DIY - Track & Dolly
What you need:
8 Rollerblade wheels (With bearings)
2 X 8ft pvc pipe.
6 x 1ft plank of MDF
8 1/4″ bolts at 3 1/2″ long.
8 1/4″ washers
16 1/4″ fender washers
16 1/4 nuts.
1 X cheap old tripod.
When building your track and dolly, it’s important that you come up with your own design. A design that works well with the way you film, depending on your equipment, budget and filming style. This design was created for its mobility and ease of use. More traditional designs require a large dolly which you’ll find the camera operator and tripod will need to stand on. You will then find that the camera operator needs a track grip (an extra person) to pull them along. If your looking to film a tr
acking shot that runs through a hole in a wall, or a gap in a fence, then this design is ideal. Similarly if your trying to film a track elevation where the track is supported on a wall on one side, and the otherside is on the floor. You simply adjust the tilt level on the tripod head and roll the dolly up and down the slanted track. This design is light, It’s about 1ft wide and not even 2ft high.
Both of the 8ft PVC pipes were cut into 2 peices. 1ft and 7ft peices. The 1ft peices were used for the frame system which holds the wheels. The remaining 7ft peice is used for the track.
When drilling holes for the wheels in the 1ft frame system, think of cutting holes in pipe at 4 o clock and 8 oclock. This will change depending on the size of piping used and size of wheels so do experiment placing the wheels as a guide before drilling. You will need to double up using 2 bolts and washers on the ends of the wheel axels to secure the wheels in place and to keep them steady.
The reason for the staggered, step like blocks of wood is so the tripod handle can move and rotate without hitting the dolly support. A problem that I do have with this dolly is having used a cheap £20 tripod, it impacts the panning ability whilst tracking, so for this reason I’ve ruled out panning with this head. I plan my tracking shots from begining to end to ensure everything is capture in one movement. If you have a few more pennies to spend, I do recommend purchasing a slightly more expensive tripod to 
combine both pan and tracking movements.
As I rollerblade, I have lots of rollerblade wheels and bearings. So this was at no cost for me, however if your looking to buy some cheap wheels for a dolly such as this I would recommend visiting/calling www.skatewarehouse.co.uk or 08707 651 707. If you let them know that you found them through The Edit Crunch these guys will be happy to sort you a great deal.
Overall the time spent on this Dolly was around 3-4 hours, having spent an estimated £50 in total.
Please note, this isn’t a step by step guide, therefore if you need anything answering please leave us a message on the forums and we’ll be happy to help out.
DIY - Track & Dolly from Edit Crunch on Vimeo.
