Matt Thomas Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I have a shoot coming up next week where I have to move a camera roughly 10 feet over the course of 2.5 mins. We have a dolly figured out for $0.00 which is great. I'm wondering if anyone has any cheap or creative suggestions on getting a consistent/precise camera move? Slow electric winch? The steady hand of god? Pulley system? Obviously the fail safe plan is to do it by hand. Any one have experience with something like this? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted August 29, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted August 29, 2017 10ft really isn't too much of a move at all and a steady hand can certainly do it. Why do you need it so exact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Thomas Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 (edited) Why do you need it so exact? Basically the story is the TV is possessed and this guy watching has died. We have a few subtle moments happening outside the windows of the room, hoping for the "wait, did you see that!?" reaction. But the primary story is the TV and the Guy. My worry is if the camera move is inconsistent or too early to certain marks it might give the subtle moments too much importance, and distract from the primary story rather than accompany it... but it sounds like I should just start practicing the move now :ph34r: Edited August 29, 2017 by Matt Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted August 29, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted August 29, 2017 Generally you only really worry about motion control if you're doing FXs work-- for something like this; the ease of adjustment on the fly seems to precipitate a good steady hand, good rehearsals, blocking and a bit of time in the schedule to get it right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaron Berman Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 so many ways to do this. Adrian is correct - without the need to make it work for VFX, perhaps the simplest solution is the easiest? Here are a couple. 2.5 minutes is 150 seconds. Can you move the camera 12.5 ft?? If so - just lay out a tape measure on the floor next to your dolly track and make a little pointer on one of the wheels. Move the dolly 1" / second. Done. Slightly tougher - tie a pulley to the end of the track and another pulley 10' up on some sturdy object. Hang a weight on the end of a rope such that it pulls the dolly roughly 1"/second. I've done this with a slider and c-stands to achieve a diagonal move, works great. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Young Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 so many ways to do this. Adrian is correct - without the need to make it work for VFX, perhaps the simplest solution is the easiest? Here are a couple. 2.5 minutes is 150 seconds. Can you move the camera 12.5 ft?? If so - just lay out a tape measure on the floor next to your dolly track and make a little pointer on one of the wheels. Move the dolly 1" / second. Done. Slightly tougher - tie a pulley to the end of the track and another pulley 10' up on some sturdy object. Hang a weight on the end of a rope such that it pulls the dolly roughly 1"/second. I've done this with a slider and c-stands to achieve a diagonal move, works great. I'd do Jaron's idea in a heartbeat. The same can be done with a dana dolly; just make sure to provide center support for such a long run. I use this laser pointer and believe it'll work well in your situation: link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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