Camera dollies seem to be the most requested D.I.Y. tool in this field, and with good reason. It allows for more complex and life-like camera movements which bring your shots to life in a way that tripod and hand-held shots cannot. The basic idea of a dolly is to combine the freedom of hand-held with the stability and fluidity of tripod shots. When a dolly is used correctly, it really can mean the difference between the look of cinema, and the look of home video. However, tracked dollies are extremely expensive, and home-made dollies are difficult to acquire smooth shots out of, which really makes a working home-made camera dolly the 'holy grail' of D.I.Y. film equipment. What makes a dolly shot different than zooming is that the dolly shot's perspective changes during the movement, while the zoom shot only enlarges the image.
If you're reading this blog, odds are good that you can't afford a commercial camera dolly. Neither can I, so let's consider our options:
Dolly shots (or 'tracking shots') can be used to to move in on an object to emphasize importance, or dolly alongside a moving object to keep it in frame. This is usually done on a wheeled platform riding on a track - but sometimes we don't have the money or space for a proper track; and even still - some shots can cover a large area of ground in one take in which case a track wouldn't be feasible (or not without the track being in frame).
In these cases, any moving platform can be substituted for a dolly - a good idea is to stick to things with rubber wheels or tires, as rubber can absorb shock and the whole premise behind a dolly is stable footage. My two favorites are bicycles and wheelchairs.
The wheelchair, while not as stable on unsteady ground as we'd like it to be; can achieve shots that would be very difficult to accomplish with a tracked dolly, or at least a dolly without a crane. A wheelchair can rotate a full 360 degrees allowing you to move around subjects, in between objects, and generally anywhere else that tracks cannot. An example of such a shot can be seen below:
The camera starts off on the left side of the subject, the subject turns and begins walking diagonally in front of the dolly's path. The dolly wheels past the subject and then rotates over to her right side. Once there, the dolly is then pulled backwards alongside the subject as she finishes her diagonal path.
Bicycles are good for higher speed tracking shots depending on your skill on a bike. One hand on the handlebar, one on your camera, and some interesting effects can be achieved (I take no liability should you try this at home). I shot one piece on a bicycle that gives the film a dream-like quality as the camera seems to float and fly alongside, in front, behind, below, and above the subject. An example of said footage can be seen below:
The shot then continues as the camera goes in front of the subject.
Should you attempt to do something like this, I highly suggest an adult tricycle as they allow you to take your hands off of the handlebars completely once you get going. The footage above was shot on a BMX (which is also a good idea as BMXs generally have a low center of gravity), but there is definitely plenty more opportunity to fall on a BMX than there is with an adult tricycle. I picked one up at a yard sale for $30 similar to the one shown below:
There are endless possibilities for tracking shots, it's really just a matter of figuring out what works best for the kind of shot you need. For example, twice I needed a tracking shot from less than a foot off the ground, stability wasn't important but height was. I thought of using a skateboard, I thought of running with the camera dangling off strings - until I thought of a tripod. I lengthened the tripod's legs but kept it folded, attached the camera to it, and then held the tripod by it's legs so that the camera was now upside down. I held the tripod's legs up by my shoulders while running with it, the camera pointed at my subject, albeit upside down. Later on I just flipped the footage right-side up and voila! Simple tracking shot using a tripod:
The methods above are just a couple of endless interesting substitutes to a dolly, and while they can achieve very unique shots; what do you do if you just want a straight-forward camera dolly, one on tracks that can glide smoothly with your actors? There are various plans online as far as building your own tracked dolly goes, but there is one general method in particular that will assure smooth shots.
What we want is something that looks like this:
But what we can make using one of the various plans online is something that looks like this, and works in nearly the same manner:
PLEASE NOTE: I do not own and did not build the dolly shown here. The dolly itself as well as the plans and photos are from http://www.jorenclark.com. There are a variety of similar D.I.Y. dolly plans available, but I chose this one for a number of reasons, one of which being that this site includes detailed photos of the building process.
The step-by-step instructions can be found at http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers/dolly.html, but what separates this sort of dolly from some of the other methods is how close the track and wheels operate compared to a commercial dolly:
Note the angle of the wheels and the round track. The two sets of angled wheels glide much smoother than the typical 4 wheel setup (like that of a skateboard for example), which many D.I.Y. plans still utilize. Granted, there are some commercial dollies that don't use this systen, like the first dolly pictured above; but as far as making one yourself goes, the angled wheels are probably your best bet. The length of your track depends on how much PVC you lay down; there's even a clever way to link pipes to extend your track at http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers/dolly.html.
Makeshift steadicams, hands, wheelchairs, skateboards, bikes, cars, rollerskates, or even dollies themselves - finding a way to get your camera moving fluidly with the action is a necessity. It broadens your horizon of storytelling and and breathes fresh air to what could have formerly been a fixed tripod shot. Whether your subject is a couple taking a stroll down the beach, or a car racing down a stretch of road, taking the camera with the action is the difference between your audience watching the situations, and being taken along for the ride.
2 comments:
You've pretty much covered everything and the BMX use makes a lot of sense.
One of the best constructed Dollies you can build is from a three wheeled Baby sport's pram - babies are well looked after in the mechanics of a well built pram and this reduces shock greatly.
Rups
Ah, thanks very much! Never even thought of a baby pram; makes perfect sense though.
Thanks for the idea!
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