nofilmschool » dolly

SnapTrack Cinerails: a Light, Portable, Easy-To-Assemble Curved Dolly Track System on Kickstarter

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:50:44 +0000

Danny Dodge is a cameraman and cinematographer who has devised what may be the most light-weight and portable curved dolly track system you’ve ever seen. Searching for a way to build the ultimate portable dolly setup, Dodge stumbled upon the fact that a draw string could be used to arch PVC track to any degree he wished. The SnapTrack Cinerails rig was the result. Combining a simple draw string device with seven Cinerails gives you up to eight feet of curvable dolly track that seems primed for low-impact DSLR shooting, weighs under ten pounds, and breaks down/sets up in about a minute. Check out the SnapTrack Cinerails below, and some pre-ordering info if you’re interested. (more…)

Edelkrone Introduces SliderPLUS XL, Capable of 3 Foot Dolly Moves with Half the Physical Length

Joe Marine — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 04:19:37 +0000

They’ve only just begun shipping the SliderPLUS+, but edelkrone has now unveiled the SliderPLUS XL, which takes everything that was good about the SliderPLUS+, and makes it even slidier. Whether you consider it (r)evolutionary or not, it’s a pretty ingenious concept, where you can take a relatively small device and get twice the movement out of it thanks to its design. Click through to learn more about it. (more…)

How to Do a Rotating Dolly Shot Around a 1,815 Foot Tall Building with Your DSLR

Justin Minich — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 04:34:21 +0000

There are a good deal of relatively inexpensive rigs out there that can help you achieve a nice dolly shot. For small-scale dollying you might use Cineskates, or for shots that require a greater amount of movement with larger subjects, you might go with Rigwheels. But there might be times when the size of your subject might make these tools — and even a full dolly track setup — inadequate for the job. But with a DSLR, some planning, and a little post work, you can put together a beautiful dolly shot of a tall building: (more…)

See the Slider PLUS+, Edelkrone's Reinvented Slider, in Action

Joe Marine — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:06:53 +0000

Filmmaking equipment maker edelkrone recently unveiled their reinvented slider, the Slider PLUS+, and they showed off a brief animated clip giving you a sense of what it could do. Now we’ve got a real-life video of the slider in action with a DSLR, and the results are impressive for such a tiny device. Click through to check out the video. (more…)

Edelkrone's Reinvented Slider is Here: Slider PLUS+ Gives Twice the Distance in Half the Length

Joe Marine — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:55:17 +0000

Edelkrone has announced their new slider invention that was hinted at a few days ago. The new device, called the Slider PLUS+, answers the question of portability without sacrificing length. I suggested that they may be introducing a slider that can be extended non-intrusively, and they’ve done that, but in a way that makes the rig one of the most portable options out there without hurting performance. Check out the introduction video: (more…)

Edelkrone Introducing a Reinvention of the Slider on Dec. 12, What Do You Think It Will Be?

Joe Marine — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 18:24:36 +0000

Sliders have been all the rage lately in the film world, and for good reason: they allow you to set up a dolly shot much faster than any traditional dolly and they can be leveled in seconds rather than minutes. Unfortunately, not all sliders are created equal, and many just can’t quite get perfectly smooth movements either because of cost-cutting, or because of engineering choices. Some have other problems related to portability. Edelkrone thinks they’ve solved one of the issues with sliders, and they are unveiling it on December 12 — and if you guess what it is correctly, you have a chance to win one of your very own mystery sliders. (more…)

RigWheels Unveils RigPlate and RigMount Solutions to Create DIY Dolly Systems

Christopher Boone — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:00:19 +0000

Pardon me as I step out of my quiet NFS screenwriter corner for a moment and don the NFS camera equipment hat (apparently, the virtual NFS offices are empty today with everyone else busy working on their own projects or traveling. Kinda eerily quiet). With that out of the way, here at NFS, we’ve recently posted a wide array of DIY dolly solutions, from the one already in your garage to sliders falling from outer space. The folks over at RigWheels have now expanded their product line to augment your DIY dolly systems. The new offerings from RigWheels not only make their slider wheels easier to use but also make cameras easier to mount on a variety of surfaces. (more…)

The Best DIY Dolly Might Already Be Sitting in Your Garage (Yes, a Car)

Joe Marine — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:19:20 +0000

You might already be thinking, yes, I use this already, or no, it’s far too dangerous and probably illegal where I live. Any of those things could very well be true, but a car can be very useful as a DIY dolly. I’ve utilized cars more times than I can remember just for this purpose, and they work great in a pinch or when a dolly would just be impractical. Even if you already know all of the benefits, there might be some ideas in this Vimeo Video School clip you haven’t thought of before: (more…)

A Film Riot Tutorial for Building a Cheap and Functional DIY Slider

Benjamin Dewhurst — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:29:04 +0000

One of the most coveted DIY projects around (next to perhaps the jib) is the slider. However, DIY is usually a balance between cost savings and function, and this $10-$15 slider from Ryan Connolly at Film Riot is no different. Let’s take a look at how far you can stretch your dollar for a functional slider. Hit the jump for the tutorial: (more…)

Build Your Very Own Slider/Speed Rail Dolly with Ryan E. Walters for $80

Joe Marine — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 22:00:52 +0000

I’m sure many of you out there have some experience with DIY dollies and rigs, but this is an interesting design that incorporates some of the parts you may already have and makes the entire kit far more stable and useful. While this video is a bit older (and the parts may or may not cost $80 depending on what you get), it’s still a great idea and the potential for re-purposing equipment you’ve already bought is always enticing. This tutorial was sent over by DP Ryan E. Walters, who has contributed here before and happened to be the RED Epic shooter/technician on the recent Zacuto 2012 shootout. Check out the video below. (more…)

The Indieshot: a DSLR Steadicam, Shoulder Mount, Dolly, Boom, and Tripod--All in One

Justin Minich — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 23:26:41 +0000

One of the most consistent issues for filmmakers –especially those that travel a lot– is hauling around a lot of heavy gear (and for those of us on a budget, affording the gear we want to make great looking images). There have been some developments in making equipment more compact and cheaper, but this concept rig from designer Grant Parrinello, promises “a steadicam, boom camera (for high shots), a glide track (for smooth pan and push shots), a shoulder mount, and a tripod all into one compact, low cost product.” (more…)

Make This DIY Tripod Dolly for $20 or Less

Justin Minich — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:30:31 +0000

Have you been looking for a low-cost, easy to set up DIY dolly? Then you should definitely check out the tripod dolly that Justin Leyba of ImagineNow Entertainment whipped up using nothing more than a few furniture sliders. The results look rather impressive: (more…)

How to Create Time-Lapse Dolly HDR Shots

Ryan Koo — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:14:34 +0000

Dynamic Perception has some interesting-looking micro-dolly/controller combos for sale, and they’ve demonstrated how to create moving, time-lapse, HDR videos using auto exposure bracketing on a Pentax K7. It’s not something you’ll need to do everyday, but if you ever need to create this very specialized shot, here’s how. (more…)

The Absolute Cheapest Way to Do a Dolly Move*

Ryan Koo — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:04:42 +0000

*Okay, so it’s not actually a dolly move. But it looks like one, and all you need is a tripod. My co-panelist at next week’s PhotoPlus Expo, Vincent Laforet, posted this neat tip for getting a smooth, short dolly-ish move from any camera. Check it out: (more…)