Having a RC racing website has it’s advantages – you get to do reviews, build neat stuff, play with all kinds of fun RC stuff and, occasionally, get to be the driver of a rad little RC Food Truck for the Hot Pockets franchise!
It all started with an email from a talent agency looking for someone to drive a RC car for a commercial. There was no mention of who it was or what the driving would entail, but it was a guaranteed job during production in the Los Angeles area that would span the course of 2 days. Multiple feelers were sent out to different ‘drivers’ so I had to act quick – I replied with a ‘HELL YA’ and received a follow up email with some paperwork to fill out and all the specifics of where to go and what to do.
I arrived on set – along with about 50 other people – to a house in LA where we’d be doing the shoot. My part of the commercial would include some driving outdoors on the street, the sidewalk, up a driveway and into the house. Then in the house, I’d be driving under the actors feet, down a hallway and up a ramp where the movie magic would fling the truck into a microwave.
The truck itself was very cool looking – on the outside. Under that 5lb body (at least) was a crude 1/18 scale mash up of RC, the original platform based on an ECX. It was underpowered, undersprung and a handful to drive simply because the body WAS so heavy. After chatting with the director a bit to find out what he was looking for me to do, I realized this tiny truck was NOT going to be easy to drive, so I set off to use my RC skills to make it better-ish. Some preload in the shocks, a couple extra screws (and additional plastic) and some tape on the rear tires (to help with slip) and the Hot Pockets Food Truck Bites Truck was ready for the big screen.
My part of the commercial took about 3 hours with most of the driving being LOS (Line of Sight). The one scene in the commercial where the truck drives under the legs of the actors took about 6 takes – from my angle where I had to stand, I couldn’t see the truck once it took the turn and the gap was just slightly wider than the truck. Thankfully, though, I hit the perfect line on the 6th try and everyone was happy.
This video dropped off the planet a couple years ago but I had to re-upload it simply because this was a really fun experience that I was super stoked to be a part of.
I can now add RC Driving Technician to my resume.
Oh, and you might notice a few big-time gaming streamers in this video as well.
Enjoy the video.
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