I didn’t shoot it, I didn’t need to as it was already available on Shutterstock as stock footage. And it would have been incredibly difficult for us to shoot mainly because of permissions so here being able to use stock footage was an absolute boon. 

It doesn’t always work that way, I shot a clip outside Selfridges on an iPhone and then coloured it, it was raining and I was walking for the train but I’d been looking earlier for stock footage, but shooting myself, I got something that reflected the city I’m used to seeing, often a bit wet but always colourful.

But where you can, it often makes sense to consider using stock footage too at least in part, here for a promo, but also for transitions, quick ways to set a scene. It can add that extra element, enhance the story and effectively help make a budget work harder.

I’m pretty sure this was done by speeding up live action footage but getting permission to film in the train would’ve been the issue! 

Another way to create something similar is with a looped series of long exposure stills. A slow moving tram could be achieved this way without ever setting foot in one. As long as you kept to where the track ran through paved areas, a quality camera and tripod are all that is needed. The images appearing the clip would really be shot as a series of stills, appearing to be from the cab view forward, but with long exposure used to create detailed but blurry images, each giving a wonderful impression of movement. Add enough to a timeline and you can create a clip that gives the impression of travelling at speed.