Just Built a Dolly!

Here's my .02-

I liked the content - it made me smile :) . As for the dolly shots, I assume that they were the ones at the begining when you were tracking with the guy. I think that they would have come out better if you had kept it mounted to the dolly rather then going handheld on the dolly. A dolly shot would work there as you track with him. But because you did it handheld, that is how the shot looks, and it is hard to tell that you're "dollying". Not that it is necissary bad, but I assume by your post that you wanted a dolly shot rather then a handheld look.

BTW, I loved the dance at the end! LOL!
 
Thanks for the compliment. And yes, I did want a dolly look, but I just don't know what I should do about my dolly. It gets too bumpy. I'm thinking of buying thicker walled PVC. I'm not sure if this would solve the problem. I got WD-40 as well and that get's rid of all noise and makes it smoother. But the pipes bend and turn too much. On that shoot, it bent and twisted like crazy. Give me some suggestions and ideas if you guys have any more.
 
Get 10' aluminum pipe from Home Depot, it's like $10 ea, and will last you forever.

Also, get a bike rack for the top of your car and strap the pipe to it.

I once had 2-8' straight and 2 curved track (real track) strapped to the bike rack on my bmw 320 back in the day.... wish I had taken a picture....

-J
 
Here's an idea, how about at around the center point of your track, (using the 2X4's underneath like you had them) In the center 2x4 have a bolt sticking up on each end, and then drill holes on the bottom of your pvc and snug them over the bolts. This might stabilize your rig and keep the pipes from spreading out. You could also repeat on the ends. Also it seems as though your noise problem was a non-issue because of the music bed you had under your scene. In your pool demo you could hear the filter running in the background anyhow (in addition to the flip flop noise). You probably wouldn't want location sound for that particular shot anyways. Good luck!
 
thanks for the tip but I actually gave back the PVC and got metal pipes. It works soo much better. It is really smooth now. and no noise.
 
>Why would I want to put it on top of my car?

You strap it on top of your car because most cars are not 10' long inside.

>That aluminum pipes will cost me $60! Because I want 30' of track.

ok. Do you know how much "real" track would cost for 30'?

-j
 
>About the metal pipes, I wouldn't be able to use it because first, it's expensive, and >second, it's hard to transport in a car because it doesn't bend, and if it does bend, it's >done.

Sorry, with regards to the bike rack, I was referencing the above logistical concern...

-j
 
Oh ok. Well I got the metal pipes and they work great! Except, I didn't get the bike rack. I am just doing my best to put it inside. How much do those bike racks cost anyway?
 
Wow, I found one online new for only $24!

http://www.discount-trailers.com/car_top_bar_carrier.htm

I remember once strapping 2 straight and 2 curved tracks to the top of my bmw 320 and driving around the LA freeways with my hand holding the track down thru the sunroof. I know there must have been grips in 5-tons passing my and laughing.

I tore my car to *shreds* in film school... poor thing...

-j
 
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