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Filming Car Commercials Isn't As Easy As You Think: Video

Kurt Ernst

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Kurt has been fascinated by anything with wheels and a motor for a long time. Growing up, he spent his spare time turning wrenches and pumping gas in... More

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1,583 views Nov 18, 2011

Filming the latest Mercedes-Benz ML 350 commercial.

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Car commercials are chock full of powerful imagery. Most feature scenes of the open road, or of endless sweepers through a mountain canyon with nary another car in sight (unless, of course, it’s from the same manufacturer).

While the resulting car-commercial video is always visually appealing, most consumers have no idea how expensive, difficult and downright dangerous it is to film vehicles in motion. As the Mercedes-Benz video below shows, filming an on-the-road car commercial is a complex ballet between stunt driver, chase driver and camera crew, often executed above posted speed limits and with zero margin for error.

Even the slightest miscue can result in a blown shot, which requires both the star vehicle and the chase vehicle to begin the shot over. When you throw in ever-changing lighting (that’s suitable for filming only during certain hours), you begin to get an idea of just how difficult (and expensive) it is to produce a one minute car commercial.

Despite the risks and the hassles, we’re convinced that chase drivers have the best job in the entire world. Check out the video below, which shows a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG chasing a new ML 350 down a mountain road, and tell us if you agree.