Homemade Camera Dolly
A camera dolly can be an essential part of video production. Whether it is for smoothing out a shot over rough terrain, making a camera move that is a bit more professional, or just quickly getting a camera in position for the next shot, the dolly will make the task much easier. A homemade camera dolly can be built to move about freely or to move along a fixed track.
Making A Track Dolly
Use PVC pipe, roller skate wheels and some other simple materials to construct a track dolly that will produce smooth and professional-looking shots, advises GoMediaMonkey.com.
Build your track first, using 1-inch pieces of PVC pipe. This is an easy process. Buy enough pipe to lay end to end so that you have an adequate length of track. Get large wooden dowels that are slightly smaller than the inside of the pipe, and then wrap the ends with packaging tape so that you can use the dowels as connectors between the segments of pipe. Lay the tracks aside.
Get two 3-foot-long steel V-rails, bent at 90-degree angles. Use rails with holes already in them, such as support rails for a garage-door opener. Attach in-line roller skate wheels on either side of the V-rail, and then bolt them to the underside of a wooden platform. The skate wheels grip the PVC pipe that forms the track, moving the camera smoothly.
Attach the V-rails to the bottom of a wooden platform. Use bolts to attach them on each side, parallel to one another. The rails should be mounted at the width you will be laying down your track. The platform should be strong enough to hold a person, tripod and camera. Two 3/4-inch pieces of hardwood, screwed together, is recommended for adequate support.
Place the tracks on the ground in straight lines parallel to one another, and line up the bottoms of the wheels with the rails, wedging the bottom edges of the wheels against the PVC track. The platform will roll smoothly, even with the added weight of the equipment and operator.
Quick-Rolling Alternative
To build a dolly that will quickly roll from one spot to another or will travel over extremely rough terrain, use a furniture dolly and a wooden platform.
The dolly is easily converted into a camera dolly if it is the type with a large flat area for moving large pieces of furniture or other loads. Simply place a strong piece of wood, such as the one used to make the platform in the track dolly, across the flat area of the existing dolly, and use that area to mount your tripod. This quick fix can serve the purpose in a pinch.
Tags: camera dolly, dolly that, skate wheels, wooden platform, dolly that will, flat area, Homemade Camera