experience with dolly tracks getting into the picture?

M

matthewd5

Veteran
hello.

i have done a bit of dolly work but nothing really lengthy until now.

i have to do a shot where the camera goes across a school playground and i have a chance to start way back and pass under a small jungle gym and continue onto a larger structure and stop on three of the main characters.

it would be a beautiful deep shot with at least 3 levels of activity the camera will pass by.

all total it is 40 feet or so of dolly track and the camera has to be very low to fit the mood/setting of the story/kids pov.

i'm trying to think ahead about dealing with the issue of the dolly track being obviously in the shot...

i've played around with putting a garbage matte over the dolly track and dropping over it footage from the location a few feet to the side of the dolly track and thus covering up the track and it looks ok but i wanted to see what other tricks people might have used??

matthew
 
In a situation like thatmaybe you can use a trackless type of dolly like a weighed down wagon with low air in the tires?
 
i have a great trackless dolly built with some nice adjustable semi-pneumatic wheels but this will be shot on a playground that is made out of shredded wood chunks.

not the chunky landscaping ones, more like medium shredded chicken?

probably far too bumpy for wheels.

we are going for a very low angle shot so i don't know how well the jib/crane would work.

i had thought about extending the arm to cheat on the cameras view.

i have plenty of time to do testing...

what i really need is a 40 foot carbon mast with the camera mounted on the far end and a very solid pivot point and a lot of crew to hold onto the other end of the mast

kind of an americas cup boat method.

i think i'll go with plan A and get 40 feet of pvc pipe and 2x4's and see how that comes out

and i'll keep reading the tips on here...

matthew
 
Could always use a steadicam - although it does take some practice (read: alot of practice)
 
yeah i have one of the flow pods but i need to find a good way to add more weight and then set aside a lot of time to practice with it.

the dvx seems to be a tad too heavy, when i try to do the balance test it tips pretty hard in the cameras direction.

matthew
 
This may not work for your situation and it's probably overly simple, but if you dolly parallel to the subjects and pan, you can avoid the tracks in the shot. This may not be the kind of shot you want though.
 
id go for the steadicam shot. the long arm crane would be usefull, but it sounds like the track would still be too long unless youve got a very long crane.

..alternatively you could somehow use a hot air balloon and try to fill it with marshmallows. that might help.
 
How about using TWO dollies with the camera suspended between them...attached to a pole or whatever. You'd have to have them far enough apart so the tracks would be out of frame, but...the tracks would be out of frame.

EDIT: Okay...maybe this would be easier: one dolly, with the camera on the end of a longass jib/boom out horizontally from the dolly. Basically, just offsetting the dolly from the action.

Probably need a hefty counterweight on the jib.


Dan
 
Could you set up your dolly track and then cover it in a thin layer of the wood chips that are on this playground? Then, as you track forward, you could have your crew stay low and in front of you on either side of the dolly. They can clear the track 1 - 2 feet ahead of you has you move. I'm picturing them on their knees opposite on another, the track between them. Maybe they have a pole or something held across the track, and they slide it forward to clear the way for your dolly as it moves.

Does that make a lick-o-sense?
 
Or just mount some whisk brooms on the front of the dolly to sweep the track ahead of the wheels. Woodchips should be light enough to be cleared without any additional effort.

Dan
 
Is there any reason you can't or don't want to break up the dolly shot into shorter shots (so that the track is NOT in the frame) and use some cutaways in post?
 
J. Michael Underwood said:
Is there any reason you can't or don't want to break up the dolly shot into shorter shots (so that the track is NOT in the frame) and use some cutaways in post?
Click to expand...


sounds like the most reasonable method but I do like the idea of covering the tracks up and having someone clear the tracks as they go out of frame.
 
What about creating some sort of suspended dolly and track system. In other words, create the PVC track but somehow suspend it above the action, then create some wheel assembly that would track along it with suspension wires hanging down to support the camera. Or something like that.

Just a thought :)
 
you could always just not secure the track together very tightly. and have people hang out low and yank out the track that youve gone over as you get off it right away.
 
When thinking of a dolly combined with a crane, don't think of the boom going down the track, but a 90 degree angle off one side or the other. This will give you a huge amount of lee-way in laying the track, because the crane can be near the track at some points and fully 90 degrees at others. Plus you can be low to the ground like you want. Make sure you sandbag the pajeezus out of your tripod legs and dolly platform!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
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