will be shooting a collision. one take.
 

hi. i am going to shoot an experiment where a truck will hit a metal post driving at 80 kmph (about 50 mph). the collision will be shot with 4 cameras.

1 - a full shot of the collision, shot at a 90 degree angle from the collision course.
2 - close-up of collision, same angle as 1.
3 - from behind the post, camera set on ground, truck moving towards camera.
4 - collision shot from high angle, camera mounted on some kind of tower above the post

the only camera which will be operated during the experiment is camera 1. all other cameras will be mounted and set in their positions and then monitored over the monitor.
the experiment will be taking place around noon, in a desert landscape, on a dirt road, which we will wet down before hand in order to minimize dust. the weather will probably be hot, sunny, close to no clouds.

i want to hook up all four cameras to a single monitor, with the option of toggling the monitor from one camera to another.

this is a one take shoot. no second takes! the truck is attached to a special vehicle which begins to accelerate. when the special vehicle reaches 80 kmps, it detaches itself from the truck and stops while the truck continues on it's collision course. a small special effect explosion will take place when truck hits post.

i've never done anything quite like this and would be happy to hear your comments, suggestions, tips, etc.

thanks.

you miss a view from the truck itself

If you have the money, a disposable camera locked off mounted on the dash would provide an interesting view. Would be great if you could mount it in a heavy duty box to provide protection, with only an open port to shoot through.

You might consider shooting at a high shutter rate to get some interesting slow motion effects in post. With the full sun you should have no problem with the high shutter rate.

When you are panning an object going at high speeds, and the object stops quickly, there is a tendency to overpan past the point of impact. Be sure to practice panning the camera, and stopping the pan quickly. (A way to aid this is to have a "spotter" stand next to the camera operator and call out, "Five, Four, Three, Two, One!", and zero is the collision, as the car speeds along. This way the operator has a good idea when to anticipate the hit.)

Again, with the camera that is panning the car, you need to decide; should the camera be set on a focal length and just pan, or, should you start tight on the car and widen as it gets closer to the post (more tricky)? My inclination would be to set your size on this camera for the hit at the post, and just "hard lens" the pan. No zooming. If you let the operator zoom, he may choke a bit and he could end up too wide or too tite.

ok, thanks. i'll check out the in-car camera option. any more ideas and/or tips?