Picture Car Glossary
Camera car
What is a camera car?
Updated June 2026 · Revolution Picture Cars
Also called shooting car, or process vehicle.
A camera car is a purpose-built or heavily modified vehicle designed to film other vehicles in motion.
It carries camera operators, their equipment, stabilization systems (such as gyro-heads or remote heads), and the rigging infrastructure to safely position cameras at any angle relative to the subject vehicle. Camera cars are operated by experienced drivers who can match speed, maintain precise spacing, and execute complex choreography while the camera department works from the moving platform.
Example
A camera car carries the camera, operator, director, and monitors alongside a hero car at speed, with mounts on multiple sides so the unit can change angle without stopping. It is a crewed vehicle, not a rig, and it books with its team.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Booked from a specialist vendor with its own operators, and scheduled around road closures.
Common mistake
Booking a camera car as if it were equipment. It comes with a crew, it has its own safety requirements about who may ride where, and it needs the same road permissions as the picture car.
Related questions
- Do you need a camera car or will a rigged picture car do?
- A rigged picture car gets the camera on the vehicle. A camera car gets the camera, operator, and director alongside it at speed, with the ability to change angle between takes without re-rigging.
- Who can ride on a camera car?
- Only personnel the safety bulletins and the stunt coordinator permit, in secured positions. It is not a place for visitors or extra crew.
Official sources
Sourcing picture cars for a production? Find, vote on, budget, and book them in one place with Revolution, free for productions.
See how it works