PLYWOOD SKATER Finished

To all,

Thanks for the positive feedback. Several sent me emails for details, my apologies for the late response.
Its a Sunday, and spent it with my kid, we just got back to testing awhile ago. I was about to post footage of some still life shots and other scenarios.
I realized I needed to add the brake mechanism similar to the original skater which I put off until I've tested the unit.
I now realized its importance. -Its to keep the rig from moving while we make minute changes to the wheel angles.
I'll spend my afternoon today installing it.

I'll post the diagrams soonest.
 
Oooohh Awwwww

Wait; no video?

Who cares.
__________________

-John hudson


LOL, the years have hardened you John.
 
Hey Teddybear,

thanks for posting your skater dolly photos. Nice job!

I had a quick question. The top collar piece that is shown in the last photo of your construction images - how does that together with the wingnut assembly allow you to adjust the wheel angles independantly? It appears that the entire piece moves as one and is bolted together.


If you lift the entire rig, do the wheels fall out of the bottom of the deck?


Again, nice job.



dmc
 
I've seen this particular unit in action and it rocks! we played around with it on a vinyl tile floor with all kinds of glue and paint globs all over the place and STILL it produced some really nice SMOOTH footage! Very easy to use. Even Canon owners will be able to use it...
 
that's amazing Teddybear. I can't wait to see if you sell them, because my carpentry skills are a bit subpar. Good work!!!
 
dmc

The top cover and the base has openings which are smaller in diameter than the wheel mount holder, thus 'sandwiching' the wheel mount but allowing it to rotate within the wheel mount holder.

Hope this helps until I post diagram.
Wasnt able to do much today. Got the cold.
 
I have a question. I know and have used dollies from homemade sources all the way up to professional dollies like the Fisher10 and Chapman peewee's and the like. I've used mini dolly kits and universal tracking wheels, so my question is this, where would you use this dolly? It would have to be on an very smooth, even floor correct. The slightest bump in the surface you were shooting on would translate into the shot quite noticeably would it not? Don't get me wrong, it looks great, just like the pro version that is for sale. But here again, in the add they have a mini-dv cam with a ps adapter and their shooting someone on the floor, but I haven't seen one with anything bigger mounted like an ARRI235 or 435 or even something in the 16mm range. So is this marketed at the mini-dv shooter, and if so make it with two wheels per side so it could run on a rail as well. It seems to have very very limited usage. If its cheap thats not so bad, one more tool in the box.
 
MDKfilms said:
I have a question. I know and have used dollies from homemade sources all the way up to professional dollies like the Fisher10 and Chapman peewee's and the like. I've used mini dolly kits and universal tracking wheels, so my question is this, where would you use this dolly? It would have to be on an very smooth, even floor correct. The slightest bump in the surface you were shooting on would translate into the shot quite noticeably would it not? Don't get me wrong, it looks great, just like the pro version that is for sale. But here again, in the add they have a mini-dv cam with a ps adapter and their shooting someone on the floor, but I haven't seen one with anything bigger mounted like an ARRI235 or 435 or even something in the 16mm range. So is this marketed at the mini-dv shooter, and if so make it with two wheels per side so it could run on a rail as well. It seems to have very very limited usage. If its cheap thats not so bad, one more tool in the box.
Click to expand...

I've used teddybear's dolly. the floor was vinyl floor tiles, dirty, and had paint glob's everywhere (clean you studio ted...) and it still worked impressively with a dvx100. of course, for a full size betacam you'd need something larger, but last i checked this is the dvx forum not the betacam forum. so yes, it's a unit that works beautifully with a lightweight camera, but if you plan to put a varicam or a an imax camera then you'll need something more robust.

with a nice CLEAN sheet of vinyl, a little practice, you should be able to get some nice product shots with this. the ps website has some cool shots of narrative film applications.
 
Nice job... So how tight is the tolerance of the wheel holder in the outter circle? Do you have any play in there?

I built one of these things and it really picks up any imperfection in the floor, esp if you put a tripod on it, it just wobbles around. Im thinking I will make one with real air tires to be more camera friendly.

Also I found that its a lot harder to program the wheels by eye to get the exact move you are looking for.
 
I went to the local machine shop and showed them the P+S website. He told me they could make the same thing for a mere $1500 (mainly for cad time) then churn them out for a couple of hundred bucks to cover costs and net him a tidy little profit.
So I really don't understand the $5-6k pricetag for the P+S model. I mean it's nice and all, but way overpriced.

MDK- what model Arri do they have on the skater in the video?
 
The mini skater folks are not charging what their tool is worth. They are charging what the market will stand.

Go to auto detailing and boat detailing shops sometime. You'll find magic arms and other film gear for a third of the price with a different name.

What the market will stand. The film market will stand for almost anything.

For the record, I think it sucks. But I'm poor.
-rook
 
rook said:
Go to auto detailing and boat detailing shops sometime. You'll find magic arms and other film gear for a third of the price with a different name.
Click to expand...


Not that I doubt it, but I'm genuinely interested, what are some examples?

You mean they have marine supply versions of this:

cinemasupplies_1876_17888956


With 5/8" studs and less than $113?


What else is there in the marine world, because I'm poor too?
 
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