Meet The Gaffer #80: Robotic Dana Dolly

DP Jeff Regan, of Shooting Star Video, shows how to turn a Dana Dolly into a moco rig! We combine the parts from eMotimo and Dana Dolly to turn a manual rail dolly into a machine repeatable slider by setting the start, stop, travel length and speed, tilt, and focus points of the move... up to 10 feet in length. Kinda cool.

[@MattBowie]

This is a game changer. It still surprises me how often I am on set with DP's that are not familiar with Dana Dolly sliders. As to be expected we always have issues with the slider they show up with. Love this and appreciate you sharing Luke. Your a beast!

[@meetthegaffer]

Yup. The Dana is not the right tool for every move, but it’s really a great tool to always have available... and now there’s a new capability to offer:)

[@MattBowie]

I am based in Chicago. Would I need to purchase this or know any places renting this.

[@meetthegaffer]

I don’t know who might own it in your area, but it’s a small company so I would just contact them and maybe they can point you to other owners near you... or talk you into buying one yourself:)

[@JeseeWalker]

Fun episode!

[@jasonwawro7409]

That's fun, thanks for sharing

[@OmnableCreative]

Very cool!

[@TheRickurb]

That’s a sweet set up! It makes my edelkrone remote set up look like a tinker toy… I’ll have to start putting away some pennies

[@meetthegaffer]

Ha, ha!

[@AbstrakMedia]

Would have loved to see some sample footage of whatever the subject was, but good stuff none the less

[@dimakop]

Looks like a clone of a Kessler Shuttle dolly and CineDrive system, but easier. I like it

[@rbthecraneguy]

Is that ”the” Jeff Regan? Nice job on the review gents.

[@meetthegaffer]

The very same. He says he’s camera shy, but he’ll have his own tips and tricks vlog in no time...

[@rbthecraneguy]

Luke Seerveld as will I.

[@emotimoinc.8688]

Hey Luke and Jeff - great summary and thanks for playing with our gear. Technically this is perfect. Also, we put out a new video summary today for what you can do with this setup - vimeo.com/255484263 Geographically, I also wanted to highlight that at the end of December, we moved eMotimo headquarters to San Diego.

[@meetthegaffer]

What! Well, all the best to you guys in San Diego and we look forward to rockin’ your gear on the set:)

[@MAVPMedia]

What a game changer! What I love is how everything is in one package. The whole camera department in one. I'm definitely going to look into using the ST4 for future productions. Also great to know you're now in San Diego! The production company I DP for is in downtown San Diego. We'd love to work with you one day :)

[@AwesomeShotStudios]

Nicely presented Luke. I'm a bit surprised at the amount of weight put on that relatively small Sirui ballhead. Wouldn't a larger fluid head with long plate help balance the rig better?

[@SSVHD]

The ball head has a 77lb. weight capacity and makes leveling easier. Alternatively, an Arca Swiss Mount could be mounted directly to the Dana Dolly platform. Only concern would be tilting down with a wide lens and seeing the Dana Dolly platform.

[@emotimoinc.8688]

For a really solid setup with Dana Dolly, we like a 75 or 100mm ball receiver (comes with DD) to a short half ball adapter from Manfrotto (500BALL or 520BALL - www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553993-REG/Manfrotto_520BALL_520BALL_75mm_Half_Ball.html?sts=pi) to our included spacer/clamp. The leveling is easy with the half ball too. Since this solution only has a few degrees of leveling, it isn't appropriate for steep setups with our lighter weight slider integrations. An Arca ball head is great for that.

[@blueridgevantage8564]

I'm looking to pass a set of rails through a car to catch keyframed interior shots of the dash, instrument cluster, console, shifter etc etc. Can dana dolly and the eMotimo rig fit through that or am I better off with a smaller setup like a Syrp magic carpet or other traditional small camera slider? I like the robustness of the Dana Dolly plus eMotimo.

[@meetthegaffer]

I guess it depends on the size of your car... it’s not a shot I’ve tried with that rig.

[@MarkRichardsontv]

What is a good way to rig a camera to a dana dolly such that it can look straight down and clear the dolly. This would be useful for some top down shots I have planed in an upcoming project.

[@meetthegaffer]

Have you checked out #156: kzbin.info/www/bejne/goWUiWCdjdp6aqM Or the original trial, #117: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHLUonV5lL-YqpI Or you could try something basic like the ending Jerry Rig in #79: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5SZdWeVoNF1d8k

[@MarkRichardsontv]

@@meetthegaffer Thank you!

[@adbayarea]

Can the Robotic Dana Dolly work in a similar fashion with the DataVideo PTR-10T camera head? Thanks

[@meetthegaffer]

I don’t know. You would have to contact the company to see if they have partnered with Dana like EMotimo did.

[@DaveLerrick]

Hi Luke, thanks for the video. Would you recommend that ballhead after your time of using it? Best regards Dave

[@meetthegaffer]

Ball head? The one on the tripod? It’s certainly beafy. The only issue is that it’s quite stiff and takes some force to reset, which is good in terms of safety, but slows you down if ur in a hurry.

[@DaveLerrick]

@@meetthegaffer The ''sirui'' branded one on the slider unit. Thanks for the input!

[@meetthegaffer]

Ha, ha! Sorry, I thought you were referring to the most recent ep 198 where it was used as well, but on sticks. Yes, it is a very solid head and can take a good deal of weight.

[@DaveLerrick]

@@meetthegaffer All good :) that also underlines its usefulness since you've kept it around for that long. Will also look at that episode, thanks!

[@meetthegaffer]

Yes, it’s not as functional as my little Sachtler, but it works well for compact travel and stationary camera positions. I convert all my heads to standard manfrotto plates so in this instance I have a double plate.

[@captainmandri8376]

Have a question. Do you have any knowlegde on DN Labs? I recently purchased a DN Labs 1200 HMI DuroPar. It is DN Labs version of a LTM cinepar. I could not find any information on the company? Just wanted some history on them.

[@meetthegaffer]

That’s a blast from the past! I do know people who bought DN Labs DuoPars and/or ballasts back in the day:) My memory is a bit spotty surrounding its history. Let me see if I can coax someone to share their experience. What kind of globes are you using and do you have spares?

[@captainmandri8376]

Luke Seerveld thank you for your response! Blast from the past sounds like a long time! Around what years do you think? It comes with a double ended par style globe. Not sure what brand until i receive the shipment. This is the only one I found on B&H, I'm thinking this is the one but I could be wrong: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/839888-REG/Sylvania_55139_HMI_1200_with_DXS.html

[@meetthegaffer]

Ping me and I’ll connect you to a gaffer who can fill you in re DN Labs history. [e-mail]

[@cockerjc]

Would this work with my Dutti dolly? It appears that it would.

[@meetthegaffer]

I don’t know about that. It would be best to ask the eMotimo folks.

[@ulrichmors574]

what stands are under the dana dolly?

[@meetthegaffer]

They are made by Matthews. I believe it’s called The Slider Stand. This is the regular version. They make a mini version too. Good build quality.

[@senigalliaprod]

What stands are the dolly on?

[@meetthegaffer]

Those are extra, low-boy junior stands that Matthews makes. If I’m not mistaken, they were initially made for pipe sliders like the Dana Dolly.

[@meetthegaffer]

products.msegrip.com/products/the-slider-stand

[@senigalliaprod]

Thanks Luke. I need to get those. The one foot working height makes these really versatile.

[@thundergrip5134]

really wish you showed the shot

[@meetthegaffer]

Well, it wasn’t much of a shot:) But eMotimo has a video out now where they show the different shots: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6KrppqMf62DerM

[@thundergrip5134]

thanks!