(Yes, I know adding the prefix "My" to any web-mediated content to make a thin veneer of personalisation appear friendly and 'cool' is a bit 1990's/Web 1.0 but I couldn't immediately think of a better title)

The short film "C'était un rendezvous" (see link) is a 10-minute film by Claude Lelouch made by attaching a film camera to the front of a sports car and driving very fast through Paris early in the morning. If you haven't seen it, it's worth tracking down a copy on the web. This service creates a personalised version of the film. It creates a simulated high-speed journey through the streets near your home by taking images from Google Street View, and then adds a realistic sports car soundtrack. CGI startled pedestrians can be added at extra cost.
-- hippo, May 27 2009

http://en.wikipedia...tait_un_rendez-vous [hippo, May 27 2009]

This is a sports-car? http://en.wikipedia...des-Benz_450SEL_6.9
[coprocephalous, May 27 2009]

A bit like this http://jalopnik.com...-golden-gate-bridge
(I can't view this at work, but it sounds like it's a short movie of a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge using Google Streetview images) [hippo, May 28 2009]

Nice idea. Great film too, esp. the ending. I think it's available on Youtube
-- simonj, May 27 2009


The intro to the film says that it was made "sans trucage" (without trickery/rigging), yet the soundtrack is that of a manual shift box (allegedly Lelouch's own Ferrari), though the camera was mounted on a car with a three-speed auto box.

There is a story about the blind exit from the Louvre: the driver had a radio, and a spotter north of the Louvre was supposed to tell the driver whether or not the road was clear. After filming was complete, they found that the radio hadn't been working.
-- coprocephalous, May 27 2009


This has got me wondering whether the images in street view have high enough frequency etc. to be used as frames in a video...
-- Jinbish, May 27 2009


[coprocephalous] - I'd heard that story about the radio too - sounds scary. It's a shame the soundtrack is dubbed - I'm pretty sure the picture is all real though.

[Jinbish] - Looking at the Streetview pictures, I think the frequency is OK. A low frequency might just mean you travel faster or the frame-rate has to be lower.
-- hippo, May 27 2009


Yep, I think it might be alright. Now wondering if there is an API for Street View...
{later: And there is! If only I had the time I would see if I could russle up something}
-- Jinbish, May 27 2009


A digital simulated "drive film" would be the antithesis of cinéma vérité. Either the poster has lost the ability to distinguish between the authentic article and a pathetic imitation, or fails to see the discord between these two constructions: Rendezvous was a film about what is real. Google iDrive would be entirely artificial. The fact that we seem to be loosing this distinction disturbs me.

I sincerely hope that this is irony, or a dark joke.
-- WcW, May 28 2009


I thought that this idea was going to be about swimming with whales or dolphins.
-- DrBob, May 29 2009


// sincerely hope that this is irony, or a dark joke. — WcW, May 28 2009//

(Checks author...hmmm... not a chance.)
-- blissmiss, May 29 2009


// Rendezvous was a film about what is real//
I think we must be talking about a different film.
-- coprocephalous, May 29 2009


//the poster has lost the ability to distinguish between the authentic article and a pathetic imitation// - that's quite funny - are you sure you're not taking this all a bit seriously?
-- hippo, May 29 2009


<snigger>
-- DrBob, May 29 2009


because this distinction really isn't worth getting excited about? There is so little difference between actually getting behind the wheel of a car and playing grand theft auto that the point is moot, right? And why should anyone put their life at risk when we can just do it on the computer. I guess i see your point.
-- WcW, May 29 2009



random, halfbakery