Dollies
 

I Have Looked all around and can not find a decent dolly system for under 150$ Can someone help and give me some ideas?

I know this'll come off like I'm being a smartass, but I'm dead serious - use a skateboard or a wheelchair. Not the best solutions, but they're cheap and who'd ever know, as long as the shot looks good?

Robert Rodriguez used a wheelchair when he shot El Mariachi. He borrowed it from a doctor's office in town, and he had to schedule times when he could borrow it. =]

If you're looking for something a bit more permanent, you could probably build something from Home Depot materials for well under $100.

Oh yeah i have never thought of using a skate cool thanx!

If you do decide to go the Home Depot route, make sure the wheels are rubber and big like wheel barrel wheels. This way you can assure a smooth ride without as many bumps.

The whole skate board idea is a little scary I think. You hit a little tity rock and the skate stops and you and your camera go flying.

Always have someone pushing the dolly and to be there incase any accidents :-)

I'd forget the skateboard unless you're on totally smooth ground for the same reasons as Mark said. Also you'd have a hard time sitting a tripod on it ;)

I've just finished making a dolly and prelim tests seem good. We're using it as part of our LadyX episode, so that's when we'll find out if it's going to be any use, or totally useless. Took me about 4 hours to make as not everything I could find fit the job perfectly so I had to make adjustments. Cost me about NZ$200 all up I think. It runs on rails (PVC) which was probably the most expensive single part, costing me $70 for 2 x 4 metre pieces.

If it works out I might go down the steel rail route and have proper stabilising feet and things for them so I can run it off the ground and keep level on slopes, which it can't do at the moment.


Cheers
Aaron

Can you give me the direction on how to make one? Or is there like a site that helps to make one?

Hi Jamison. I got the idea from this link

http://www.shadowgirlproject.com/dolly01.asp

It's in French but use altavista or google to translate it. There's not much in the way of specifics but you can work out what to do from the pictures.

My one is pretty much exactly like their one.

Cheers
Aaron

Ok thanks alot! Big help