The crew started the day’s activities by informing Phil and Phil (the father/son ownership combo) how the process would work. Shortly afterward, they interviewed Phil (the father) in front of the car. This took a little while, but Dennis and the crew got plenty of footage.

After the interview process, the crew huddled and decided to do the “drive-by” shots. Dennis and Phil got into the Nova while the crew, with us right behind them, got into a van with the equipment. After a short drive along the roads around the Silver Dollar facility, a suitable location was found. Once again everyone huddled, and the exact location of the drive-by was nailed down. Dennis and Phil headed up the road until they were out of sight, and prepared to drive back down the street when the camera was properly set up. The crew keeps in touch with Dennis during these types of shots via two-way radio, so everyone knows when the car is coming toward the camera.

Remember, though, that this is being filmed on an open, public road, which means the crew has to be on the lookout for traffic. The same goes for Dennis and Phil up the road in the Nova. Finally, when traffic is clear everywhere, the word is given and the Nova heads toward the camera. While all this is going on, Dennis and Phil are engaged in conversation inside the car, which is of course being recorded. The end effect is one of Dennis and Phil carrying on a casual conversation as they travel down the road, seemingly by themselves. The entire sequence is repeated many times, and there are plenty of delays as traffic passes from both directions. When the crew and Dennis are happy with these shots, the camera is relocated and the entire process plays itself out again.

Once the drive-by shots are completed, the camera and cameraman are situated so they can film out the open side doors of the van as it travels down the road beside the Nova. This part can be tricky since the van is in the left-hand lane for a bit. These shots are done at low speed, obviously, on roads with plenty of visibility in case oncoming traffic appears. After a few different shots like this, we all headed back to the drag strip for some action.