What do I need to look for in a dolly and a track?

Sojiro21

Sojiro21

You cant exactly see these things in walmart, so I need a bit of help on what I need to look out for.

And maybe someone can recommend one for fight scenes and such?
 
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Check out this video. They have lots of other great DIY stuff too. I definitely plan on making some of their stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR_-R2bS9ag
 
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Smooth, Sturdy, Portable. You'll need to get it to your location, so it needs to fit in your vehicle (deck and track). You'll potentially be putting a tripod, camera, operator on there, so it has to support that amount of combined weight. And firstly, you want good shots out of it... so you'll want something that is very smooth... and take the time to level the track for even a smoother ride.
 
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Oh, my $50 DIY doorway dolly on PVC pipe works like a champ... and I overbuilt it to be able to carry 500-600 pounds of gear/operator. I commonly put my 8' jib arm on it with my boom op to get cool dynamic shots... and the PVC pipe means I can get another 5' of track for $2.50 at a hardware store.
 
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brunerww said:
Sojiro - You can spend a lot of money on a dolly and track, but if you're on a budget and don't have the time to build one yourself, the $195 Glide Gear Syl-960 Tripod Track Dolly and $195 12' Glide Gear Track are a great value for money.

If you don't want to buy the Glide Gear track, you can use the dolly with the track wheels and 1" to 1.5" PVC pipe.

Here is the promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PZNICzzy8c

Hope that's helpful,

Bill
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Thanks!!

What I am really looking for is a 360 degree track...the only one I was able to find is a rubber track and Im not sure about that.
 
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If you have good shop skills and some tools you can make a circular track and dolly. In my art school days in the 80s, before cheap skate wheels were available I made square section tracks. and ride on dolly. Worked amazingly well. Nowdays with cheap skate wheels it could be easier, but more skill or better methods will be needed to put the curve in the round section steel track. There are compter controlled machines now that may do that quite cheaply....maybe.

If your dolly can accomodate varying track widths then track materials other than steel are possible. Rubber or plastic. As long as you are on a flat surface. Steel track is great over almost any terain, you just block it up level.

Cheers,
Gregg.
 
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some alternatives

If you can find a used wheelchair, that will help you with standard pushes and pulls and anything really that is linear. Of course, you'll also need to be on a relatively smooth floor. And it's not very easy to guide a perfect circle if you're dying for that camera move.

Some of the DIY dolly rigs mentioned on this thread seem pretty nifty, however, if you're pressed for time, you might want to consider something -- a 360 camera shot around a fistfight is something that's very amenable to steadicam. In a low-budget situation that means using a poor-man's-steadicam of some sort. (You can google the term and buy or make your own). The reason I mention this is because the visuals and emotions of a fistfight are so dynamic and energetic that your fake dollying is easily disguised by the subject matter. That's why you could get away with a steadicam in this type of scene.

Also, when you shoot fight scenes, most like you'll be doing a ton of coverage. This sort of situation, where your actors are moving around the room and you're constantly re-adjusting shot size and so forth, really favors steadicam work.

There's nothing like a nice smooth dolly, though, to elevate your production value. So have fun!

Shanked
 
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This is another company that offers a similar product. Only you can use your own tripod. You can get the flexible track, and their thing that fits on the bottom of your tripod. I like the Kessler product, because I want to also get the 12 crane they sell. And use their K-pod system with th dolly track wheels and the crane.

Here's the other company

http://www.porta-jib.com/flex-trak.htm
 
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Shanked said:
-- a 360 camera shot around a fistfight is something that's very amenable to steadicam. In a low-budget situation that means using a poor-man's-steadicam of some sort. (You can google the term and buy or make your own). The reason I mention this is because the visuals and emotions of a fistfight are so dynamic and energetic that your fake dollying is easily disguised by the subject matter. That's why you could get away with a steadicam in this type of scene.

Also, when you shoot fight scenes, most like you'll be doing a ton of coverage. This sort of situation, where your actors are moving around the room and you're constantly re-adjusting shot size and so forth, really favors steadicam work.

There's nothing like a nice smooth dolly, though, to elevate your production value. So have fun!

Shanked
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I will 2nd the use of a steadicam as well. Another tool I'm hoping to learn someday.

http://www.steadishots.org/shots_detail.cfm?shotID=58
 
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Jeff Troiano said:
This is another company that offers a similar product. Only you can use your own tripod. You can get the flexible track, and their thing that fits on the bottom of your tripod. I like the Kessler product, because I want to also get the 12 crane they sell. And use their K-pod system with th dolly track wheels and the crane.

Here's the other company

http://www.porta-jib.com/flex-trak.htm
Click to expand...

So i will only be able to use the Kessler tripod with the Kessler dolly?
 
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Sojiro21 said:
Yea I definitely need something that is fault resistant...the Kessler doesnt provide that. The flex-trak looks interesting.

I also found this.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/396731-REG/Indie_Dolly_Systems_IND_CTD_IND_CTD_Universal_Dolly_for.html

What do you think?
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That is the same product in the 2nd link I provided. If you goto that link, they have videos of both the tripod attachment and then item you posted above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZolBw4lw1w&sns=em
 
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