Need some help and advice about building a rig, Automotive rigs style Options

[RS4]

Well I have been very interested in rigs and I decided I should build one. I used the automotive rigs idea (see pictures). I am now building the whole thing and it should be ready in a few days. I have just one problem - the connectin between the rig and the car. I have looked at the underbody of many cars and suvs and no two are the same. At first I was thinking that I would make some kind of clap, but that just wont work. Therefore I think I may need to use magnets. What type should I use? How can I connect the magnets to the rig? I cant weld the magnets so how is it done? Can I buy a magnet with a hole that I can put a screw in? What kind of magnets should I use? Where can I buy them? How can I attach them to my rig? How can I get strong magnets off the car? How many do I need? Is there a better idea than a magnet?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Any help would be great.

Thanks.

[Andrew Ball]

well i dont know much about shooting with rigs but i do know a lot of fabrication and bolting the rig tot he car would be the only way i would do it. Clamps will work if you do it properly. you would have to fab some arms that come off teh rig to bolt to different areas. they would be adjustable and could go any where really. with a number of different bolt patters and such. even arms with 2-3 maybe even 4 very strong magnets on each foot would work. They do make magnets that can be screwed to things so this would work.

I dont know how the rigs companies make are attached but i do know that photographers in general are not the kind of people that could take an engine apart and put it back together. So fabricating a rig and mounting isnt thier field.

I suggest leaving it to a professional. Camera equipment is too expensive to risk. unless you really know what you are doing and have help.

Problem with magnets is modern cars arent al made of steel. Some are mostly Aluminum and their undercoating and sound deadening would make a magnet absolutely useless.

[D.Freeman]

I can sorta help with this. Magnets are very tough to use, most modern cars are aluminium or plastic underneath. The best way to go is to use suction cups, they are easier to attach, although they are harder to remove in PS.
Hope this helps a bit

[RS4]

As for help I am getting help. As for the magnets if they really are so strong how do I get them off the car? I need a system that can qucikly be mounted on any car. I love the automotive rig (the one in the pictures I posted) and I would really like to make one. However if I cant make a system that can work on 99% of cars then I won`t make it. So all in all a clap is better than a magnet for this type of rig?

thaks.

[D.Freeman]

I would recommend suction cups. All in all, they are better overall.

This pic should give you all the info you need

[Andrew Ball]

I would recommend suction cups. All in all, they are better overall.

This pic should give you all the info you need

to someone like me that looks like a photoshop nightmare.

But yeah like most have said that suction cup system is probably the easiest and quickest way to remove and attach it as well as fit on all cars.

how do you get strong magnets off? You pull on them, very hard.

[Mazdaspeed]

lol i imagine the magnets have a lever on them to force them off

[WardLarson]

I'd use suction cups, can't imagine it being easy to convince someone with a $100,000 car to allow you to attach high-power magnets to their car (with or without a towel under it)

[PDJ-PHOTO.COM]

First of all, number your questions and dont repeat them , jk, lol. I´ve got a rig w magnets, and can tell u, u cant use them in 99% of all cars. 1st, because in some modern cars its difficult to fing steal parts to attach it and 2nd, cause if u are looking for supercars, most of them are really low...
About the suction cups, they are really difficult to remove on photoshop, and maybe u can find some problems w the owners. I dont think a owner of a Enzo would be very happy seeing suction cups on the hood....

Sometimes i think "car to car"pics are easier, but u cant have so nice and xtreme angles... Its a difficult topic, about magnets check a topic about rigs on this forum, there are some links there... Hope this can help u and sorry for my "english".

[Andrew Ball]

I'd use suction cups, can't imagine it being easy to convince someone with a $100,000 car to allow you to attach high-power magnets to their car (with or without a towel under it)

um magnets would go on the bottom of the car genius.

[RS4]

Just an idea I got - don`t all cars have 4 mounting points for a jack? Can`t I connect the rig with a screw or a clamp to the jack mounting points?

[Andrew Ball]

Just an idea I got - don`t all cars have 4 mounting points for a jack? Can`t I connect the rig with a screw or a clamp to the jack mounting points?

no because these locations are just stronger metal. its just thicker or reinforced. its not a special design that you could connect anything to.

[RS4]

so there is now easy way to mount a rig under a car?

should I try and build a rig with cups and is mounted on the cars bodywork?

[D.Freeman]

From my understanding, that is the easiest method, although its harder to remove in PS

[Dejan Sokolovski]

I'm also "trying" to build a rig.. but I dont know where to start.. I doubt the magnest I've got will hold the magic arm which weights around 1kg or a little more + camera and lens, all in all maybe 2.5-3kg's, and on top of that a pole or something of aluminum or other material which is around 2.5meter....

So I'm trying to figure out other ways, suction cups will be a ass to remove in PS I guess, but is there ANY other method? or is the suction cups the only way to go for some nice rig shots...

Here's a chair doing 300km/h haha, just had to test the magic arm, but I want to test on cars...

[Andrew Ball]

mounting under the car wouldn't be really hard. if you have any sort of mechanical background. if your not mechanically inclined its gonna be a night mare.

[RS4]

someone with a mechanical background is helping me make the rig.

going under the car seems to be un-do-able.

I guess I will use cups.

Any tips on building that type of rig?

[Andrew Ball]

someone with a mechanical background is helping me make the rig.

going under the car seems to be un-do-able.

I guess I will use cups.

Any tips on building that type of rig?

why is it not do-able?

for cups figure out how the weight of the camera will move. and place arms off the main beam to support that load. i know my d200 if its on a 3 feet beam is gonna need some serious support as its not light. So i would make arms that can be placed in many different positions as well as pivot as much as possible.

I think going to the underside of the car is the best option. you just have to be able to make adjustments for different cars. With a series of clamps and magnets it should be fine. And when i say clamps im talking Heavy duty hose clamps and U Bolts. Attached to the right areas of the vehicle this would work rather well and easily. but you would have to know what you were looking at under a car to use it. Otherwise you could attach it to something that isn't strong enough and you could damage your equipment or even the car.

I really want to get one of these rigs though. Maybe ill just start with a sticky pod or something

[RS4]

we start the rig build tomorrow

in order to edit out the rig i need to take a picture of the car at the same angle with and without the rig. how do I get the same angle twice?

[Andrew Ball]

we start the rig build tomorrow

in order to edit out the rig i need to take a picture of the car at the same angle with and without the rig. how do I get the same angle twice?

tripod. while the camera is on the rig set up the tripod to get it close. if you design the camera mounting system right you can hook a tripod to the camera and such without moving the camera ot the right and then once the camera is in place remove the rig from the car. Leaving some of it still attached to the camera so that you don't run the risk of moving it.

this is really easy if your making the rig.