Music Video Car Hire in London and the UK

Music-video briefs tend to want cars with attitude: a supercar for a performance shot, a lowered American classic for a summer track, an 80s sports car for a retro video, or a luxury convertible for a lifestyle look. Colour matters as much as model, because a car often has to match the artwork, the wardrobe or the grade. Tell us the track's look, the location and how the car will be used: static and dressed, rolling shots, or driven by the artist. We'll shortlist cars that fit, with notes on each. Browse supercars, American cars, convertibles and 1980s cars.

Every treatment is different, but these are the looks directors ask for most:

• Supercars and hero metal. Supercars, Lamborghini and Ferrari for pure statement shots, including 1980s poster cars like the Lamborghini Countach.
• Luxury. Rolls-Royce, Bentley and other luxury and executive cars for wealth, arrival and after-party scenes.
• American classics and lowriders. American cars such as Cadillac and Chevrolet, including lowriders like the 1973 Cadillac Eldorado lowrider.
• Convertibles. Soft-tops for performance-in-the-car shots, golden-hour drives and rooftop moments.
• Era pieces. Cars that date a video instantly, from 1970s and 1980s cars to 1990s hot hatches.
• The unexpected. Famous film-car replicas, hearses, motorcycles and scooters, buses and microcars for humour or surrealism.

Catalogue images are representative of each model. Your shortlist shows the real cars available for your dates.

Many music videos are shot at night, when wet streets, neon and headlights do half the lighting work. Night work means longer days for owners and drivers, so tell us your call and wrap times in the brief. We confirm what each owner can offer before anything is booked, and we will be straight with you if a car is not suited to a late finish.

Moving shots need more planning than static ones. An artist performing while driving is often better filmed on a low loader or with a tracking vehicle, which keeps the artist free to perform and the car under control. Driving past camera, arrivals and slow rolling shots can usually be done with the owner or a nominated driver at the wheel. Anything faster or closer to other vehicles is a job for action vehicles and specialist drivers, and on public roads it also needs the right permissions.

Tell us what the car does in every set-up: parked and lit, rolling, driven by the artist or used for effects. That shapes which cars we put forward and how we plan the day.

A treatment rarely names a car in a way an owner can answer. "Something expensive" and "a bit 90s" are useful feelings, and they are not yet a brief. Translate the treatment into the things that change the search: how many cars, the era or the attitude, the colour against wardrobe and the grade, and what each car does in each set-up.

List the set-ups rather than the track. A car that is only parked under a light is a different day from a car that rolls past camera, and both are different from an artist performing in the driver's seat. If the artist will sit on a bonnet, stand on a sill or lean through a window, write that down. Some owners agree. Some cars are not suitable. We only put forward cars where the owner has agreed the actual plan.

Effects belong in the same note. Smoke, haze, water, rain bars and confetti near paintwork all need a yes before the car is booked. So does anything stuck to the body: tape, suction mounts or temporary vinyl. If the art department wants badges off or a plate covered, that is a change to agree, not a surprise on the day. Send a still, a frame from the treatment, or a catalogue car that is the feeling rather than a locked model. If the grade is very warm, very cold or very contrasty, say so. A pale car and a black car do not read the same once the grade is on.

Five catalogue cars that often open that conversation: 2021 Dodge Challenger, 1966 Cadillac DeVille, 2019 Lamborghini Huracan, 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula, 1962 Chevrolet C-10. They are examples from the catalogue, not a reserved list. Your shortlist shows the real cars for your dates.

A studio has its own rules: door height, turning room, how much fuel may be in the tank, whether the battery must be isolated, and whether the engine may run. Check those with the studio before the car is confirmed, and pass them on in the brief. A car that fits the idea still has to fit the door. Build time to get the car in, placed and back out. That time is part of the owner's day, even when the camera is not rolling.

On a street, the permissions sit with the production. A low loader or a tracking vehicle is often the calmer way to film a performance while the car appears to drive. The artist can work, and the car stays with a planned driver. A slow pass can usually be done with the owner or a nominated driver. Anything faster, closer to other vehicles, or off the agreed route needs the production's own driving team, and on a public road it needs the permission for that road. London questions sit on the picture car hire in London page, including filming from a moving vehicle.

If the video tells a short story, continuity matters even on a one-day shoot. Note which set-ups share the same car, whether the roof is up or down, and whether a door is meant to stay open. A roof that changes between angles without a reason reads like a wardrobe change. Say it in the brief so the owner and the director are planning the same car.

One brief can cover a hero car and the cars around it. A statement car in an empty street reads differently from the same car in traffic you have cast. If modern cars must not appear, say how much of the street is in frame. Background cars for a video are planned the same way as for a drama: the period or the present day, parked or passing, and back in the same place if you turn around. See background vehicles for film when the street is part of the idea, and action vehicle hire when a vehicle has to perform rather than sit.

Weather changes the day. Soft-tops, fresh paint and cars that should not see salt or heavy rain need a backup set-up. Tell us if rain is wanted, unwanted, or only from a rain bar that must not hit the car. We will not put a car forward for something its owner has not agreed. Insurance is arranged by the production, naming the owner, including who may drive and whether the car moves. Every job is quoted on its own from the car, the hours, the use, transport and any driver. Send the treatment with the date and the location. The process from there is the same as how CarSeen works: a shortlist, then the practical limits on each car.