DIY Dolly In The Forest/DVX

Steven Bogda

Steven Bogda

Well-known member
This is some test footage I took with my DVX with my PVC pipe dolly track in the woods. I have to shoot a short horror movie in a few weeks, and the end scene takes place in the woods with someone getting TORTURED AND KILLED! so I started to make a clearing in the woods that I would use for the scene. One thing led to another and I made walls out of big sticks in a square like perimeter. I want to make the opening shot a long dolly, maybe 20 feet through the woods into the scene, so I set up some bricks and put the track down on them. I didn't really level anything, so it isn't that great, but parts of it seem really smooth. I am picking up some 2x4s and cutting them down to 3 foot segments to use to level the track when I actually have to shoot.

The rest of the footage is just me messing around. The walls look 100 times better currently, there are so many sticks you cant see through them.

*2nd Shot is a zoom

Sorry for the putfile, vimeo says it will take 300 minutes to process...

http://media.putfile.com/test-73-44
 
I don't remember where I found the plans. I really just used the whole skateboard and angle iron method. I got a square piece of scrap ply wood, 2 3' segments of angel iron with holes already pre drilled from home depot, a bunch of different bolts and screws, and some skate board wheels off ebay. Cost about 40 bucks when it was done

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That looks super smooth. It looks like something's about to happen even though it's just footage of the set under construction!
 
Yeah I was surprised how smooth it was when I made it a year or 2 ago. Inside on the level carpet it really shines.
 
Dolly push is amazing Steven. Great makeshift dolly plan you have there. I've been thinking about one for a while. I am think on using an office chair leg and wheel setup I have at work. The wheels have roller bearings in them which I think will work sweet, just have to find a way to stick em on a rail system.

Nice work again mate, I enjoyed that.
 
Thanks Shaun. I thought about that way too but I decided this way would work better. You can even find kid's skateboards on sale at random stores for like 10 bucks. Just take the trucks off and grab the wheels and bearings. Or, you could just take your kid's skateboards and do it for FREE!
 
Dude!,
do yourself a favor and ditch that particle board.........Aaaahhhh!
It literally is glued sawdust. It will flex on you and it will warp if it ever gets damp. Invest in some 5/8 or 3/4 exterior grade plywood. Better yet, get two sections of 5/8 plywood, glue and screw them together. You will get a solid and heavy platform; just what you want for stability and smooth start/stop controllability. The plywood, glue(liquid nails) and deck screws will run you up another $30 but it would be well worth it.
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Nice push, Steven! That shot looked really fantastic. And that's a nice system you made for the money. Although I do agree that 5/8 or 3/4 inch plywood will do you much good in the future.

Here's a dolly (without the tracks and rails on) that a friend and I built a few years back:

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Chair and cruddy tripod set up just to show amount of room on the board.
 
Yeah I know the woods I used is crumby, I got it from a dumpster at a construction site, I made it when I had absolutely not money. Until I have the time to make one that I can actually sit on (which would help a lot so I could focus my adapter) I just have to work with this one.
 
No shame in that. You've got to make due with what you've got, and you're certainly doing that. I was lucky because my friend's dad owns a carpentry business so we had a fair amount of supplies to play with.
 
Steven Bogda said:
Yeah I know the woods I used is crumby, I got it from a dumpster at a construction site, I made it when I had absolutely not money. Until I have the time to make one that I can actually sit on (which would help a lot so I could focus my adapter) I just have to work with this one.
Click to expand...

I hear ya. Keep an eye on that dumpster though. You would be surprised what gets thrown away from construction sites.
Regardless, it's really cool when people go DIY and get great results.
 
Yeah I am always looking for free stuff. I am buying 2x4 studs to re level the dolly track on. It should turn out better. I am doing more tests this weekend, in HD with my SGpro so I will be posting that footage on here, probably this same thread
 
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