How My Friends And I Filmed The Last Independent Automaker On A Shoestring Budget By Copying Ken Burns And MotorWeek

Last week I recounted how our documentary team digitized hours of lost AMC footage for our documentary, The Last Independent Automaker. Two weeks ago, I explained how we tracked down the 30+ vehicles featured in the series. For this week’s behind-the-scenes story, I’ll explain how we filmed those cars (and other footage) on a shoestring budget.

While every episode presented unique production challenges, I think Episode 3 probably had the most variety in terms of filming. Capturing AMC’s history from 1969 to 1974, it tells how the company launched the Hornet and Gremlin to combat the rising wave of foreign cars in America and how AMC came to acquire the “Jeep” division of Kaiser Industries. It features a half-dozen vehicles, close to 15 interviews, and several short reenactment scenes. When combined with our historical footage and photographs, I think it all came together rather nicely.

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Similarly to wrenching on cars, filmmaking often falls into the “good / quick / cheap” matrix, meaning you will always be limited to just two of the three. Since this documentary took almost a decade to complete, you can probably assume which two we chose.

We knew from the beginning that this would not be a big-budget production. There would be no $20,000/day track rentals or $500,000 Porsche Cayanne camera cars. For almost all of our equipment, vehicles, and locations, we either had to use what we had or beg and borrow from friends.

And that’s where my co-producer Jimm Needle came in. When I first proposed this project to him in 2015, I chose Jimm because he had a lot more experience producing, shooting, and editing video than me. I also chose Jimm because he was the only person I knew who owned a digital cinema camera that could shoot in 4K Ultra High Definition.

At the time, 4K UHD was cutting-edge, as most streamers and TV networks were still just 1080 HD. But 4K was clearly the incoming standard, and I wanted to “future-proof” the documentary by filming at the highest resolution I could. Jimm had splurged on a 4K camera for his production company, and the resulting work was beautiful. Thankfully, he was able to bring that skill and that equipment to our production, too.

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

From 2016 to 2023, the only thing we filmed were interviews, which (in addition to the camera) only required lights, microphones, and a grey cardboard backdrop, all of which we borrowed. For our first big shoot, we packed up a borrowed Chrysler Pacifica and a broadcast communications intern we borrowed from a local college, and headed to Detroit. Once there, we set up a makeshift interview set in former AMC designer Vince Geraci’s basement, and for three days almost a dozen former employees cycled in and out as we interviewed them in two hour shifts.

Later that summer, Jimm and I traveled to the Kenosha History Center, where we repeated the process with former AMC factory workers. This time, however, we scrapped the cardboard backdrop in favor of the beautiful cars on display there.

These first interviews with white-collar workers from Detroit and blue-collar workers from Kenosha formed the backbone of our documentary, and we continued to interview more people up through 2023. Over time, we changed cameras, lights, and locations, but we always strove to maintain a consistent look, so that if any two interviews were shown side by side, viewers wouldn’t find the difference too jarring.

Although the new trend in documentaries is to have interviewees sit dead center and talk directly to camera, or to surround them with cameras and cut to a bunch of different angles, we avoided this. First, because talking directly to the camera rather than a person can be uncomfortable for first-time interviewees, which many of ours were. Second, we didn’t have the time, manpower, or the gear to set up three separate cameras for each interview.

Instead, we chose the classical “rule of thirds” look, with subjects positioned on either to the left or right of the frame, talking to a producer just off camera. I figured if it was good enough for Ken Burns, it was good enough for us. Although Ken Burns seems to love shooting interviews in warm, wood-panneled rooms with voluminous bookshelves, whereas our favorite backdrops were cars.

Perhaps our most adventurous interview was with David Tracy in 2022. At this point, David was still living in Michigan and would probably admit that he’d reached “maximum bachelor” levels. After scanning the inside of his house, I realized his backyard might provide a more visually appealing background. Once outside, I struggled to find a shot that I liked, but eventually we plopped him down on the tailgate of his Jeep J-10, parked his ZJ Grand Cherokee behind him, and it turned into one of the best-looking interviews we filmed.

Cars on Camera

By 2023, we had completed enough of the documentary script to know what car footage needed to go with it. Since we couldn’t afford to rent fancy equipment or locations, we had to use our limited funds very carefully. As I previously explained, that meant finding cars that were close to us, and–if possible–finding owners with multiple cars that we wanted to film, so we could combine trips. As for the filming itself, I credit the staff of the TV show MotorWeek for teaching me how to shoot cars on a tight schedule and a tight budget. There’s no official rulebook, but the formula essentially boils down to this: drivebys, GoPros, exteriors, interior.

Drivebys:

As you might expect, these are shots of the car going up and down the road. Obviously, a car in motion is more exciting than a car standing still, and drivebys give viewers a chance to experience more of a car’s personality and sounds. From a storytelling standpoint, a car driving toward you can help punctuate an important sentence as it passes the camera. Or, a car driving away into the distance can convey uncertainty, difficulty, or a transition to another subject.

Here in the real world, we couldn’t control everything, but I set some ground rules: no other vehicles or people could be in the shot, and no buildings or structures could blatantly distract from the vehicle. Unless it was a performance car, drivers had to go a normal speed, and they had to follow all signs, use turn signals, etc. I was especially a stickler for making sure people didn’t drift across the yellow line or saw off turns, which I think we all do more often than we’re willing to admit.

Before traveling to film, we used Google Maps to scout for good “driveby roads.” A perfect road has:

• Pretty scenery; no ugly buildings or houses with messy yards
• No large trees that cast shadows on the road (they make it hard to see the car)
• Large flat banks on the side, where we can setup our camera
• Not a lot of houses, so we don’t have to worry about nosy neighbors interfering
• Curves; cars always look more interesting on a curve than in a straight line
• Good turnaround spots. To get all the shots we want, a car may have to drive the same stretch a dozen times. Being able to turn around somewhere inconspicuous, like a long driveway, a small pull-off, or a public parking lot, is essential.
• Low traffic. This one is the most important! I prefer connecting roads, dead ends, and back roads are great. The prettiest road in the world is useless if it’s full of traffic.

GoPros:

GoPro and other suction cup-mounted action cameras revolutionized automotive media, and we knew they’d be an essential part of this production too. Often, the same roads that worked for drivebys were great for GoPro shots, too. And as a bonus, the footage would match when we edited it together.

Personally, I like when a GoPro shot has purpose. It’s not just wallpaper, but it shows a specific feature of the car that is important to the story being told at that moment. For instance:

Showing the Renault logo when talking about AMC’s partnership with the company …

Showing the Rambler’s gas cap when talking about fuel economy …

Showing the AMC hood ornament when talking about the company’s financial troubles …

… and showing the Pacer’s front wheel when talking about its ride and handling.

That last one with the Pacer was surprisingly difficult, as the one we filmed was located in Indiana. All of the roads were laid out in a grid, meaning there were very few places with the kind of smooth, swoopy curves we needed to demonstrate the car’s steering. Thankfully, we eventually found a place.

Exteriors: Without an airplane hangar like Jay Leno, we had to film car exteriors wherever we could. When possible, many car owners let us film on their property. When that wasn’t possible, we tried to find public spaces where we didn’t have to worry about securing location rights. Similarly to drivebys, we looked for pretty backdrops with no other vehicles or people. If we did end up filming around buildings, we really tried to find structures that were from the same time period as the car. The best locations were ones that matched the vibe of the vehicle. For instance:

A 1951 Nash Rambler in front of a garage painted to look like a 1950s Nash dealership …

A 1976 AMC Matador Coupe in front of a lake with a sailboat in the background …

A 1989 Jeep Cherokee in a beautiful forest clearing …

… or a 1983 Renault Alliance in front of this very French-looking monument, which is actually a tribute to a guy who manufactured cash registers in Dayton, Ohio.

Generally, we tried to film exteriors in either full sun or occasionally in full shade. The worst situation was mixed or mottled light, because one minute we’d expose the camera for the dark spots, only for the light parts to be blown out. (And vice-versa). I personally preferred overcast days, because then we didn’t have to worry lining the car perfectly up with the sun to avoid hard shadows, but overcast days also meant we didn’t have pretty blue skies as a backdrop. Further complicating things, if it was a really sunny day, we had to be careful about filming on grass, as the bright light would reflect off the ground onto the car and give it an unappealing green tint.

As far as the shots themselves, we followed the standard playbook I learned at MotorWeek: Shoot the car from all sides, because you never know when an extra shot will come in handy. Other shots were made to match specific parts of the script, such as when a side shot of a Hornet is to be crossfaded with a side shot of a Concord, to demonstrate how the latter was just a facelifted version of the former’s old bodyshell.

We also shot lots of closeups of details and logos, which can be useful pieces when editing. A slow rack focus of an AMC logo can demonstrate the seriousness of a moment. A quick pan to an AMC Gremlin character demonstrates the fun, quirky nature of the car.

Interiors:

Unlike exteriors, we preferred to shoot interiors in full shade. That way, we didn’t get a lot of harsh shadows inside the car. Because of this, it’s easiest to shoot interiors in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is low and the shadows are long. While in Indiana, we shot a lot of car interiors under a giant tree, which had enough leaf cover to give us solid shadows without mottled light. Throughout the day, we had to frequently rotate around the trunk to keep the car in the shade as the sun moved.

For interiors, the most useful shot is the front driver’s position, showing the wheel, gauges, pedals, seat, and a little out of the windshield. Overall, we used less interior footage than exterior footage, although certain features like the AMC Pacer’s giant windows or the Jeep Wagoneer Limited’s leather seats and deep-pile carpet warranted extra filming to make sure we got multiple shots and angles.

“It’s Called Acting”

Episode 3 contains several great stories from AMC employees, but we didn’t have any historical footage or photographs to go with them. In those rare cases, we were able to film reenactments of their memories.

One instance of this was when AMC’s head of interior design, Vince Geraci, explained how he and his wife and coworkers tested numerous denim samples when developing the interior for the Levi’s edition Gremlin. So we cut up some worn-out pairs of Levi’s jeans, laid them out in my parent’s laundry room, and filmed closeups of my co-producer Jimm’s hands sorting through them, washing them, and examining them.

A more challenging shoot was reenacting Billy Aiello’s raucous story of drinking on the assembly line. Using the most industrial setting I had access to, Jimm and I set up our lights and camera inside my dad’s unheated farm workshop on a brutally cold day in February. Then, with a vintage Coke bottle full of Pepsi and a bourbon bottle full of unsweetened iced tea, I made mixed drinks on an old parts table and then pretended to stash the bottles below. With the freezing temperatures and a limited supply of Pepsi, I was thankful to have captured it after just a few takes.

Ideally, we wouldn’t have to shoot reenactments at all, but given the nature of these stories, we had to have them in the film and there was simply no other footage we could use. And, rather than use animations or generative AI, I’m proud that we found a way to create visuals that matched the tone and look of the rest of the series, without being distracting. I don’t think Jimm or I will be hired as professional hand models anytime soon, however.

Card Full

In a way, I think our team’s modus operandi was a lot like that of American Motors. We were a small team, stretching every dollar that we could, using hard work and clever ideas to punch above our weight. Looking back, I sometimes wish we could have splurged on a professional drone pilot or fancy gyroscopic steadicam rigs. But if we had spent more money, it’s possible that we wouldn’t have been able to film as many cars or record as many interviews as we did. As a historical documentary, I’m glad we prioritized substance before style.

Ultimately, I am very satisfied with our footage. The shots are well-exposed, in focus, and visually interesting. The motion is smooth, the lighting is reasonable, and we had enough footage that every shot matches nicely with the script. And while some locations outshine others, all of them worked out well.

And most importantly, the cars look great.

The Last Independent Automaker is available to watch now on Public Television stations, the PBS app, and the AutoMoments YouTube channel.

The series is distributed by American Public Television. Maryland Public Television is the presenting station. The Automotive Hall of Fame provided fiduciary assistance. The Last Independent Automaker is funded in part by Visit Detroit, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and MotorCities National Heritage Area. It is also funded by over 375 individuals and organizations who contributed through the project’s Crowdfunding campaign.

Top graphic images: Joe Ligo; depositphotos.com