What types of lenses/ rigs are used for photographing the interior car commercials ?

[Anthony Thomas]

I've seen shots that move in really close on a detail of the interior of a luxury car.
I've always been very curious how these shots are achieved ?
How do you get a camera inside of a car to move so smoothly from one detail of the interior to another ?
Some sort of jib rig with macro lenses I'm assuming.

 

[ed ng]

http://www.youtube.com/user/CameraCranes#p/a/u/0/cQmHescgZdI

or

small jib!

 

[Marc Wielage]

On some of the car commercials I've worked on, the filmmakers "cheated" a bit by using breakaway cars -- sawing part of the roof or car body away -- just to get the camera inside. I've seen some recent commercials that use combinations of green screen, CG, and VFX comps to create the impression that the camera swoops in through the passenger window and out through the driver's side window, which obviously wouldn't work, even if the camera and lens was smaller than your fist. Clever editing makes it seem like multiple shots are all part of the same car, when in reality it might have been three or four cars, each manipulated in different ways.

Car commercial filmmaking at this level is absolutely a work of art. Minute for minute, they're among the most expensive productions on television.

 

[Manuel Wenger]

As Marc said, breakaway cars together with U.Bangi Systems (removable roof, doors,...)
http://www.movietech.de/german_09/mag_rigs_new.html#a_ubangi
or jib arms as you said

Snorkel lenses/ periscope lenses
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/04/prweb377531.htm
http://www.innovision-optics.com/prod/probe2plus.shtml

very often underslung Lambda Heads
http://www.porta-jib.com/cartoni-spin-head.htm

with a jib arm, underslung L Head and periscope lens you can clear anything pointing the camera down, and the lens forward, as long as you can remove the roof of the car (on some budget sensitive commercials, a sunroof was ok as well)