Speed of a Car: The Run
An educational, fair use website
Nissan's promotional car film "The Run" is directed by two-time Academy Award winner John Bruno using fourteen different cameras. The film features a 350Z Track model accelerating through the streets of Prague in the Czech Republic. This six and a half minute film uses eight different camera angles to portray the elegance and speed of the "Z-car", as they call it. Award-winning stunt driver Jimmy Roberts is the man behind the wheel.
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We analyzed the film in an attempt to determine the Z-car's velocity during various segments of his trip. We started measurements when the car turned onto Rasslova street at the Dancing House in the Nové Mesto neighborhood and ended when the 350Z crossed the Mánesüv Bridge. By tracking the driver's turns through the city, we were able to identify landmarks without ever having visited Prague. The Z-car's route was determined by comparing scaled tourist maps found on Google Image Search with the above picture that came with "The Run" DVD. We copied, pasted and rotated the map scales on the digital maps to estimate the distances traveled. By closely watching the film, we were able to record the time it took for the car to travel the distances between landmarks. Using this data, a distance vs. time graph was produced. The average velocity can then be calculated by taking the slope of the least squares regression line of this data.
The route observed began at the Dancing House on Rassolva Street in the Nové Mesto neighborhood. Then the car turned left onto Jungmannova Street, passing New Town Hall, and continues until it turns right on Rytirskà Street. The car then takes a series of back streets in between the St. Mesto and Josefov neighborhoods until he reaches the Mánesüv Bridge, where we ended our analysis of the film.
| Location | Time (s) |
Distance (m) |
Average Speed (m/s) |
Average Speed (km/h) |
Average Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dancing House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jungmannova Street | 22 | 800 | 36.36 | 130.90 | 81.34 |
| Rytirskà Street | 40 | 1100 | 27.50 | 99.00 | 61.52 |
| Beginning of Back Streets | 33 | 200 | 6.06 | 21.82 | 13.56 |
| Mánesüv Bridge | 90 | 1000 | 11.11 | 40.00 | 24.85 |
| End of Mánesüv Bridge | 9 | 250 | 27.78 | 100.01 | 62.14 |
| Total | 194 | 3350 | 17.27 | 62.17 | 38.63 |
Over the total distance we observed, the car's average velocity was 17.27 m/s, 62.17 km/h, or 38.63 mph.
Sources:
- All photographs were obtained from the gifts section of the Courtesy Parts Nissan.
- The maps we used were obtained from Rene Smerda and the Aria Hotel.
Genna Ableman, Harvey Lei, Michelle Fung, Jenny Hua -- 2005
Physics on Film- Feature Films
- One Reelers
- Short Video Clips