Niki Mundo Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I have a "skateboard" type dolly system I bought off ebay for $200. It came as a four (4) wheel trucks barebones make-it-yourself. I made my own plywood platform from lowe's and it folds in half. My problem is the the uneven speed and shakiness that betrays the whole thing to begin with. I can't seem to fix the problem with big guys pushing or a bar mount. What about a rope or cable geared system powered by a motor or hand-powered? Has anyone tried that? I need a smoooooth start/run/stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 It is probably operator error. Pushing a dolly smoothly is an art. small cameras and small dollies are actually harder to get smoothmotion with than heavier dollies and cameras. It is all about momentum. the more inertia the dolly has the smoother it will ride, so long as the wheels are not getting flat spots. Try rocking the dolly slowly back and forth to get rid of the flat spots. cheap dolly wheels and even expensive ones can develop a flat spot from weight sitting still while setting up a shot or actors getting into character. rocking out the wheels helps prevent flat spots. in pushing the dolly you have to exert even smooth force constantly. I push with my finger tips to help dampen my steps. I dont grasp the push handle firmly, so as to help isolate my own movements. there are hundreds of tricks. Check out the dolly blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl Richard Humber Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I have a "skateboard" type dolly system I bought off ebay for $200. It came as a four (4) wheel trucks barebones make-it-yourself. I made my own plywood platform from lowe's and it folds in half. My problem is the the uneven speed and shakiness that betrays the whole thing to begin with. I can't seem to fix the problem with big guys pushing or a bar mount. What about a rope or cable geared system powered by a motor or hand-powered? Has anyone tried that? I need a smoooooth start/run/stop. Most likely, it's either the track you are running on, or the guys pushing it need to learn to push it properly. I don't think a gear system is the answer. Dolly grips have been pushing dollies for 80 years and done just fine. There's more to pushing a dolly shot than just pushing it from 1 to 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl Richard Humber Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Robert's right. I forgot about the flat spots. I've been using the Portaglides so long it didn't even cross my mind. Also, as your guy pushes, try having him lock his upper body and be conscious of his steps, keeping constant pressure on the dolly as the weight is transferred. It seems like a simple thing but a lot of people don't think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hayes Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 In addition to your push bar attach a c-stand arm to the dolly and the bar to triangulate the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Rogers Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 No one else has asked yet, so I will...How much weight do you have on the dolly? I know that when I use a doorway dolly on skater wheels I need at least 75 lbs of sandbags to make it have a smooth pushable weight. Weight along with good wheels on good track will help. Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Billy Furnett Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 How much does "It folds in half" come into play in terms of stability? Do you have a pic of it? A double layer of 3/4 or 1/2 plywood or MDF screwed and liquid nailed together then dried with clamps or evenly placed weight should make for a pretty firm deck. The method in which you secured the trucks to the wood will come into play as well. I've seen pre made trucks that have 4 mounting holes each (The angle iron the wheels are fastened to is welded to a plate with 4 mounting holes in it), I would use bolts, washers and two nuts each for those, not like drywall or wood screws. Wood screws WILL hold, but it's plywood, so that will flex and chip and losen eventually and unevenly, especially with 4 in a small area. If possible, use a metal plate (of somekind) with 4 bolt holes and then washers and two nuts each on the top of the deck to fasten each truck. If you have the 4 bolt type of truck and can get a metal plate, unbolt a truck and use it as template for the 4 holes to be drilled into the plate. The design and mounting of a push bar should be rock soild and made to take a beating as well, if there is play in the push bar, or if it flexes or bends it could tranfer to uneven start and stops, or could vibrate and add a small degree of rattletrap shakiness to the whole dolly. A bad design, less than ideal material, or poor handeling of the push bar could lend a lever effect that seeks to tilt back or dump forward the dolly, but can't, so instead it bends or loosens at it's mounting. One way to do it is to have the push bar angle out slightly behind the dolly from as low as possible so the force is like a shuffle board...shuffler, which is to say the force is pushing from almost the bottom edge of the deck forward and not placing wasted force that seeks to bend or flex and push from OVER the deck, but since lever action is present from such an angle, ultimatly it must be approached as forward or backward, but not downward or upward lever action force. Think of a lawnmower's push bar and how it usually isn't at a right angle to the chasis (Obviously for safety too), but instead is angled out behind so that proper equal forward force needs to be applied to avoid lever action. Bob Hayes is right, if you can, support the push bar in a tripod fashion try it, this will distribute the force to more of an angle and help lessen the stress placed on push bar mounting seeking to take the force from over the deck. Billy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niki Mundo Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Ok,thanks for all the tips. "Gripping" is very important to me because it's something that can be done for no cost and yet contribute in a significant way towards the professional look that can send a small low-budget production into distribution channels. I fully intend to make a profit so I can pay the actors and crew. With each saleable film I'll be given more money and bigger budgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Wallens Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 "Gripping" is very important to me because it's something that can be done for no cost I'd say that many of the professional members here would hardly say that at all. Hell, you just paid $200 for some "grippage." Can it be done cheaply? Yes, just as any other part of the production process. But, as they say, you get what you pay for ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Collier Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 you mentioned shakiness along with uneven pulls, nobody has brought it up yet so I'll ask to make sure...you are shimming the track before you roll dolly, right? That's $10 of 'gippage'(purchased) that would certainly make the move more proffessional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niki Mundo Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 wow, so much stuff I didn't know. "Shimming" the track? Check and mate sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Wallens Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I'm not sure if you are asking a question, but just in case you are, "shimming" involves making the sure the track is level, and using wooden wedges or shims to even it out. Here is a crude picture of a very easy/basic leveling job: wow, so much stuff I didn't know. A professional grip can be a grip for 10 years, just gripping, and still be learning stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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