best tool for dolly shots?

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I was planning on buying some hardware to do a dolly shot and have no idea what would work best.

A Glidetrack? Indie dolly?

I know there's a lot of options out there. But I'm looking for something portable that doesn't take too long to set up.

Looking forward to feedback,

Thanks,

- Nick
 
It depends on what kind of shots you want to make and what kind of space you will be working in.

Sliders allow for dolly shots in tighter quarters, but the length of the moves are limited as opposed to a real dolly riding on dolly track. But, if you have a small crew, or no crew, a slider easier to use.

A real dolly takes more time and effort to set up and move, generally, but if it allows you to ride the dolly while operating the camera, you can have more control.

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Hi Chris,

And thanks very much for your feedback. I was thinking more alone the lines of the glidetrack but unfortunately, it's limited to 2 meters. Do you know of anyything like the glidetrack that goes beyond 2 meters? I guess at that point I'd probably need a doorway dolly. But I hoping to keep the gear small.
 
The Husky Dolly and track by Panther is well worth a look. Together with the gas centre post, this dolly is very well built. It folds up to fit in the car, and is silky smooth on track. It also has pneumatic tyres so you can run it on a flat studio floor, or use it as a trolley to carry cases around.

Husky3_400_300.jpg
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
Hi Chris,

And thanks very much for your feedback. I was thinking more alone the lines of the glidetrack but unfortunately, it's limited to 2 meters. Do you know of anyything like the glidetrack that goes beyond 2 meters? I guess at that point I'd probably need a doorway dolly. But I hoping to keep the gear small.
Click to expand...


The Glidetrack is a slider. That's what that type of device is called, or at least what they were first known as.

Two meters is probably at about the limit of what I'd think most slider's could achieve.

Check this out:

http://www.camtramsystem.com/

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Hi Chris,

I think I'll settle on the Glidetrack. Just one question. What length would you recommend? The Glidetrack web site offers 1M (meter), 1.5M and 2M choices? It would seem that 2M would give me the most room. But aside the fact that a 1 meter would be cheaper, is there any reason to get a 1M instead of 2M? Are dolly shots that are more than 1 meter in length seldom used?
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
I think I'll settle on the Glidetrack. Just one question. What length would you recommend?
Click to expand...

Build your own with the exact same materials, at a much lower cost. Plus, you can get whatever length you want. Mine gives 36" of movement, and it's amazing just how much expression can be captured with that length of slide.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
Hi Chris,

I think I'll settle on the Glidetrack. Just one question. What length would you recommend? The Glidetrack web site offers 1M (meter), 1.5M and 2M choices? It would seem that 2M would give me the most room. But aside the fact that a 1 meter would be cheaper, is there any reason to get a 1M instead of 2M? Are dolly shots that are more than 1 meter in length seldom used?
Click to expand...


If all a crew had was a dolly and track then yes they would use it for even a 1 meter dolly movie. If shoot days were being planned and very short moves were expected, then a slider would more likely be employed since the extra expense of crew and time to move track and dolly around wouldn't really be needed.

I have a homemade slider with a 1 meter and 2 meter track and I'd say the 2 meter track is more useful and gets used more than the shorter piece.

One thing a lot of people do when shooting interior work with people is to mount a 3' slider on a hydraulic dolly arm which then allows for short smooth controlled moves in all directions.

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Matthews doorway dolly on neumatic tires.
Works in 90% of situations.
Your not limited by track.
You'd be surprised how those tires smooth out a rough surface.
Give it a try.
Or set down track which is PITA IMHO.
 
That Husky looks sexy.

Second shameless plug: Seats are important, but apple boxes do the trick very well on a smooth skate dolly if you want to save the money for something else. :D
 
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