was pretty darn high in the credits too.
Ha! Funny to see this resurrected. Appreciate the props
In other news I will be at the auto show in Plano tx next week driving some cars but probably with some down time so if anyone is out there, let me know!