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On television in particular, static shots are often avoided for fear of losing the attention span of viewers. In independent films, camera moves are often employed as a plea to the audience to accept their work as professional. Both of these approaches are rife with folly. They consist of telescoping arms with wheels mounted on the underside, and a set of clamps at the end of each arm to secure your tripod's feet in place. The better the tripod dolly is made, the more durable it will be and the longer it will last. As these devices are typically used to support expensive camera equipment, yours should be rugged enough that you feel secure trusting the safety of your gear to it.
Rubber wheels tend to roll more smoothly than nylon wheels. FAQ Q. How can I tell if a dolly will work with my tripod? But if your rig is big enough that it needs to be on a good tripod for stability, and if your move is long enough or complicated enough that you need something with more reach than a slider, then you have to have a dolly. Rails systems by companies like Keiser can be relatively affordable, compared to professional, platform-boom dollies — which tend to be more costly. That’s why the tripod dolly is so useful: it’s a much less expensive way to achieve very comparable results. SmallRig also advertises that it comes with an anti-slip carry handle. While it does have three of these on the tripod legs, you can only fit three fingers inside and I personally found that it wasn’t that comfortable or easy to use. How is it to use with a Digital Cinema Camera? The head plate slot has built-in screw holes and the bowl base comes with 1/4”-20 threaded holes for accessory attachment. The built-in damping and balancing system enables 360° horizontal and +90°/-75° vertical movements. There are also 3/8″-16 threaded holes in the head base to support most tripods, arms, sliders, and other accessories with 3/8″-16 screws.
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Sundries - Four 150mm-diameter wheels with rubber tyres, 1m of M12 studding (diameter to suit wheels) with nuts and washers, six M8x75 bolts, 75mm butt hinge, epoxy resin glue, 25mm woodscrews. Panning and tilting are a little easier because you can use the momentum of the pan to help with the tilt. While there is still some rebound effect it isn’t as noticeable as when you are just tilting. SmallRig Universal Tripod Dolly 3986 Individual parts are bolted together, allowing you to take the dolly apart for easy storage or transport. One thing I didn’t like is that the spreaders don’t have a rounded edge and they are quite sharp. This is something you need to be aware of. If your tripod legs have slightly pointed feet, a simple hole drilled in the leg support plate will help locate them.
If you compare the work of professional cinematographers in film and television to the litany of amateur short films that play at festivals around the world, you’re likely to notice one crucial difference about the camera movement. In amateur pieces, the camera is almost always either handheld or limited to a tripod with pans and tilts as moves. Rarely do you see a no-budget movie with long, smooth camera moves. Yet those moves are everywhere in cinema and TV. Because the speeds involved are low and distances relatively short, pneumatic tyres and proper bearings are not necessary unless you are scaling up the design for a heavyweight mount or you have particularly bumpy ground to cover. The steering mechanism and the rigid handle; for a soft handle, use some rope.Credit: Mark Parrish Finessing the design You should put some thought into the wheels on your tripod dolly, particularly if you want to shoot professional-quality video.
Buy the best quality dolly you can. If you have the budget for it, consider spending more for a better tripod dolly. It will do a better job of protecting your expensive equipment, provide smoother shots, and last far longer than a cheap tripod dolly.
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