Freewayjim In-Car Video Camera Setup

[acjhns21]

You guys both do a heck of a great job with your videos. Thank You FreewayJim and ScrewdUpClickV2, watching all of your videos and all of the info that you both provide are truly a blessing. God Speed to both of you and keep the videos coming.

[Freewayjim]

@acjhns21 Thank you!

[kadenmccombs]

nice car

[americanidol434]

cool

[albertc79]

I been thinking about doing similar videos for FL Roads, and this tutorial was a big help! Thanks FreewayJim and keep up the great work!

If you ever find yourself in the South FL area, I'd love to help you get some great vids of our roads sometime!

[Freewayjim]

@albertc79 Thanks and good luck with your videos.

[Dalaskan]

Thank you for video! I'll try set up for my car and I trip to Australia! :).

[CALZOLA]

From France :thanks to you Freewayjim ! Your videos are great. Can you tell what kind of camera do you use ?

[Freewayjim]

@CALZOLA Thanks, I use a Sony HDR-HC9 Camera.

[CALZOLA]

@Freewayjim Thanks a lot for this information ! I'd like to film the highways in the French Riviera ,maybe in few months ! Thanks to your videos i may visit your great country and i 'm very glad of it as many of my friends here.

[Freewayjim]

@CALZOLA Good luck with all of that!

[ToonTownHuckleberry]

so do you sleep in your car when you are far away from home? i would imagine staying at hotels all the time would get pretty expensive.

[Freewayjim]

@ToonTownHuckleberry I stay in decent hotels (Hampton Inn and such) but I really don't get away as often and for as long as you think.

[CAMINOANDALUZ]

Excellent tutorial, thanks for the lesson!! teacher Jim...

[Freewayjim]

@CAMINOANDALUZ Thanks, glad you liked it

[necroslair]

That set up looks familiar; though I never though of using a brick for stability, though - I just ran the seat forwards to push the tri-pod against the dash.

Are you planning a road trip soon? ;)

[Hatchiday]

Thanks for posting.

I will try this.

[interstateruler]

Thank you for the video, it looks like I learn something today

[FreewayTitan]

I REALLY need to make a rig like that brick. I generally sit up there with the camera, but I can't make miracles happen trying to keep it still while on the tripod.

[Freewayjim]

@FreewayTitan The brick helps a little but moving the seat to tighten up the gap between it and the tripod helps too, which is hard to do if you are sitting in it with a tripod in front of you :)

[FreewayTitan]

@Freewayjim It's worth a try though, I usually have my legs on the outside of the tripod, so this might do the trick.

[Freewayjim]

@FreewayTitan That sounds like a plan!

[Freewayjim]

@FreewayTitan The brick helps when you have a passenegr, pushing the seat up is better if you are alone.

[Freewayjim]

@FreewayTitan The brick helps when you have a passenger, pushing the seat up is better if you are alone.

[Papillonmuscogee]

Ooh, so this is where the magic begins. Thanks for sharing.

[Freewayjim]

@Papillonmuscogee Yes indeed, you're welcome :)

[Themadfarter1976]

Ooooh, top secret revelations. I always wondered how you did it. You also sound much younger than I expected. Keep up the great work.

[Freewayjim]

@Themadfarter1976 Well I'm 45 so I'll take that as a compliment :) Thanks.

[simplykristib]

Great setup!

[blaknoizee]

Wow, never heard your voice. Just as professional as your videos. And, although I never actually contact u. I am relocating to GA. Maybe ill see u one day and wave.

[Freewayjim]

@blaknoizee Thanks!

[MyMultimedia]

Just one day on YouTube and we already have 25 likes and no dislikes! The reason why is very understandable.

This may have been one of the most important and helpful videos you may have ever put on YouTube, Freewayjim! So all you need to make high quality films like you is a camcorder with excellent picture quality, a tripod, a brick with a hole that holds one of the tripod legs, a black blanket and video editing software to add music and captions.

I can do this when I'm in the car more often!

[Freewayjim]

@MyMultimedia Thanks, yeah that's pretty much it, although I can't emphasize enough how good software and knowing how to use it matters in the equation.

[diyddiyd]

cool, i had been wondering if a tripod would actually work and a black blanket or towel, thanks for posting this.

[Freewayjim]

@diyddiyd You are welcome!

[eluko79]

Clever setup. The brick was a nice touch.

[Freewayjim]

@eluko79 It doesn't do as much as you think but helps, the way my set up is that front leg needs to be pushed forward as much as possible, the brick helps keep it there.

[Freewayjim]

@willubhave Thanks, whatever works, and you can't beat those prices :)

[ChrisK529]

Thanks for the info, especially the part about the black blanket over the dash. Here's another question: How do you set the focus and shutter speed on your camera for the best possible video?

[Freewayjim]

I have all camera settings on AUTO, except at night then I tweak it a bit if the on coming lights flare and divert the camera's focus.

[aswchris]

Do you have problems with the tripod tilting if you take a hard right- or left turn? Luckily you don't have many roundabouts like here in Europe. It will definitely tilt over here, unless you anchor it solidly to the floor.

[Freewayjim]

@aswchris No, not really, i've found pushing the seat forward more without upsetting the legs eliminates the back and forth tilt on a quick start.

[litrojan]

Pretty cool. Nice to hear the voice behind the camera.

[Freewayjim]

@litrojan Thanks

[VaFreeways]

The black blanket posed an issue with me for awhile since my Camry has a sloping dash and no part where its leveled-off like yours is. But I was able to get a smaller one which fits just fine now. I would say the biggest challenge in doing this road filming is keeping the windshield clean. I usually have to stop several times during a trip to completely windex down my windshield.

[Freewayjim]

@VaFreeways: Yes, that is an issue for me too, I always carry a supply of Windex and Viva (no streak) paper towels for that very reason.

[VaFreeways]

@Freewayjim You are lucky down where you are that they don't dump 6 million tons of salt and sand on the road everytime a little 1" snow event comes through. We haven't had a lot of snow this year but we've had a lot of minor events. With all that crap on the roads your windshield gets dirty in almost an instant. Making filming an impossible task. I have to wait until Spring or until we get a good heavy rain to wash some of that stuff off that roads before I get out to film again.

[wipandco]

Ah! I recognize the video you posted a long time ago on your facebook page.

[nothinbutgreenlights]

Hi Jim,, just wondering, have the cops ever given you any hassle about your set up, you know pulled you over to investigate you or anything? Make sure your not up to anything sinister??

[Freewayjim]

@nothinbutgreenlights I've never been pulled over or hassled in any way (knock on wood).

[adogg619]

@Freewayjim

Nice setup. It appears to work very well. I'm taking a road trip in mid February, and thought of filming with my HD 720 video camera. I've looked around online and found a robust bracket that mounts firmly to the windshield via suction cap. My video camera also has image stabilization. My question is do you think a setup like that would work? Or would a tripod be a better option? Any input would be great. Thanks.

[Freewayjim]

@adogg619 I've only used this type of setup so I don't have anything to compare it to so obviously I'd recommend a tripod.

[FreewayBrent]

@adogg619: I'm taking it that you're still living in Southern California? If you specifically live in L.A., Filmtools has pretty much ANY suction cup mount that you could ever want. I've visited them personally, too. They're located in Burbank. I would give you the full web address, but YouTube doesn't allow links. They're located on 1400 West Burbank Blvd.

[adogg619]

@FreewayBrent

Yes I'm still in So Cal, so I'll definitely check out Filmtools and see what I can find. Thanks a bunch!

[localdriver]

Would the black cloth interfere with airbag operation?

[Freewayjim]

@localdriver I don't think so but I honestly never thought of that. I would doubt it because the cloth is not pinned down in any way.

[JohnRhysMusician]

You clearly have a lot of time to think about these things!

[Freewayjim]

@JohnRhysMusician Not really, it was trial and error for a while until I found what worked.

[aswchris]

Very interesting, I always wondered how you did it exactly. Do you have people looking weird at you or honking at you while driving with the tripod-setup?

[Freewayjim]

@aswchris LOL, I've gotten a few odd looks at stoplights but not as many as I would have expected

[icpfan19]

i gotcha

[icpfan19]

thats cool jimster i appricate you doing these videos some day i going to be doing the samething like u

[ScrewdUPClickV2]

@icpfan19 we need some new people . im always lookig for a person to show some stuff . lemme know . ive sen a FQ

[Freewayjim]

@icpfan19 You're welcome and good luck with your projects.

[icpfan19]

@Freewayjim thank you.

[Jazzman7893]

Wait! Why do you take these long trips?

[ScrewdUPClickV2]

@Jazzman7893 becuase myself and Jim enjoy it . we dont just travel 1k puls miles for a youtubevideo, we do it for the rush of the trip and having fun in the process .. it just  so happens that we film it in the process of our trips to entertain others .

[Freewayjim]

@Jazzman7893 ScrewdupclickV2 said it well, we just enjoy the open road.

[CptSchmidt]

@Freewayjim Could not have said it better than that!

[CptSchmidt]

@Freewayjim Could not have said it better than that!

[DaddyIvo]

@Freewayjim Although I drive for a living...and that's stressful because a) the type of work and b) because it's WORK, when I'm on the open road, I find it relaxing. Gimmie a bottle of Mountain Dew and my iPod and I'm good to go. The rush of changing lanes, seeing the different scenery, even hearing the difference in pavement is part of why we do what we do.

[Freewayjim]

@DaddyIvo I'm with ya on that!

[FreewayBrent]

@Jazzman7893: FreewayJim and Screwdupclickv2 pretty much have the same mindset as I do. :-)

[401RoadWarrior]

I used your system LONG time ago, from 2000 to 2005, but the tripod's legs were fully secured with a set of 2 bongie cords, it worked pretty well for many road trips all around U.S., your video brings back good memories on how I start doing recording while driving. Now I have new tools, way more modern than the one you're using right now plus the passenger seat available for anybody, right?

Drive safely.

Chris

[Freewayjim]

@401RoadWarrior Thanks, My passenger seat is available, my son does much of the filming from there and I can also do it solo.

[adrianroam95]

@401RoadWarrior hey look, it's the lonely liberal hippie douche who lives in toronto and picks on everything.

[401RoadWarrior]

@adrianroam95 I ALWAYS BLOCK PPL FROM MY CHANNEL FOR PERSONAL ATTACKS, AND YOU WERE ONE OF THEM, FOR LIFE.

[adrianroam95]

@401RoadWarrior You make me laugh lulz

[ScrewdUPClickV2]

this is legit everyone . it works . you just have to perfect  via to how your vehicle reacts to overall road conditions.

[ScrewdUPClickV2]

i remember this lol 

[tjmilliner1011]

WOW! How about that (:

[0marigolds]

nice, as I learned from blissful ignorance after discovering your vids - NO DRIVING WHILE HOLDING A CAMERA, just sayin', safety first. ;.)

[Freewayjim]

@0marigolds Thanks, no I would not recommend holding the camera, lol :)

[Nexis4Jersey]

Wow ,thats an interesting setup....

[angelboricua4t]

That's pretty cool. I"ve always wanted to how you guys made awesome videos. =)

[FreewayBrent]

@angelboricua4t: I have pretty much the same setup as FreewayJim, but without the brick. I just make sure not to make any abrupt/fast starts from a standstill, when the tripod is set up.

[bigM10231]

now i know how to get quality freeway vids