What kind of dolly is this?

David G. Smith

David G. Smith

Steak Knife Member
Does anyone know what kind of dolly is being used in the pics below? Sorry for the poor quality of the shots, they are are from screen grabs off of YouTube. It is from "Filmmaker: A Diary" by George Lucas. It is the making of Francis Ford Coppola's movie "The Rain People". The dolly looks very handy. So what kind is it and does anyone know of a comparable one available today? It looks like it is small, but very substantial, with hard rubber dual tires that are good for hard surfaces and probably also track. It is also steerable.

Dolly 1.jpgDolly 2.jpgDolly 3.jpgDolly 4.jpgDolly 5.jpgDolly 6.jpg

It can be seen in action here, for a about a minute at the 3:54 mark:


Thanks.
 
Yeah, that's a cool dolly. I almost bought one from a guy in PA. It's a real crab dolly. The hydraulics run off a CO2 tank in the undercarriage. The one I was looking like needed work there so I wasn't sure what I was getting into, plus how to fill it, spare tanks, etc. It's a really cool thing though. If you google it you can find a whole community of people who refurbish them and trade pictures. I'm saving up for a Premiere Studio PD-1. I think it would be better for my purposes
 
hscully said:
Yeah, that's a cool dolly. I almost bought one from a guy in PA. It's a real crab dolly. The hydraulics run off a CO2 tank in the undercarriage. The one I was looking like needed work there so I wasn't sure what I was getting into, plus how to fill it, spare tanks, etc. It's a really cool thing though. If you google it you can find a whole community of people who refurbish them and trade pictures. I'm saving up for a Premiere Studio PD-1. I think it would be better for my purposes
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that blog on the SarKell Society. Pretty interesting. I have been looking at a few doorway dolly type designs, but that Color Trans Mini looks pretty cool. Finding one used would be kind of hard I believe, and the needed restoration may be even harder.

http://colortrancrabdolly.blogspot.com/
 
David G. Smith said:
If you don't mind, what were they asking for that dolly?

BTW, I looked up the PD-1 dolly, that looks very nice. Have you used one before? That price is a little out of my range right now, but it looks better than others in that niche.

http://www.premierstudioequipment.com/Dollies/PD1Line/PD1Dolly.htm
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I'm going to have to dig through some emails to find out for sure but I think it it was about $2000, maybe less. I'm shooting tomorrow and Monday but next time I get a chance I'll did through and find out.

I haven't used the PD1, no. My dolly right now is a long valley dolly. That PD1 is pricey but it really looks like the right thing but no, I haven't had a chance to use one. I wish I could rent one around here just to test it out. I'm hoping to have it for a feature in June.
 
Well, surprise... It looks like Francis Ford Coppola is a big fan of the Color Tran Mini Crab dolly and probably owns one... Here is a screen shot of the BTS making of for his 2007 film "Youth Without Youth".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481797/

The making of video was included on the DVD of his wife Eleanor Coppola's film, "Hearts of Darkness".

Dolly 7 Youth without....jpg
 
How about that!? I wonder if it's the original one from The Rain People... It looks so nice and compact in that shot.
 
hscully said:
How about that!? I wonder if it's the original one from The Rain People... It looks so nice and compact in that shot.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I don't know. Just kind of putting the assumptions together... Coppola was putting together (Or at least dreaming about) his Zoetrope studios when he was doing "Rain People", which was done on the road with all the gear hauled around in station wagons and vans, so it is reasonable to think that he may have bought one and has kept it in shape all of these years. I just don't know.
 
David G. Smith said:
... Coppola was putting together (Or at least dreaming about) his Zoetrope studios when he was doing "Rain People", which was done on the road with all the gear hauled around in station wagons and vans, so it is reasonable to think that he may have bought one and has kept it in shape all of these years. I just don't know.
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Saw an relatively recent article about Zeotrope building out a van for guerilla filmmaking, so seems that flame never died.
 
I just got through reading In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch, another member of Zeotrope. I'm onto Conversations now... some amazing stories about those guys.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Saw an relatively recent article about Zeotrope building out a van for guerilla filmmaking, so seems that flame never died.
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Wow, that is very cool. Yeah, I guess that FFC is pretty dedicated to doing small, relatively, personal films that are self financed. I liked "Youth Without Youth" and just got "Tetro". I really want to see "Twixt", but it doesn't look like it is out yet on disc.

hscully said:
I just got through reading In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch, another member of Zeotrope. I'm onto Conversations now... some amazing stories about those guys.
Click to expand...

I have been going back and watching/listening to the FFC commentaries on "The Godfather", "The Conversation" and "Apocalypse Now". He does great commentaries. The extras on the "Apocalypse Now" collectors edition, i think it called the "Dossier", are excellent.
 
hscully said:
How about that!? I wonder if it's the original one from The Rain People... It looks so nice and compact in that shot.
Click to expand...

Well, it looks like the dolly used in "Tetro" is the same dolly that Coppola used for "The Rain People", and he does own it. He confirms it in this video. I didn't see this section from the making of doc on the "Tetro" DVD, hmmm.

 
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