DIY skater dolly test footage

cheezweezl

cheezweezl

Veteran
Yeah i know this is nothing new but i'm still amazed that this plywood dolly produces this kind of footage and just have to show it to everybody. This is the 3 wheel design that "Teddybear" generously posted on the DIY forum. Just finished up the build last night and shot some stuff on my kitchen table.

http://media.putfile.com/Skater-Test

EDIT: Forgot to mention QT7 is required to view this clip.
 
Great footage! Loved the colours! Was it shot with the DVX?
Fun music as well. I gotta say again, I'm impressed!
 
Hyper wheels! :) anyway, like said before, the images were awesome! and those sort of record player dolly shots were great! loved the way the newspaper shot spun. I'd love to know your camera settings, cc stuff, lighting, whatever you can toss this way!

and that chandellier shot was great as well. The colors and tone gave off this glow (not literally, but you know what I mean).
 
holy **** that looks great! do you have a dof adapter? This was some of the most beautiful footage i've seen!
 
hey thanks for the props. nothing special here. no 35 adaptor or anything. just the dvx on scene file 6. all setting factory except for master ped at -10. the key i am finding to great shots is great lighting. i have no idea what i am doing. i just play around until it looks cool. for this i used a single bowl-type worklight with a 300w bulb (the one that blows it out when i come around the corner). the only other light was from the chandellier above and some recessed lights in the ceiling about 10 feet away. in post i just applied minimal cc and the MB post contrast filter.

i swear though the thing that makes these shots look great is the dolly. you just can't get that kind of movement by hand. i love this thing. i want to make a big one that i can put a tripod on and shoot people with.
 
Very well done.

master ped to -10 huh? daring.

My fav shot was the push with the onion and the screwdriver. LOL. don't know why but it cracked me up.

I gotta build one of these.

-rook
 
rook said:
Very well done.

master ped to -10 huh? daring.

My fav shot was the push with the onion and the screwdriver. LOL. don't know why but it cracked me up.

I gotta build one of these.

-rook
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daring? tell me more. why shouldn't i set it that low?
 
cheezweezl said:
the key i am finding to great shots is great lighting.
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and polished silverware, too, of course.

absolutely beautiful poo pooing work. the newspaper shot was very striking, and that alone has some serious possibilities for documentary cutaway stuff. yet, i dont think ive ever seen anything quite like it.

after watching i immediatley sought out ''teddy''s thread. looks infinitely more complex than anything my feeble hands could create. :'(
 
Chev said:
after watching i immediatley sought out ''teddy''s thread. looks infinitely more complex than anything my feeble hands could create. :'(
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c'mon!! it seriously only took me two hours from start to finish to build that thing. all you need is a printer, some plywood and screws, a jigsaw, and rollerblade wheels. just print the plans out and glue them to the wood with spray glue, cut them out, drill holes for wheels and assemble. it'll cost you $40 to try...... the accuracy of it all is not as critical as you think. mine is very very flawed and you see what it can do...
 
Okay, that footage was just freakin' sick! I am litterally blown away by the quality of those shots, in no small part to how well the dolly worked ... I'd never thought of having any use for that kind of dolly, but I WANT TO CREAT SHOTS LIKE THAT! So I guess I need one.

However, for us folks that don't have a work bench, jig saw, etc. it seems like a VERY daunting task to try to build one. If it only took you two hours, would you want to build some more? :evil:
 
There was another guy, I think it was future user, who was selling them for 400-500 bucks....

A bit rich for my blood. But I'm gunna build one of these suckers this footage looks awesome.

-rook
 
Kong37 said:
Where can i find Teddy's thread? thanks :)
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http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=41335

And about selling them. I actually understand the guy selling them for $500. My stepdad built mine, and he's not really interested in making more. It took him about 18 hours. Divide that by $500, minus materials, and you're not really getting a lot for the effort. So I would think $500 for hand-built items is pretty close to fair.

Let's talk some more about why the commercial one is $6,000!!!!!!! I still can't get over that...
 
Envision said:
Hmmm, Cheese says it only took him 2 hours ...
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yup 2 hours, but mine is ugly as hell. i don't care really. it works great. i saw his stepdad's and it was perfect. nicely finished and beautiful. he's obviously a true woodworker. not me. i didn't sand anything or paint it. it's rough. to be fair, my two hours does not include the time it took to download and print the plans and get them ready for the job or the time it took to go buy the materials. i'm talking straight shop time here.

but to answer your question, no i wouldn't want to build more. i'm not a wood guy. i'd rather be making movies!!! i think some guy on that thread was talking more like $200 to build them. dunno, if i couldn't build one, i'd pay $500 for the thing. it's awesome!!!

yeah that production model is waaaayyy overpriced at $6k but as someone said on the dolly thread, it's not what it's worth, it's what the market will pay.....the advertising market. they have the dough.
 
InvisionProductions said:
I always shoot at or below -10 master ped.
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why not have it at factory settings and then adjust in post? you get much more control of your picture (i believe)
 
PaPa said:
why not have it at factory settings and then adjust in post? you get much more control of your picture (i believe)
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i have tried it that way in the past. it seems to me that if i bring the black level down in post to match the effect of -10MP then my whole pic is a bit dark. maybe my way works because i'm lighting the scene to suit the -10 setting. if the MP was at zero, i would have to guess at the lighting to accomodate my black level adjustments in post. with the MP at -10, i see the results on the LCD while shooting....

BTW, i don't always shoot at -10. just when i want super black blacks.
 
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