Build a Tracked Camera Dolly for Cheap

(sorry it is un orginised!)

i just translated it all into a word document and here it is! WHAT YOU NEED 8 feet of 2 x 4 8 feet of 1 x 3 4 PVC end caps L shaped angle aluminum Misc. nuts and bolts 4 ten foot PVC pipe. 8 pack of skateboard wheels DIRECTIONS 1. Cut 1 x 3 into two pieces of 29 inches. 2. Drill holes into the end caps. 3. Drill holes at the ends of the 29 in. 1 x 3 for the end caps (27 inches apart). 4. Secure the end caps to the end of the wood. 5. Cut a length of 27.5 inches out of 2 x 4. 6. Cut a length of 35 inches out of 2 x 4. 7. Screw all together with drywall screws and a triangle shape of plywood. 8. Cut aluminum L pieces and file edges. 9. Mount skateboard wheels to aluminum pieces (two pieces have 2 wheels and one has 4). 10. Mount above to platform. 11. Use nuts bolts and washers to secure wheels to aluminum L shape. 12. Make sure the distance between wheels fits on the track. (OPTIONAL) 13. Drill holes into the ends of PVC and mount them together with a piece of wood.

Google search roller skate wheels. They are a ton cheaper than skateboard wheels. http://www.rollerskates.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CRSW-PNK&click=84734 http://www.rollerskates.com/Carrera-Quad-speed-wheels-p/car-whlb.htm

What would really be helpful is to know where you bought the "cheap" skateboard wheels.

You can use zip ties to secure the legs of a tripod down.

I agree with DarkScar... Can u write out a step by step. including measurements.

Hello I was wondering if you could post step by step build plans for the Track Dolly like you did for the wheeled Dolly

For a curved track use rubber pipping it's flexible and you can get it in the same diameter as pvc

Love your ideas and advice Thanks! Two questions please... What diameter pvc pipe do you use - in the video it looked like 2" Do you do anything to secure the tripod to the track dolly?

I'm so going to make this after I get my cannon HF200 HD camera!!

i saw this dolly on "science of the movies" last night!

I would really like a tutorial on how to get an actors point of view

on the subject of curving it, hardware stores have metal piping that can come in the same dimensions. then you could just stick it on

Check out this test footage shot using a similar dolly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7I5QyBfrFE

Where are the building plans?!

try yardsale you can find parts for projects cheap

If you can't find cheap skateboard wheels online, you can run into Toys'R'Us and buy two skateboards for approximately $15 each. There's a Channel 1 board that's more traditional and a couple of kids' boards with High School Musical platered on them. Just take the wheels and bearings and scrap the rest. A pair of youth inline skates might work, too. $24 for the 8 wheels that come with a pair of generic skates is a LOT cheaper than the $80 that the local skate shop wanted to charge me for wheels and bearings.

Can someone please tell me where to find build plans for this? I've looked everywhere and I really need to make this thing for a project next week

remote controll 360 spin track trolly melt pvc pipe and use a wood circual

Hey this is great, I was just wondering, what if you guys at indy mogul madea book, likea user's manual for filmmakers that we could usea asa quick, on set reference book so that the effects that aren't too dangerous andeasy to do are right at our fingertips. I'd buy one, and i'm sure other's would as well.

Awesome episode guys. Check out my tracked dolly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnEJB--jWhU

you guys should make a video on how to make the take on me thing where the white drawn hand comes out of the book

just bolt a wooden wheel to the wood and make it so that the wooden wheel spins and put the camera and tripod on that same effect.I think is a great solution

use metal pipes instead of pvc, then bend them manually with a metal-shaping holder and a hammer, although you might have to apply some form of heat to it. i suggest using boiling water, and pouring it evenly across the metal pipes.

so..... add a freaking shopping list that is on the site...not just part of the movie. i cant get that shit. with sizes and the exact tools and supplies that are used. its not helpful when we cant get the right shit

twisting or curving the pvc pipeing wouldnt work because the weels are built on straight pieces of metal, so u would need those to turn as well along with the pvc piping. An idea that i had is build a circular base with with some type of spinning plate system on top of it. You would then be able to make 360 degree turns with it.

i hate that zune art shit, I want more Mogul

for curved track you can use korner pvc

Do you guys have a shopping list and build plans to make this equipment. We want to build this this Saturday. We have all the equipment!!! Plz reply at your earliest convenience

i think that little kid was scared of that guy in the test film

Where did you get those cheap skateboard wheels? Everywhere i've look they cost about $30 for 4.

how do you subscribe somthing

I laughed so much in the test flm!!! exellent dolly as it is PVA tubes you could slitley and carefully melt the part you want to bend with a low flame tool. It works!!! :)

In order to make a curved dolly track, make sure one PVC pipe is longer than the other, then use two 90-degree pipe joints and a pretty short piece of PVC pipe.

to make the dolly turn, heat the pvc pipe until it becomes flexible.

hmmmmmmmmmm ok!!!!!!!!!

Super Tom Cruise, ha.

well it's my first post. you can use some flexible hose and put some heavy wire inside of it, so that you can make a curve that remains firm the only problem is that you would have to use smaller wheels but the idea is mostly the same

when will they make another episode its been 2 weeks

Hey man can you make a ghostbusters proton pack, that would be cool!!!

W00T! Just finished my dolly!

instead of using plastic piping for the track, use copper piping and bend that.

Thanks a lot! And the test film was just briljant!

The wheel of prospertiy needs a paint job. (spelt prosperity wrong sry)

to do turns-configure the wheels as you would see on a roller coaster car:one on top one on bottom and one one the side. then just curve your pvc(somehow) and go to town(hey with this setup you could even go upside down!)

heat it up to soften it. put it in a curved clamp. then harden it with cool water.

You could use aluminum pipe instead of pvc pipe and use a pipe bender like the ones used by auto manufacturers to make certain parts of the car bent the pipes to a perfect curve as angles will cause jams in the track

To make a curved track just use 45° or 90° pvc pipe, and connect them with some sort of internal connector(you could use foam or cork or something of the sort. You may need to taper the ends to get it into the pipe easier). This way, the dolly can move without hitting a joint in the pipes.If the corner pieces have collars(as mentioned above) simply cut them off. This will still give you an accurate 45 or 90 turn. Of course, you would need wood supports under the corners to keep it level with the track, but you dont even need to drill them to the pvc. You guys could have cut your budget by doing this instead of using end caps; only problem is that you would have nothing to stop your dolly from falling off the track. On to the rotating wheels; you could either have a swivel bracket to connect the wheels to the dolly, or you could do what you have already done, and simply add an arm that can rotate at the base of the dolly. Only problem with the latter is structual integrity, since the wheels would not be directly under the dolly. Hope this helped. Cheers.

ERIK, PLEASE DO AN IRON MAN SPECIAL, A HELMET, AND SUIT FOR CHEAP. PLEASE I RLY NEED IT!!!!!!!!!:D

THEY FINALLY WENT TO JERSEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!

it's pretty easy and cheap to bend PVC pipe. All you need is some end caps, some sand and a heat gun. You can also make a jib to keep the bends simular. Basically you fill the PVC pipes that you are going to bend with sand and put endcaps on the PVC to keep the sand from coming out "don't glue the end caps on". Then heat the PVC pipe with a heatgun and bend the pipe. You can use a bending jib to insure that the pipes are bent in a simular fashion (case of course you need 2). This of course would require that your track wheels are attached to a swivel brackets so that they can follow the curves of the PVC.

nice! that was a good idea.that will hlp when i film!

Use amalla weels on kinda lihe a rail road like PEX piping track for a more flexable trac

WOW

Heres an idea. Maybe you could use some sort of swivel on top of the dolly giving you a 360 approach to the filming?

you know you can make a cheap track by useing the first dolly two garden hoses and ducttape bam cheap turnable dolly track

please make how to rip flesh of someone thanks

You shouldn't need t have wheels that turn, think of train tracks, the wheels on a train do not turn BUT the train itself rocks left or right turning into the curve as it moves forward, the weight of the vehicle keeps the train on the track, the curved dolly track should be much the same. If any one has Alien Versus Predator on DVD take a look at the behind the scenes, they put a guy inside a circle of track and run the camera around him this gives them a bunch of crazy angles to pick from when they have him looking for the predator. The wheels themselves shouls stay on the track without having to make them turn because the track is the guide.

Since when did "Super time lapse, WOOOO!" become "Super Tom Cruise, WOOOO!", hahahahaha?!?! Best thing I heard all day :oD

Supa Tom Cruise!

I don't know why my first post didn't show up. anyway, to make curved track, use metal electrical conduit and a pipe bender. Pipe benders usually have marks that let you know exactly how much of a bend you are making. for swiveling wheels, gat a piece of metal as long as the L bracket, bend it so it looks like a triangular tube without one corner and it fits down into the L bracket cornerles end first. cut slots so it will fit over the bolts you put for the wheels and make them stop so the new piece makes a complete triangular tube with the L bracket. Drill a hole in the center and attatch another skate wheel to that hole. drill holes in the sides to attatch the new piece to the L bracket with short bolts. Put it together, then drive sheetrock screws into the new skate wheel from the top of the dolly. Voila! wheels that will follow the curve.

to make extensions fit together better, cut up a pool noodle and cram a piece in where you connect the pipes. this will make it less likely to come apart at the top and make a nice little bump in your footage.

I reccomend picking up a pair of rollerskates or rollerblades from a salvation army or something. they tend use the same bearing size as skateboards (608) If you use Rollerblade wheels you may have to compensate the measurements for the increased size. also, if your bearings are squeaky, hose them down with a can of tri-flow.

Ordered skateboard wheels today hope to build it this weekend!!

to curve the track, heat the pvc (blowtorch?)and slowly curve it in the direction you need.

i miss erik's quick tips

Epic! And simple too! I'm gonna build me one of these :D

This was great. I loved it. Thanks guys.

Wow amazing episode this time guys! NICE JOB ERIK, JEROD, and STEVE!

wraith i thought i was the only one:P

to make it curve, try to use those pieces of l shaped aluminum u used and heat them so they will bend to a curve.

WHEELS WITH BEARINGS!!!!!! http://www.skates.com/Boxer-Quad-speed-wheels-p/bxr-whlb.htm

LAST!!! erik, cut your hair

LAST!! Where can I get an 8 pack of longboard wheels??????

maybe you could take thinner pvc tubes and bend it.

Great dolly guys.

Did you see!!! Gary gave us the middle finger right before the spinning.

Here is my idea on making the track curved. http://forum.indymogul.com/showthread.php?p=150733#post150733

Awesome dolly. Now you have me pondering ways to make it turn. Oh and Erik, were you wearing your zombie T-shirt like you were meant to?

The kid at the end is hysterical. Only to be capped off by the mom grabbing him. Aaahhh, indie filmmaking.

to make the dolly turn all you have to do is get cuved pvc pipes

It's Jake and his beautiful voice! Where you in Seaside Heights? Erik Raj took Patrick and I there last year. You had some pretty shots Steve.

whats the song at the end of the test film?

haha! trip 2 jersey!

This is the dolly we built but we didn't shape it like a tripod. Instead, a square board rides tracks. This way, the cam. op. can ride the dolly as well. Nice Job Indy. Btw, I remember reading somewhere that you could get the pipe to curve by heating it or something like that, i dont remember. w.e.

Awesome.

What was with 'super tom cruise' instead of 'super time lapse'.. did anyone else catch that?

I made a track dolly about a year ago. I actually submited it to indymogul, but I like yours cause it's cheaper than mine. Well here's mine. http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Q-sBcKI3IM&watch_response

Yay, a trip to Jersey!

wow how come no comments were there before I posted

yay first comment

Not 1st! Woo

FIRST!! great i've always wanted a dolly track!! thank you!!

Awsome!Thanks alot!

1st