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jussing

01-07-2006, 06:34 PM

Hey all,

I've spent years chasing garage-production homemade dolly building plans on the net, but I don't want to embark on the acual project of building one, until I see a convincing model, and that has yet to happen.

I've seen tons of "how to"s, but I always question the actual stability of the project.

The obvious answer is if course, if I want the real thing, buy the real thing. As with the question "how can I make DV look like film", where the answer is "shoot film, not DV", the ultimate answer to "how do I get a good dolly" is "buy (or rent) a real dolly, don't build a cheap one".

But, since I can't afford a real dolly for the garage productions I make, I will constantly be looking for a good homemade recipe, even if it's utopic. :)

So...... anyone of you had any luck with a homemade dolly? Have any good demo footage to show off?

Cheers,
- Jonas

GallenWolf

01-08-2006, 09:32 AM

Hello mate! Saw this awhile back, don't know if it could help ya...

http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=4617&highlight=dolly <- dolly

http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=2694 <- crane

HTHs!

Alvin

watermage

01-08-2006, 04:15 PM

As a warweary practioner in "guerilla" filmaking me and my guys built one that is about 25 feet long, using rollerskate wheels from a dumpster, plywood ripped from a building site and unused steel pipes from a school. I will upload some pics in a while for your benefit.

I always say, if it doesnt exist, build it yourself.
Most times, its best to try a little thing and experiment. Yes, that may cost you money but your not gaining anything if you wait around for someone else to try it.

Good luck.

Darkeyesuk2000

01-08-2006, 07:44 PM

Hi every one this is my first post and i would like to say hi to everyone.
for manny years i had been borrowing a dollyof a mate for all my video/film work, untill one day he told me he gota 2 month shoot and would be unable to lend it to me. we could not afford to buy a dolly so i said to my producer if i could have a go buliding one. After he finished laughing at me he said go ahead.

Before you guys laugh at me i built the dolly totaly out of wood.
i bought the softest rolla skate wheels and apec 7 bearings as you need them to make a smooth ride.

And guess what it was smoother than the dolly i was using before.
it is a piss of piss once you work it out.
as for the tracks i used 50mm plastic tubing i bought from the diy shop and used a pipe cutter the get a straight cut.
The for the pipe joiners i cut 15cm of tubing off the cut horzontaly down the tube so i could squeez them in to the pipe.

simplicity is the hall mark of genius

i hope this helps i will try to post some pics up once i know how lol

jussing

01-09-2006, 08:12 AM

Thanks a billion for the links, Gallenwolf! :thumbsup:

Darkeyes, Watermage, I'd love to see pics of those rigs, and I'd love to see a video clip shot from the dolly, too, if that's in any way possible. :)

Also, is it possible to do circular dolly tracks with those plans? IE, dolly pivot.

Cheers,
- Jonas

Rickmeister

01-10-2006, 01:37 PM

Very interresting topic this is! Those professional tools are disturbingly expensive... and not worth that much of my money! We students don't have all the ability's the big guys have... so building such things yourself seemed the solution to me also, only actually starting to build it... is harder than it looks. Where to start...

I love to see some pics!

SirReality

01-14-2006, 02:25 AM

I haven't tried this yet, but I've been considering one of those red wagons that you can buy for kids. Some of them have big inflatable wheels, and they certainly are stearable. My theory is that the camera and cameraman ride while another person on the crew pulls (or pushes) the wagon along an indicated path. I'm sure this isn't perfect, but it is a lot closer to my budget than a real dolly.

dbates

01-14-2006, 03:43 AM

Warning: don't take corners to sharply in a red wagon--they tip easily. I found that out the hard way. . .

pasghetti

01-14-2006, 05:53 AM

Alternatively, you can use a wheelchair and get pretty good results. I found one at a garage sale a few years ago for around $30...

don

ZaKKoS

01-14-2006, 04:18 PM

Alternatively, you can use a wheelchair and get pretty good results. I found one at a garage sale a few years ago for around $30...

don

Nouvelle vague style! If Truffaut and Godard did it why shouldn't we?

Anyway I've worked with this (http://www.panatronics.com/prodotti/handyman/pic/binari_montaggio_4_max_wg_Titel2d.jpg) that is pretty much like the vast majority of homemade dolly. No fancy rails (aluminium pipes without sleepers), the wheels are skate wheels etc.
I was pretty much impressed with it, when i saw it i thought that it would never be stable but i had to admit that it was very good (not a peewee but that was obvious!). Now I'm planning to buy one but if it will not be possible i'll build it, it's pretty easy and when you're on it the weight keeps it stable. More pics. (http://www.constanceprod.com/machinerie/travelling/pages/travelling1_jpg.htm)

I would recommend you to take a look at this site (not only for the dollies, it's a great source of general info) http://www.rondexter.com/

hellgatemedia

01-15-2006, 04:45 AM

I've actually been on a set where they used a wheelchair for a dolly. This was as low budget as they get. The best part of all is, it's a sports movie, and they got all the extras sitting in these bleachers, which they had to paint blue, it didn't dry, and no one realized it, and all the extras sat down on the bleachers and got blue paint on the back of their shirts and pants. It was in Florida, and it was outside, I think the humidity caused the paint not to try as quickly as they expected, I forget exactly what the explanation was. But too funny.
Sometimes, though, it's fascinating what is done on a "guerrila" shoot.
There is one problem with the wheelchair method, it's not steady, there's a shake to it, and you are at the mercy of the ground below you, as in you better not hit a rock or a bump or the shot is ruined. Which may or may not be a problem for you.

jussing

01-15-2006, 09:57 AM

Thanks everybody for the extra feedback!

Zakkos, great links! Particularly rondexter.com.

Wheelchair, huh.... might give that a try!

Cheers,
- Joans

Darkeyesuk2000

02-04-2006, 05:39 PM

Did you guys know that some of the dolly scenes from the 1st terminator movie was done on a wheel chair, yeah thats right, James Camron used to chill out with Roger Corman in the old school days.

Romero

02-15-2006, 05:54 AM

dammarud

03-06-2006, 11:22 PM

What about the budget?

BuckBeaver

03-21-2006, 06:02 PM

I've used a wheel chair as a low budget dolly and I've found that with a little planning it works quite well in most situations. If you go this route it's a good idea to build one of those famous "$10 steadicams" to help smooth out the bumps that occur. Another option is attach a weight to one end of a monopod (or even a regular tripod) that your camera is mounted on and have your operator hold the monopod/tripod where it's centre of gravity is.

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