[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
- [INAUDIBLE]
JF MUSIAL: So this is a little bit of a different type of
Driven episode.
We're here at the American Le Mans Series paddock at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca.
And some of you may or may not know, but we are the team
responsible for producing the recap videos for the Porsche
IMSA GT3 Cup.
-It's round three of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama.
It's a great looking two by two start as they come down to
the start line.
The green flag is waved in the air, and we are racing, over
123 miles an hour.
JF MUSIAL: It takes a lot for us to get here, in terms of
our equipment.
All totaled, we travel with about 300 pounds gear to every
event we go to.
Especially races.
-Oh, yeah.
Everything's perfectly where it should be.
-And you get a great look at the cars coming at the top of
the corkscrew.
Those BBS alloys glinting in the California sunshine.
JF MUSIAL: So what you're going to be seeing in this
episode is actually the behind the scenes look of how a
production comes together.
Not only from a physical how to shoot a certain shot point
of view, but also from the relationships.
It comes down to having discussions with drivers, with
crew members, and trying to develop a
story around a series.
Races are races, but it's the people behind the scenes that,
actually, make it special.
And that's our job to really tell those
stories and their stories.
So I hope you enjoy it.
-The Porsche IMSA GT3 Cup challenge by Yokohama moves to
Laguna Seca and Mazda Raceway for rounds three and four.
JF MUSIAL: The most important aspect of our job is to gain
the trust of not only the drivers but
also the crew members.
We work in tight, confined areas in these paddocks, and
you don't want to get in their way.
If you get in their way, they're going
to get pissed off.
They have a job to do just like we have
to get a job done.
We also are interacting with the cars a lot.
Putting the cameras in.
Getting shots.
And we're getting shots of things that may not,
specifically, be good for the team in terms of suspension
set-up, in terms of the way they're doing certain things.
Yes, this is a spec series.
But there are certain things that the teams can do to gain
an advantage that is legal and by the rules.
So we have to be cautious as to what we film, making sure
that we can maintain that trust.
Being that we are not only in this paddock but in all the
teams paddocks, we see things that each other team doesn't
get to see about their competitors.
And we have to maintain that trust.
If we don't do that, well, then we
don't get our job done.
And our trust kind of goes out the window.
HUNTER WRIGHT: Yeah, up.
We were tuning towards the over-steer.
And so, as the race goes on, we don't want to start out
with too much over-steer.
We want to be a little under.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: Cool.
And they know I'm coming in the meeting?
I'm not just walking in?
JF MUSIAL: No, no, they know.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: I don't like to go in trailers.
JF MUSIAL: I know.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: You know?
JF MUSIAL: It's already cleared, guy.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: OK, cool.
All right, sounds good.
JOSH VIETZE: We have to establish their trusting us
and not saying, don't film this, rather, don't include
this in the edit.
JF MUSIAL: Yeah.
JOSH VIETZE: We're going to film everything.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: Yeah.
[INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Film it all.
And then when you know it's your time to
leave, just walk out.
TOM MORNINGSTAR: I've got to change this.
I've got this mic set for track noise.
JOSH VIETZE: So one of my responsibilities here when
we're shooting IMSA GT3 Cup is mounting in-car cameras.
[CAR ENGINE ROARING]
JOSH VIETZE: So let me show you what we use for that.
What's really important when doing this is that you have
proper heavy duty roll bar mount.
Not a plastic GoPro mount.
In fact, we don't even like using GoPro's.
We use Contour's.
A little bit more rugged.
A little bit sturdier.
So the other thing that's important is--
as you can see, this is an active garage.
And the crew are, obviously, constantly working on the cars
all weekend.
So it's really important for us to make sure we stay
out of their way.
And although they love us for making them look good on
camera, we're always trying to work with them to make sure
we're not interrupting their stuff.
So while they're taking a break, I'm going sneak in this
car, mount this camera, and get it all ready to go.
Now, one of the most important things about this, obviously,
is making sure everything is super, super tight and locked
down, because you can't have anything moving
around in the car.
It's really, really, obviously,
dangerous for the driver.
And if it's dangerous for the driver, it means it's
dangerous for everyone else on the track, as well.
-So it didn't want to hold him up.
In doing so, he must have cost himself a couple of positions.
I'm sure that wasn't the plan.
But meanwhile, you're right.
This is a battle [INAUDIBLE] just about all [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: So although all the action at a race may seem like
it's in the paddock, what really makes the race come to
life is actually called the TV compound.
And the TV compound is usually somewhere in the center of the
whole track to make it easy for producers and cameramen to
get to from wherever they are in the vicinity of the track.
So that's where we're heading right now.
We usually arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the race.
If we got there too early, it's pretty busy.
And what we do, I meet up with Leo, and we start discussing
the qualification.
We start looking at where the guys are in the track, in the
qualifying order, to determine where the story's going to be.
That's what we're going to go do right now.
-As you say of Michael Levitas, who's been around for
a couple of times--
JF MUSIAL: You should get a shot of the gold class leader.
Car number 36.
-[INAUDIBLE]
36 car--
JF MUSIAL: Fourth car from the rear.
-Fourth from the rear.
-White and red, I think.
-White and red.
[INAUDIBLE].
-Fourth car from the rear.
-That's it.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-[INAUDIBLE]
I'm looking for a [INAUDIBLE] shot.
[INAUDIBLE], I just want to know which camera.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-We actually did some racing back in the '90s.
But nothing since then.
David Williams [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Go back to the front of [INAUDIBLE].
-Thank you.
[INAUDIBLE].
-I notice you can also get it on camera five [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Can you get John to do a pause and then lay in as
we get the [INAUDIBLE]?
-Racing cars [INAUDIBLE]
racing drivers.
-Guys, this could be one lap in green.
JF MUSIAL: It's going.
-Want to lay up, second pause and--
JF MUSIAL: Go.
-Pick it up.
-It's round three of the IMSA GT 3 Cup
Challenge by Yokohama.
It's a great looking two by two start as they come down in
the start line.
The green flag is waving, and we are racing, over
123 miles an hour.
-Too hot.
-Into the first car, braking [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: He's gone.
-Just about holding on but it's a very, very hot and
heavy [INAUDIBLE] outside in the blue class [INAUDIBLE].
-Oh, he's going to lose it.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-That was Benitez That was Benitez just hit.
-[INAUDIBLE] come through.
Slowly push back in.
Keep both cars in the frame.
[INAUDIBLE].
-Number two and three.
[INAUDIBLE]
slow on four. .
[INAUDIBLE]
JF MUSIAL: Benitez is in four.
[INAUDIBLE].
Full course.
Try to get Benitez on five.
-45.
Damage on five.
-Yeah, that's our points leader.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-The radiator supposed to be [INAUDIBLE]?
-The headlights in turn three.
-This number 5 car with damage on the front.
-Porsche 997 [INAUDIBLE]
GT3 Cup car.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-Number 3, he was just a bystander in that [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: It's not leaking anything, I don't think.
Oh, yes, he is.
-Yes, he is.
-All right, maybe not.
Maybe not.
JF MUSIAL: It's higher?
-It's rubbing.
--didn't realize it was on [INAUDIBLE].
He's leaking [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: The radiator's done.
-[INAUDIBLE]
-That car will be heading into the pit lane.
-You want replays in?
I can freeze [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Yes, if you could.
Freeze him, yeah.
-And tape 25 going to the pits because he's done.
-[INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Yeah.
Thank you [INAUDIBLE].
-[INAUDIBLE] roaring down.
-Whoa.
Yep.
-Let's take another look at this.
The blue car is only trying to come around the outside.
And he almost got it turned off the right-hand wheels onto
the dirt here.
That's [INAUDIBLE]
spinning around with the [INAUDIBLE].
And [INAUDIBLE], at that point, was a passenger.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-Number one.
JF MUSIAL: Yeah, let's get 11.
-Sorry, Frankie.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-Thank you, Billy.
JF MUSIAL: Awesome.
-Stay with him.
He's probably going to get out of the car.
-[INAUDIBLE]
curb.
And lost control on the curb trying to [INAUDIBLE].
-[INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: We should get Miles Maroney coming out?
-[INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Oh, and back to 11.
[INAUDIBLE].
-[INAUDIBLE].
-But the big news is that 25 car in the pits.
Two wins at the start.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-That's your championship leader right there who's in
the pit without a lap being completed in round number
three here.
That's a headline right there.
-Yeah, a major disaster for the 23-year-old Angel Benitez.
And that is exactly what he didn't know.
He just [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Can you have one go to the Sloan Urry car, he's in
the pits, 20, in the pits.
-He's getting out of the car [INAUDIBLE].
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-It's good to see that he's OK, at least physically,
because [INAUDIBLE].
[INTERPOSING VOICES].
JF MUSIAL: [INAUDIBLE] blue car yet?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-A good [INAUDIBLE].
-That is the [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: Yeah, I was just going to [INAUDIBLE].
-It was the one that started the conflagration at the exit
of turn two from the Andretti hairpin on lap number one.
We're under full course caution.
It's round three of the Mazda GT3 Cup challenge by Yokohama.
-I was going to say, watch the outside of turn one, but Urry
is so far back.
JF MUSIAL: He can pick it up, and then we'll come back to
him when we go to green.
-After half a dozen laps of full-course caution, and he's
got a fantastic start.
Thompson in second place and able to stay with the pole
sitter as they head down to the scene of the crime.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-As you were with [INAUDIBLE]
Thompson, [INAUDIBLE], Mills, Cisneros, Kuhlman [INAUDIBLE].
JF MUSIAL: [INAUDIBLE].
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-[INAUDIBLE]
and not side by side.
-Yeah, that certainly makes a difference.
But nobody doing anything silly at all.
They're just being respectful of each other.
It's a low grip racetrack here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
It never has an awful lot of--
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-Whoa.
-That's very, very impressive.
-What was that?
-That's a piece of the under trim from one
of those two cars.
I think it's from Thompson.
-[INAUDIBLE].
-Go to second car.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-[INAUDIBLE] right there, as well.
And he was running up at the top six.
-[INAUDIBLE]
you're going to hold that single car.
-Oh!
That's Goldman [INAUDIBLE] around!
He's going to hit the wall!
-11 Take 11.
Gold winner here.
Go to a flag.
[INAUDIBLE]
-Taking the gold championship.
-Take two.
[INAUDIBLE]
Good job.
[INAUDIBLE]
We need 10.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-Well, action and excitement and incidents on the first
corner of the first lap.
JF MUSIAL: I don't know if you can see them, but there are
totally some umbrella girls.
I have to get the shot of the umbrella girls.
It's part of my contract with TangentVector.
I need a longer lens.