Tripod Dolly
Tripod Dolly
Does a Tripod Dolly like this one really stabilize video shooting?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tripod-Professional-Camera-Lighting-Quality/dp/B00112B9C4
In a studio environment where the floor is flat and smooth, the tripod portion will indeed provide good stability. The wheels on this particular tripod dolly (your link) are solid so when you do any tracking shots and you need to move the camera (and tripod) to follow, the tracking will be very smooth... until one of the solid wheels runs over a paper-clip or tries to run over a pen cap. If the floor is clean and smooth concrete or some sort of non-porous floor covering and is installed correctly, the tripod and solid wheels will work great. If the studio floor has SMALL bumps, you would be much better off with inflatable wheels or putting the tripod and camera on a large hand-cart with inflatable wheels... and the wheels should not be solid-full of air - enough to support everything, but a little under-inflated so the little bumps will go under the wheels without shaking everything. And you might want an assistant or grip to push the cart while the camera person is on the cart getting the shot.
If the floor or ground is not so smooth - like asphalt or there are undulations and you need to smooth out everything, then a track system is a good solution. Cambo, Indie-Dolly Systems, Libec, NetMarket, ProMax and others make dolly track systems.
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Pd-1 Tri-Pod Dolly Sale Price: $39.55  |
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Handle for Easy Carry Compact and Portable- Foldable Legs Tripod Lock Screws to Secure Equipment Wheel Locks for Stationary Positions. Pleae Note: Tripod is not included |
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Adjustable Conveyor Tripod 18 Inch Wide With 17 To 29 Inch Height Range Sale Price: $42.95 |
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ADJUSTABLE TRIPOD Ideal for installing gravity or support lines and where portability is necessary. For use on skate wheel or 1-3/8" dia. roller conveyors. Adjusts easily. 0.00 L. 0.00 W. 0.00 H. |
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Adjustable Conveyor Tripod 24 Inch Wide With 17 To 29 Inch Height Range Sale Price: $43.95 |
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ADJUSTABLE TRIPOD Ideal for installing gravity or support lines and where portability is necessary. For use on skate wheel or 1-3/8" dia. roller conveyors. Adjusts easily. 0.00 L. 0.00 W. 0.00 H. |
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Ravelli ATD Professional Tripod Dolly for Camera Photo and Video Sale Price: $33.95 |
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The Ravelli ATD Tripod Dolly is an excellent dolly for use with your professional camera and video tripods, light stands, and background stands. The most important feature of a good dolly is good wheels. After all, the point of a dolly is to be able to smoothly move your tripod from one place to another. Unlike less expensive models with smaller plastic wheels, our dolly uses large 3" diameter wheels with all metal ball bearings and a rubber outer surface for an ultra smooth roll. The Assia ATD also features one step easy locking wheels. Once you get the dolly where you want it, all you have to do is "step" on the locks for one or more of the wheels. Some competing models including the best names such as Bogen, Manfrotto, Quickset, and Linhof require that you get down on your knees to "screw" a separate rubber stopper down to the floor to hold the dolly in position. The universal leg locks used will fit nearly any tripod. Many of the tripod dollies offered by the competition including the best names such as Bogen, Manfrotto, Quickset, and Linhof have a fixed attachment point at the end of the dolly legs. Ours has a leg grip which slides along the dolly leg going either closer to the center or out to the end. This allows you to adjust the desired level of "spread" for the tripod you are using. |
Six Quick Tips to Keep Your Low Budget Film From Sucking
So, you've got your cool brand new HD camera and you're ready to shoot your first film. This is where a lot of new filmmakers start to run in to trouble - they thought saving up for their first camera was the hard part, but now the real work (and the real trouble) starts.
Since I've gone through exactly what each and every one of you is going through right now back when I shot my first microbudget feature ("Bite Me, Fanboy" back in 2001), I decided to put together a quick list of six important things to remember when you're getting started as an indie or guerrilla filmmaker. These are what I like to call...(drum roll, please)...
The Film Sensei's Six Quick Tips to Keep Your Indie Film From Sucking!
And here, my loyal students, are those tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered as a beginning low budget filmmaker.
1. Lay Off the Zoom!
Yes, I know that George Lucas did it in the new Star Wars films and, yes, I know it was popular in the new Battlestar Galactica show, but all playing around with the zoom on your camera will do is make your footage look like a tourist shooting vacation movies out on the Florida Keys. A really good cameraman can make a zoom look ok (or semi-acceptable)...a really really good cameraman, that is. For the most part, though, a zoom will look shoddy and amateurish. Your best bet is to break your zoom controller or, at the very least, the finger closest to it. A dolly, stedicam or even hand-held track in will all look 1000% better than a crappy zoom.
2. Vary Your Angles
One of the most common mistakes of most new directors and a whole heck of a lot of indie and guerrilla filmmakers is shots all looking alike. Most low budget films are shot very tight and never really open up for a long view - they're full of close-ups, two shots and cramped quarters. They also tend to be diagram shots framed at eye level. If you want to make your film more excited, or more interesting, pull back for longer shots, tilt your camera, shoot from a bird's eye or worm's eye angle - use your camera angles to help set your mood and control your audience's level of tension/suspense/drama. A good guide is to pull back further than you think you should (or push in further). Make sure to change things up a bit or your footage and your film will become stagnant and boring.
3. Use Proper Lighting
One of the hardest things for most indie, low budget and guerrilla filmmakers to learn is how to properly light for the DV or HD cameras they're filming on. With a much lower contrast range and higher need for light than the human eye (and film), lighting for DV/HD cameras can often be a bit counter intuitive. In other words, what looks good to your naked eye often won't work for your finished film. If you're not careful you'll wind up with footage too dark to use. If you've worked with, or lit for, film cameras then it may take a little while to get used to the change in methodology. I've shot with a number of really good DPs recently who made the mistake of lighting for their eyes and not for the camera we were shooting with. Shoot some lighting tests before you begin principal photography so you can get used to your camera's dynamic range.
4. Write for What You Have
Since most low budget, indie and guerrilla filmmakers also happen to write their own material, the number one thing you should keep in mind when putting your new screenplay together is: write for what you have! The best way to give your film a higher production value is to make use of anything and everything you've already got access to. It's tough to go out and find a cemetary or a muscle car or an airplane, but if you've got friends/family with unique locations, props or wardrobe then you can make your little $5000 movie look like you spent tens or hundreds of thousands on it. It worked for Robert Rodriguez and it will work for you.
5. Get a Good Tripod
Hand holding is great on a date with your girlfriend (or boyfriend, we're not sexist here at the Film Sensei's DOJO), but it should be used sparingly on a film set. Get a good fluid head tripod and make use of it as much as possible to give yourself a solid base to work from. Remember, hand held footage is great as long as it is used for a purpose and for an effect. If you're just doing it because you're too cheap to spring for a good set of sticks then your film will suffer for it.
6. Get a Good Mic
I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record after yesterday's post about essential audio equipment for indie and guerrilla filmmakers. However, it's a point well worth repeating over and over. While your audience may forgive a little wonky storytelling, dark images or even bad acting, the one thing no one will forgive is bad sound. There is almost nothing you can do that is worse than poor sound quality, and nothing that will make you look more like an amateur - well, short of accidentally filming all day with your lens cap on. Decent mics are available even for those of us on a more modest budget and there is absolutely no excuse to be shooting with your camera's onboard mic - EVER!
There you have it: the extent of my wisdom. Yes, I know there are a lot more things to keep in mind and that will help (like making sure to get a good AD to help run your set properly or not hiring actresses you want to sleep with), but if you follow these six tips you'll have a good head-start on keeping your first low budget film from sucking worse than a two-dollar whore.
That's it from the depths of the DOJO for tonight. Until next time, Keep Shooting!
-Mat N., the Film Sensei
About the Author
Mat Nastos is a veteran of the film/tv, comic book and video game industries with more than 15 years of experience under his belt as an artist, writer, director and producer. His website,
http://www.filmsensei.com
, is a source for filmmaking tips, tricks, articles and how-tos for indie filmmakers.
Tags: camera, diy, dolly, filmmaking, multidirectional tripod dollies, tripod dollies, tripod dolly review, tripod dolly track, tripod dolly wheels, video
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