Do you need dolly tracks to use a dolly?

[Charles Papert]

I'm sure the insurance companies do!

I've spent time looking hard at dollies (during all those hours sitting on them, the mind wanders occasionally) to try to understand how they can be valued so highly. One must also consider that unlike a Lexus, they are "handmade"...of course the parts are CNC machined, but the units are assembled by hand and there are quite a few moving parts involved plus the hydraulic arm assembly etc. But mostly, yes, it's the limited amount that are made.

The part that surprises me a bit is that unlike motion picture cameras, which run about the same cost, neither Chapman nor Fisher have moved into any onboard electronics. Unlike the Panther, which has programmable moves and an electronically assisted boom function, the other dollies still rely entirely on mechanical functions to operate the boom. Less to go wrong I suppose, but still interesting that it hasn't gone that way.

[Peter Sciretta]

The long valley track works well in almost any situation...

No the track you can A. Buy yourself at home depot or B buy the track pack. I bought the track pack (25 feet) and it works great... I went back and bought his circle track as well

I can not reccomend his product enough... I looked far and wide and his dolly is the best for under $1000.

[Mike Butler]

That Long Valley rig looks like the best, I like that you can add track cheaply and even buy the kit and build one yourself by adding the wood.

Actually I did use a tripod dolly with tracks, kind of like the Promax idea, using a QuickSet tripod dolly (very rugged, almost unlimited weight capacity). The track was a piece of PVC pipe ripsawn in half (hey, a half-pipe!) with two of the dolly wheels riding in one U-shaped "rail" and the remaining wheel in the other. Spacing was kept by crossties made of 2x4s attached to the bottom of the pipe halves with wallboard screws. Pretty crude, eh? The disadvantage is that it would be kind of tough to make a smooth joint if you wanted a track of over 10 feet in length. I like Longvalley's idea of the "secret compound" --Lemon Pledge!

I didn't know anything about the 24.5" "standard" spacing at the time.

[Jonathan Stanley]

No offense, but the long valley dolly is a waste of money. I took their pictures, bought wheels off ebay (make sure you get the type that turn!), and built my own. No lie, took me approx. 30 mins to assemble from the time I got home from Lowe's hardware. PLUS, my pushbar is built so that more than one person can push, thus making a smoother dolly and if you need to go fast it is easier w. two people. cost me 220 with 10 feet of track, smooth as smooth can be.

Long Valley does however have a good price on their curved track.

[Jeff Patnaude]

Chris,
we have whats called a "doorway dolly" here at our work. It's just like a cart and the tripod sits on it-usually weighted with dirt bags for steadyness.

Sometimes we do get track from the rental house, and we have a set of skates that mount in place of the tires. These are wheels like on inline skates and travel on the tracks smoothly.

If the floor/suface is smooth, it should be okay.

I've worked on shoots spending hours laying down plywood, then the track sections, then having to level and shim all of the joints. Can get tedious.
KISS method where and when you can!

How about one of the monopod-based steadicam units?

all the best,

Jeff Patnaude

[Nick Medrano]

Re-opening this thread.

So, what's the hottest dolly kit right now? Long Valley Dolly? Matthews (expensive)? Or home-made versions?

Someone mentioned about using plywood to level out a hilly terrain. They still do this in major motion pictures...and I think The Alamo had one of the longest dolly track setups (however, the scene was cut) at almost half a mile long.

I'm looking into getting a good dolly/track combo and need some help! Thanks!

[Keith Loh]

When the Raimi brothers shot Evil Dead they used what they called the "margarine dolly". All it was was the camera mount on a two by four that was smeared with margarine.

[Ryan Gohlinghorst]

They did some really innovative stuff in Evil Dead especially where camera movement is concerned.

The opening shot of the film involved the camera man sitting in an inflatable raft and being pushed through a shallow swamp.

[Peter Wiley]

Take a look at this wagon kit and see if it gives you any ideas . .

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...categoryId=119

[Mike Long]

I hope I'm not hated on my first post, and I assure you I'm only posting this as simply another camera dolly alternative (since we're on the subject). It is my company, I'm not a spammer, and I gladly invite any questions...

www.glideshot.com/products.htm

Mike

[Philip Boyer]

The link needed a .htm. I added it below.

http://www.glideshot.com/products.htm

[Nick Medrano]

Hey Mike nice prices and setups. I'll contact you later as I am busy right now editing some video:)

[Mike Long]

Thanks for the correction Phillip.

Hey Nick, thanks for the compliment, you can catch me any time you want.

[Keith Loh]

I have a question regarding your product. Will it help me fight off a dog?

[Mike Long]

Hey Keith, depends on how large the dog is...we only rate our stuff at beagle or smaller...