Drifting Video at Fuji Speedway

[Mark Watson]

I shot this on December 4th. It was the most fun I've had with my clothes on. Really impressed with the FDR-AX53. I used mostly two AX53s, but also had an AX100 on a tripod. The advantage of the AX53 in this type of use is that the BOSS allows me to be more mobile, shooting without my tripod, which I wouldn't have done with any other camera, as I despise shaky video. I had the AX33, but the zoom length is much better on the AX53. Please tell me what I can do to improve my videos. I plan to shoot a few more of these. I am waiting on a few more items from B&H before I begin to put mics on the cars, but that is something I am set on doing. Didn't get any on-car video this time after a failure of a new 6-inch suction mount, which can be seen flying through the air in this video (2:21), along with a FDR-X3000 action cam.

Mark

Drifting Action at Fuji Speedway Part 3 on Vimeo

[Jim Michael]

That was way cool. Nice job of tracking.

[Mark Watson]

Thanks, Jim.

[Steven Reid]

I really couldn't stop watching though I tried. Truly mesmerizing.

I don't understand why some drivers brought their nice cars: this looks like a genteel version of demolition derby, and most seemed to understand that judging by the beaters they drove.

[Mark Watson]

The gray and yellow cars were making contact regularly. I had not seen this behavior at these events before. Shortly after getting on the track, both cars stopped, side by side and had a conversation, then proceeded to stick close together, with the gray car appearing to intentionally be rubbing the side panel of the yellow car, as you can clearly see the tire marks. I think this is just their idea of making it more fun. These are guys (and gals) just out for fun. Not a pro event. Nobody is getting scored and nobody is taking home any prize money, purely an amateur event. This drifting club is called, "Chikastyle". The spectators really liked the show the two-tone green car was putting on. When his tire came apart, I went and talked to him and asked him to hurry and get back out on the track (jokingly). He changed the tire and went back out and on his first lap he ripped off his rear bumper on the tire barricade. The people loved his intensity. He's just a wild man out there. All the crashes and slip-ups made for more interesting video, IMO. Even a car that looks like a beater can have a lot of money into it. I didn't see any without a turbo, and they put a lot into getting the suspension right.

Mark

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Mark Watson

The gray and yellow cars were making contact regularly. I had not seen this behavior at these events before. Shortly after getting on the track, both cars stopped, side by side and had a conversation, then proceeded to stick close together, with the gray car appearing to intentionally be rubbing the side panel of the yellow car, as you can clearly see the tire marks. I think this is just their idea of making it more fun. These are guys (and gals) just out for fun. Not a pro event. Nobody is getting scored and nobody is taking home any prize money, purely an amateur event. This drifting club is called, "Chikastyle". The spectators really liked the show the two-tone green car was putting on. When his tire came apart, I went and talked to him and asked him to hurry and get back out on the track (jokingly). He changed the tire and went back out and on his first lap he ripped off his rear bumper on the tire barricade. The people loved his intensity. He's just a wild man out there. All the crashes and slip-ups made for more interesting video, IMO. Even a car that looks like a beater can have a lot of money into it. I didn't see any without a turbo, and they put a lot into getting the suspension right.

Mark

Thanks for the explanation! I think I couldn't stop watching because I kept wondering,"What is going to happen next?" It seemed really chaotic. I also realized that I failed to emphasize my enjoyment of your video. I learned more about drifting from that ~6 minutes than ever before. I had to laugh out loud when a guy lost his bumper, stuffed it into the backseat, and took off again. That event looked like a lot of (loud) fun.