Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

John, Nice! so how long is going to take for you to build me one? I need it before christmas, thanks John, you're #1. ;D
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Nice rig John. The one I built is quite similar to yours only I used roller blade wheels. That sure adds instant production value. Guess there's nothing stopping some Outland Pictures productions in 2005!

Is the track plastic pipe or metal?
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

I had plastic at first, but with the weight of the dolly and a camera op(though I'm not sure if you are on yours or walking with), the weight of two would end up squishing the plastic which made a squeaking sound which screwed up audio, and eventually it started squishing down to a stop.

So I switched over to metal conduit. It works amazing well, and I can connect many rows of tracks(straight of course). Using a slightly sanded down piece of dowling you can connect the tracks together indefinitely. So if your track ever gives you grief, metal conduit is a great solution!

Have a Merry Christmas!
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

This is really cool, I should try to make one.
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

John-

I liked the footage of your boy fooling around at the workbench. it helped to have music, don't you think?

I also share your joy at putting together a relatively inexpensive rig which adds so much value to your production process; I felt the same way when I built my own dolly using similar materials. My girlfriend didn't quite understand what all the excitement was about, but as crew members came over to the house, and we fiddled around with our dolly, she got it.

Actually, she REALLY got it, and publicly expresses admiration for my ingenuity in keeping costs down, but functionality high. In fact, she called me at work one day, saying she had 'ground-scored' a dolly solution, and that I would know exactly what she was talking about when I got home that evening. I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but when I got home, I discovered that she had found an abandoned wheel chair, and left it for me in the garage. Is that love, or what?

Anyway, here's my suggestion for Outlands Dolly V2. You are going to get in situations where the surface that you want to run your dolly through is too rough. May I suggest using a 10-foot ladder as a frame to hold your PVC pipe rails? This gives a stiff track, which you can put on sandbags or even on two up-ended buckets, on a lawn, in the mountains, on a ship, wherever! You will need to build a separate camera platform to fit this ladder gauge, but it is a much more portable and flexible solution.

Good luck, dude!
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

That is a nice story Speed.

My wife did not 'get it' until she saw the footage of our son with the music; the music really adds a delicate feel to that shot even if it is test footage.

Thanks for the tip on the 'ladder use'. I never thought of that angle and inevitably I will run across some ridiculously uneven ground (Like a cemetary perhaps :) )

V2 will come for sure, but in the meantime I am happy to add production value to the projects. My brother-in-law watched the footage this evening and the look on his face alone is all that needs to be said as in "You did this?"

Quite a few people are asking about how much this cost and how to build it. The basic breakdown is as follows:

$107.00 for the Wheels and bearings.

I wanted 16 Wheels (Not 8) and I wanted high quality wheels. I pondered for a moment buying 4 cheap ass Walmart/Target skateboards for $10.00 a piece but we decided in the long run we would be happier with a higher qaulity wheel that will last. The wheels are not the top of the line but are higher qaulity than anything you will find at the 'stores'.

$60.00 for materials of wood, nuts, bolts, angle iron and pipe. The pipe kicks ass. IT is strong, durable and easily 'twists off'. It is solid. The wood easily could have been found at a construction site but we were not in th e mood to go hunting. The nuts and bolts are pennies in the project.

The angle iron was tapped using a die kit for the one single screw to go into each one. This is a rough versoin and a version one. We are contemplating further designs on this idea using a seat pedestal (Kragen recently advertised a $12.00 pneumatic (sp?) seat and I would like a camera mount that is adjustable (pedestal column). We will even go so far as to sand and round the edges and put skate grip tape on the surface and possibly the Outland logo for kicks.

Quite a few people are inquiring "Can your friend build me one?" Sure. For cost plus shipping (30 to 45 Lbs) and some kind of profit. I have no idea what to mark this up for :/

I am fortunate that Scott not only is a writing/filmmaking partner but is skilled in this kind of 'building projects' thing. I don't have the patience to build ****.

Damn, that bathroom hallway scene is creepy though :)
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Thanks for the info John! This is going to be a silly question that perhaps only a woman would ask, but...

You said the angle iron was secured using a single bolt going from the plywood into the angle iron. Does it matter if it goes the other way, from the anlge iron up through the base?

Thanks!
Terri
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Hi Terri

I don't think it would make a terrible difference but I wouldn't do it that way. I think Scott just wanted it to tap out at the bottom as oppossed to having the male side of the bolt sticking straight up through the wood. There are several washers between the top of the bolt and the wood itself.

On the surface there is the nut of the bolt which I am already thinking of somehow covering for 'knee injury' possibilites. :D
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Nicely done, John. I used a friends home made dolly with the same PVC pipping on my first short. It's such a good feeling to be able to get around rental costs, ain't it? ;D

Are you using the straight PVC or flexible? I wanted to use the flexible stuff, but had a hard time finding it in NYC at the time. (I'm in california now)

Don't know if you got my earlier PM or not, but I was wondering what you used to make your outland pictures logo animation? Looks really cool and I want to make a company animation for myself as well.

So when are you going to put that bad boy to use on a flik?
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

John,

Sweet rig. I may need to build something like it one day for our next project!

Neill D.
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Hey John, haven't got a chance to read through the thread but I build my dolly long time ago but have a problem with flat spots developing on the wheels. Any suggestions?? I thought of putting a soft fluffy fabric to smooth the friction or just use rollerblade wheels. It's kinda anoying since you get that bumpy feel to it.

Btw Merry Christmas ya'll. :)
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Oh man, that looks cool, please please post some pictures of the rig !!!!

And the track

please please please !!!
- Derrick
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

The wheels overtime will have to be replaced I would think due to wear and tear. What 'quality' are your wheels? This is one reason we went with higher grade skate wheels (for durability). Still, these also will have to be replaced eventually.
 
Re: Homebuilt Dolly and the DVX

Nice John...I agree with Derrick, can you post some grabs of the device. Too funny the wife quote "Get that thing out of my face" ;D ;D ;D I laughed so hard I couldn't scroll down the page for five minutes. I would be careful having that ostrich over...There's something in his eyes makes me nevous ;)
 
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