Setting Up a Circular Dolly Track - Professional Motion Picture Tech - Cinema Tools Pro Tip #1:

In this first of our Pro-Tip series Cinematographer Jim Ross shows you step by step how to set up a professional circular dolly track just like for a Hollywood movie or professional TV commercial.
Using equipment from PC&E in Atlanta Georgia, Jim sets up track from American Grip, utilizes a Doorway Dolly, and uses specialized Porta-glide wheels for curved track. He even demonstrates how to level the track using Mathews Grip Equipment Apple boxes.
TRANSCRIPT:
First things first. You'll need a truck. And a crew. A circular dolly setup takes eight pieces of curved track and it's pretty big. So get some help. And wear gloves. Typically the rails will be pretty filthy, and anytime you are working with metal there is a chance of getting cut by a sharp edge.
First we're going to lay the track out roughly where we want to use it. If you are circling a product or set remember that you can't drive over the track so have the product inside the circle like we do here. I'm choosing where to lay the rails based upon the best spot for the track, and not worrying about the mower. I knew I could move the mover.
Once you get the track roughly laid out you can start locking it together. It's fairly simple and may remind you of your model train you had when you were a kid. Once the ends are flush you can snap the locks to secure the track. We're laying out boards both to protect the lawn, and to make a flat surface.
Once you have assembled the track its time to start leveling it. Using my eye and reflecting on the experience doing this before I can gauge how much we are going to have to level the track. If the surface is very flat you can get away with wedges and cribbing. Not so here, so we've gotten a good supply of apple boxes as well.
First we flush out a rough level with the boxes. When you see low spots you build them up with apple boxes. For smaller spaces use blocks and use the wedges to build height in increments. In places you'll use all three. Then, I use use two techniques to fine tune the level. I use an actual bubble level to test if the rails are level, and I use the Portaglide wheels themselves to make sure there are no low spots. Literally you let gravity do the work to fine tune your track. As you can see it's very much trial and error. And you'll find as you fix one part you might create a problem elsewhere. So you will be going back and forth quite a bit. However, the success of your shot depends upon the track being level. Otherwise the camera angle will rise and fall even though the track ride seems very smooth.
How much support your track requires depends on what you are using to film. If you are using a cinema dolly like a fisher or chapman and you will need to support hundreds if not thousands of pounds so you'll need to support every one of the cross ties on each side. Here we are only using a doorway dolly supporting just the camera. So we can get away with less support to save time.
Once I'm happy with the track I'll add the dolly. Because the added weight will affect the level of the track you will find yourself fine tuning the track yet again. Here you can see Chris tapping the track to see if there is space under the track tie. This will result in a dip when the dolly rolls so he then fills the spot with a wedge. Meanwhile I continue to look for places that need adjustment, using the added weight of the doorway dolly to flush out soft spots. And it's a good excuse to go back to being a kid again and go for a ride on my very own man sized train set.
A circular dolly shot is great for products that you want to show in 360. As with most production equipment it's best to rent than to buy. We picked up our setup at PC&E in Atlanta. Our setup today would cost over 12 grand if we bought it. Instead we rent it only when we need it for a fraction of that.
I hope you enjoyed this HDPros tip on setting up a circular dolly track. I'm cinematographer Jim Ross with CinematixHD in Atlanta. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.
www.HDPros.net
www.cinematixhd.com
770-938-7077

[@jaseastroboy9240]

If you put a vertical pole in the middle and use that as your reference it may save a lot of time. Have graduations/measurements on the pole. Mount the dolly on the track. Put a camera on the dolly with it pointed at the central pole and zoomed right in. If the camera is in a floating mount then as the dolly goes around it will show the tracks up and down variation by the measurement marks on the image of the pole going up or down. If the camera is on a fixed mount on the dolly then the camera will show the relative levels of the two rails to each other by the measurement marks on the image of the pole going up or down. Once the dolly can do a full circuit and the image of the pole not move vertically then you know you have the whole thing level. After all, doing a full circuit and not having the image move up or down is what you want to achieve so using that as the testing/setup method should give confidence that the shot will be as stable as it was in testing.

[@kevinkino400]

Thank you for this, very helpful and informative!

[@HDProsnet]

You're very welcome!

[@mrdogpoopstudios]

I am so thankful for this video, because after I watched it, I decided to build a giant 360° rig because the track is so much work, but the result is amazing. Best of all, I built a rig for under $200, maybe a bit more with up to a 20 foot radius. Love the video, helped me a lot in learning about track and what can be done with it. Thank You!

[@69782775]

Awesome, thanks for the video

[@HDProsnet]

You are very welcome! Thanks for the comment!

[@disaar3679]

An example of how the footage looks would be awesome!

[@jeremiahmarkusmedia6915]

Very cool! I was always curious how these shots were achieved in film.. Is the same concept used indoors? I imagine if it's a short movement they use smaller tracks? And I'm sure if the budget is big enough and it's filmed on a sound stage, they're able to move walls to accommodate the tracks?

[@dpshingoose]

Perhaps starting with pancakes instead of quarters will be more helpful or already built in halves on platforms

[@DMillerFlorida]

Thank you

[@MarangdaruProduction]

Nice

[@SalParadise]

really enjoyed watching that

[@HDProsnet]

Glad you did! I enjoy the work and more so when I can share it.

[@TylerAdamsMedia]

It would be incredible if you showed how you store and transport the dolly and track! I can’t find a solid solution anywhere. This was very helpful!

[@HDProsnet]

Tyler I keep the middle of my grip truck open with carts on both sides strapped to the walls with E-Track. For transporting this I just piled the track in the middle on their sides and leaned it against my carts. The dolly goes in last as I keep the back 5 feet of my truck open for pelican cases and other last minute stuff. But you are right. I don't know HOW I would keep this on my truck if I owned it. I have two ten foot lengths of straight track on my truck and that is easily hung on the walls above my carts. But this is a rental. I'd have to store it in a warehouse if I owned it.

[@thisgeneration2894]

Wow...

[@leoa.1758]

Steel track-!!!!!

[@rosivaldorosa9719]

OLA I HAVE A HIGH CURIOSITY TO KNOW HOW TO TUBA A CAR DOWN AND ABOVE TO PLACE A RED CAMERA, OR BE A CAR CAMERA WITH ALUMINUM CANTER STRUCTURES.

[@evergreenthecla]

please how do I get this? I urgently need it for a videography project.

[@HDProsnet]

This equipment is common at motion picture rental houses. I rented this from PC&E in Atlanta. There are rental houses in most major cities.

[@dylanmcvey1047]

Is it better to use wooden wedges or actual blocks of wood

[@HDProsnet]

We use both. Blocks are often used for larger gaps and then a wedge added. And rather than wood wedges I really like the plastic shims you get at HD or Lowes as they last longer and don't splinter like wooden ones.

[@dylanmcvey1047]

@@HDProsnet what about just for setting tracks on a street, or grass

[@sunswrangnarzarypk4279]

Rad ketena ,,

[@RanjitSingh-rq5mw]

I am sistant in punjab

[@DreamWorld-gq7zb]

How to buy this?

[@HDProsnet]

You can buy from B&H Photo, or Filmtools, or even direct from Matthews. I rented it from PC&E in Atlanta.

[@besosmedia5373]

long straight edge and a level set on that will halve your time

[@HDProsnet]

I'm shown using a level that is four feet long that spans the tracks. I understand what you meant about the straight edge to use the shorter more comom levels.

[@cquinnable]

This seems like an INSANE amount of time, cost, and labour for a relatively rudimentary looking shot at the end of it. Why not use some kind of DJI self stability camera and wander around the subject?

[@matt_freund]

he literally explains it in the video

[@cquinnable]

@@matt_freund Thanks. 3:22 if anyone else had the same question. I suppose it would be good to see a 'before and after' of doing with/without a dolly. I'm not totally convinced.

[@matt_freund]

@@cquinnable yeah, that would be good. You can see the difference between dolly and stabilazier in my oppinion. Most of the times it's just small movements but the beauty of a really stable dolly shot can't or almost can't be matched with stabilizer because they correct all movements in x y and z axis so the center of you're frame wount be exactly at the same position all the time. Some of the more expensive and newer system like the arri trinity come close, if the operator is really good. But cost wise its like a really big difference. There is room for both though and both is pretty nice to have. Just keep in mind that all the equipment is just as good as the operators are.

[@629fzq]

well... so you're doing the commercial with an arri alexa + anamorphic lenses... will you be able to hold in on the gimbal?

[@FacesofReality]

Ronin 2

[@rolobotoman]

You guys need a systematic approach to leveling this up, it shouldn't take long to do.

[@RanjitSingh-rq5mw]

Nice

[@HDProsnet]

Thanks