As a start up video production company, we are always looking for a way to get some really great footage but without spending a lot of money on new equipment. And if you’ve been a part of the video production world for very long you know that video equipment comes at a pretty penny. So what do you spend money on and what do you do your best to cut corners with? Here’s our policy: if you can get a great shot with cheap equipment then go ahead and do it. After all, no one asks, “Hey what did you use to get that great shot?” It’s all about the great shot (unless of course you’re a film nerd like I am, then I ask, “What did you use to get that great shot?”).
One of the things that we’ve built that we’re really proud of and, more importantly, it gets us some really great shots, is our dolly. If we can do it, then most people can do it. Unfortunately we built this awhile ago and I’m posting this from memory and giving you some pictures so that you can figure it out on your own. With everything that we’ve built, we’ve taken the best parts of several plans and adapted them to our own needs, improving where we can. I suggest that you do the same.
All in all we got most of the parts at Home Depot, Goodwill, our local sporting goods store and a mom and pop hardware store. All told we spent about $140.00. That’s way better than the many hundreds you’ll spend buying from a video specialty store.
Let’s start here. This is a picture of the final project:
STEP 1: For our needs, we wanted to be able to have the camera operator sitting on the dolly able to control the camera as a grip or assistant moves the dolly. This meant that we needed a strong board for the base. We used a piece of solid wood 3/4in x 24in x 48in. This was perfect because 2ft. in width is perfect to fit through a door for a nice tracking shot.
STEP 2: Next we had to figure out how to attach the wheels, making sure that it was raised off of the track and travels smoothly. So what kind of wheel moves both smoothly and silently? Rollerblade wheels. They are perfect. If you’re trying to save a few bucks head to Goodwill and buy an old pair of rollerblades, making sure that you get wheels as smooth as possible. You can cannibalize the wheels off of that. We chose to buy new ones at the sporting goods store so that there were no blemishes and it rode smoothly. This was actually the most expensive part. A pack of 4 wheels with bearings (make sure to get the bearings!) was $35. Still not bad.
Here’s a picture of our wheel mounting system:
STEP 3: Before you attach the mounting system to the base, make sure you pre-drill holes for the wheels. For the mounting system we used 1 1/2″ x 36″ angle aluminum and off-set the wheel alignment. The reason for the off-set alignment is that it minimizes any bumps as it travels on the track. Drill 1/4″ holes in the aluminum where you want to place your wheels all equidistant from the base.
STEP 4: Good measurements are crucial here because you want this system to travel straight without wobbling. Drill three 1/4″ holes through the peak of the angle aluminum and matching 1/4″ holes in the wood base.
STEP 5: Attach the wheels to the aluminum, making sure that the bearing are in. We also used washers and plastic spacers to keep the wheels away from the angle aluminum.
You can see the spacers a bit in the above pic.
STEP 6: Mount the aluminum using 1/4″ nuts and bolts. You’ll have to make sure to get bolts that don’t stick out too far because it’ll scrape the track. Really make sure that both mounting systems are completely aligned.
STEP 7: Now that that part’s done, you’ve completed the hardest part. The rest is really up to preference, but I’ll show you our approach. We wanted to make our system with a handle so it could be moved by someone other than the cameraman. This was pretty easy. We mounted a 1″ galvanized flange1″ x 3/4″ galvanized bushing in the flange, a 3/4″ x close galvanized nipple into that, and a 3/4″ galvanized 45º elbow onto that. This makes up the mounting system for the handle (see below). onto the wood base, put a
Next we got 3/4″ x 36″ galvanized pipe nipple attached a galvanized tee and added pipe nipples in a length that we liked. Voila — a handle. I wrapped ours in duct tape so as not to cut our fingers on the threads because it’s cheap. We have found that tennis racket grip tape is a good alternative for about $5 a roll. The best part is that the handle comes on and off for transport and use very easily.
STEP 8: Surfing on a dolly is not the ideal way to get a good shot, so the cameraman needs a place to sit. Our solution was a relatively simple one. When in doubt, cannibalize something. In this case we got a free office chair off of craigslist and took it apart leaving only the seat and the rod on which it’s attached. Then we mounted a 1 1/4″ galvanized flange where we wanted the cameraman. Attached a 1 1/4″ x 12″ pipe nipple to the flange and set the seat right down inside it. There you have it. A seat.
STEP 9: We mounted 3 brackets on the front end to hold the tripod legs in place.
STEP 10: Now the dolly is done, it needs a track to ride on. This part is pretty easy. We use 1 1/4″ sch. 40 PVC pipe as track. You can attach as many lengths as you like by gluing 1″ sch. 40 PVC into the track pipe. Wrap a little duct tape around that and the tracks fit quite nicely together. While you think you might be done, there’s one more thing to remember. You’re going to need some kind of shim to lift the track off of the ground. That’s what makes it smooth. Just try to run your pipe right on the sidewalk and see how bumpy that is. The simple solution is 2×4′s. Cut them in 2′ lengths and there you have it. For ours, I placed a couple of wood screws to guide the track and keep it from rolling around (see below).
And there you have it. A great, portable dolly and track. Here’s a short clip of a dolly shot we used in a video for Multnomah University (the edit’s a little choppy). Have fun and make this design even better. Cheers.
Leave a Reply