Today was an adventure for me as I embarked upon the journey to make my very own dolly.
“What’s a dolly?” you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you what a dolly is. A dolly is a staple piece of equipment for many professional and indie films alike. It usually consists of a track ranging from a length of 10 feet to 50 feet and sometimes even further. Professional tracks are generally made of aluminum and other light metals (whereas most DIY tracks are made out of PVC). Dollies are used quite frequently in films because they allow smooth movement of the camera to follow action and to create tension or add depth. With a dolly you can go forward, backward, side-to-side, and even diagonal. And with the right kind of tracking/wheel combination, you can even go in circles and big curves.
Dollies make a big difference in any film project, and are very very useful. However, to buy a professionally-made dolly from a vendor, you can spend hundreds of dollars for just a decent one. Most indie filmmakers can’t afford that kind of dough, so instead they make their own. And that’s exactly what I did; I made my very own dolly today!
Here’s what I did:
I took one of those studio dollies, the kind with the crappy rubber wheels and the three-prong design. They’re generally used by photographers in studios to move around a tripod easily. The heavy-duty kind are used in TV studios to move around those giant television cameras. The one I used is one of the cheaper kinds you can get off ebay and other discount stores.
The first important thing about DIY dollies are the way the wheels are mounted. To use them effectively, they should be mounted at an angle to help stay on the track. The use of angle iron allows a mountable surface just perfect for making the wheels angled. So I bought some angle iron with pre-drilled holes in it (how convenient) which you can get at your typical hardware store. Luckily the bolts from the studio dolly were just the right size to fit through the holes drilled into the iron, so all I had to do was screw in the angled iron where the wheels used to go. I really got off easy there. In most other cases you’ll have to drill through some metal to mount the iron to whatever you’re using, so be careful.
To aide with the mounting of the wheels, I bought some washers, bolts, and nuts. They were all 3/8″ size, but the sizes might be different according to invididual circumstances. I also got some nylon spacers to space the wheels away from the angled iron. Again, all of these parts can be found at a hardware store. Nothing obscure, I promise.
The second important thing about dollies are the wheels themselves. I’ve seen people use skateboard wheels, rollerskate wheels, and let’s not forget rollerblade wheels. To be frank, it doesn’t matter what is used, as long as the wheels come with bearings. Without bearings the wheels will catch and hang on the bolts used to attach them to the angled iron. With bearings, the rolling is smooth. I recommend using rollerblade wheels and nothing else. I bought a set of eight for $35 at a run-of-the-mill sports store.
The third important thing about dollies is the placement of the wheels. Certainly you can put them straight across from each other and it’ll work, but many people recommend to stagger them. You’ll see what staggering means by looking at the pictures below. The main reason you should stagger is because the weight of the dolly will be more evenly spread throughout the base of the dolly. If you come across a bump in the track, it won’t be as noticeable, if at all.
To mount the wheels, I used an “intricate” design I cooked up in this order: (from the outside to the inside) Bolt, wheel, nylon spacer, washer, angle iron, washer, nut.
Tighten the nut as far as you can, and it should stay firmly in place. You may need to loosen the nut a bit if you tighten it too far, to make sure the wheel turns properly.
In my design I only used eight wheels; two on each prong and an extra two on the lone prong. I’ve seen designs use just as much, but I’ve also seen some use 12 or 16.
Here’s the finished product with a tripod attached. Notice the handy tripod holders that came with the studio dolly. Most other designs will need to create their own notches to hold the tripod legs. This design really saved some work, but I recognize not everyone has a studio dolly lying around. What’s cool about the holders is that they’re adjustable, too. However the downside is that they won’t extent to their full length, due to the wheels obstructing the path.
Also note the track, which is made out of 1″ PVC piping and connected with 3/4″ PVC jammed in-between them. I bought them in 5′ lengths, which makes them easier to store and transport. Of course, you could buy 10 foot lengths at a cheaper price and cut them yourself, but where’s the fun in that?
On the ends of the track I cut some extra PVC and used elbow joints to create a buffer at the end. This keeps the tracks together in case they’re on a slight incline, or if someone is a bit careless with their extremities.
Here’s a top-down look to with an overall view of how it’s all laid out. Note the wheels are staggered.
Here’re a couple of angles to see how the wheels are attached.
The results of this contraption are very very smooth. I will eventually need a better tripod, and once I get my DVX I can certainly get some better footage. But here’s some test footage I shot with my Sony Cybershot to give you an idea of what a dolly shot looks like:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0xVtLwoeKk
The Cybershot isn’t very good in low light and fails to retain focus on anything. What looks like jumps on the track are most likely just the camera zooming in and out quickly to find focus. I promise I will update this article with better footage once my DVX arrives.
Remeber, this is my first attempt at building anything like this, so please take this design and advice with a grain of salt. There are literally hundreds of ways to make a dolly, but these elements have proved to be key amongst many different filmmakers.
As a side-note: One of the beauties of this design in particular is the portability of it all. If I wanted to transport this dolly on a long trip, I’ve made everything collapsible. All I need is a wrench to undo the bolts on the angle iron, and then the base will fold up, making all the parts relatively small and easy to transfer.
Not bad, eh?
If you want to see other designs and perhaps learn more about making dollies, feel free to visit the links below:
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