George Loch
Well-known member
Does anyone have any tips on pulling focus on a dolly move? If you shoot with a 5D on a Pocket Dolly, how do you pull focus without affecting the smoothness of the move?
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Pulling focus on a slider
- Thread starter George Loch
- Start date
If you use a follow focus, like the one RedRock Micro offers, you could use a focus whip and pull focus. Ofcouse, that means you'll need some way (a cage or otherwise) to mount rods onto the 5D. However, sometimes when I go barebones with the 5D stripped down without the cage, I take a non elastic string (I use a woolen thread) and tape it to the focus ring of the lens. Then when the slider is moving, gently, pull (I mean literally, pull) the string and keep the focus. It may take a few tries, but it can be done. Hope this helps.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
If you have a solid slider and don't have a first AC, or an operator, that is all thumbs then there shouldn't be any problem with pulling focus during a slider move. If you have a decent follow focus unit it really should not be an issue. Throwing a whip on the FF can also help get the ACs hands back a bit to get some more room to play.
David W. Jones
Veteran
When pulling focus by myself with a 5D on a slider, I generally check my before middle and ending focus points, and then transfer those points to my follow focus. I will also mark my starting and ending move points on the slider. When working solo I find using a speed crank on my follow focus easier than not.