Tripod Dolly

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Want to get a nice dolly shot without spending a lot of money? With less than $20 and a Gorillapod you can have an adjustable tripod dolly. You can adjust the angle, the direction, and the radius for circular dolly shots.

It's also ridiculously easy to make. With all the supplies and tools, the build time here is less than 10 minutes.

Video below shows some shots with it. There are still a few jiggles due to the texture of the floor, but you get the idea.

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Step 1: What you need

Inspiration
This project may look familiar. That's because it's based off of the CineSkates project on Kickstarter. I liked the shots it was getting, but didn't want to drop $200 for three wheels. i also knew that I wouldn't have extensive use for this. It's fun once in a while. I'm sure that the CineSkates are much more solid and a great solution, but this Instructable costs less than 10% of those.

Supplies

Gorillapod. I'm using the Hybrid here, but my camera is also light. The SLR-Zoom or Focus would be better.
Three rollerblade wheels with bearings. Lots of these can be found on ebay or amazon. These cost $35 (incl. shipping) for a set of 8. There are cheaper options, but I like the color purple.
Three 2 1/4" 1/4" bolts
Three 1/4" lock nuts

Tools

Drill
Couple of wrenches

Creamaster says: Nov 1, 2011. 4:00 PM

Is that Lumix GF1 covered in photo tape?
'Cause it looks just like mine.

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to CreamasterNov 1, 2011. 4:42 PM

It is! Good spotting. It's something I picked up from a friend. Makes the camera more anonymous and when shooting you avoid the whole camera conversation.

I love it, though. Great shooter.

Kolavskaya in reply to fungus amungusNov 3, 2012. 4:33 PM

I Love this! Just - aarrggrrhh! - had a Gorillapod through the door from Amazon, this one being way too small to not fall over (on wheels that is) with my camera on top... Nah, actually only use it for stills , so that's okay; but this nonetheless is an absolutely 5*-awesome hack :D! Thanks for the inspiration.

Also like the tape idea!!

Creamaster in reply to fungus amungusNov 7, 2011. 2:59 PM

My good friend Tomas turned me on to both that camera and the film tape technique. Mostly he uses it on his pro cameras.

One time we where in aNYC bar and this big guy is eye his camera - a little nerve wracking. Turns out the bouncer was an amateur photographer and was just trying to figure out what camera it was. Turned in to a good way to meet people.

devineDIY says: Jan 1, 2012. 8:10 PM

I found that drilling at an angle makes the wheels stay far away from the 'arms' and wing-nuts worked perfectly to finger tighten them. My bro-in-law loved them.

Hope this helps someone! (oh yea, eBay for the knock off gorilla-pods [small and big])

shootfilm says: Dec 27, 2011. 5:42 PM

LOVE this project! I'm a filmmaking hobbyist, and now I'm thinking about devising some detachable wheels that can clamp onto the feet of my tripod. If possible I'll mount the wheels on pivots of some kind, like office-chair casters, so they (and the tripod) can rotate freely during a shot.

Again, love this project!

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to shootfilmDec 30, 2011. 9:59 AM

There are a couple of Instructables written since this one that are removable. Many are popping up in the Related box that way ---->

Removable Tripod/Small Table Dolly Attachments (swivel mod added)

Removable Tripod Dolly Feet

The problem with casters is that they're not very smooth with sharper direction changes as the connection is not directly over the wheel. But good luck and let me know if you make something.

awakebyjava says: Nov 1, 2011. 11:21 AM

Cool! I just ordered a Gorillapod video with a GLIF for my iPhone 4S. Maybe I'll look for a way to do this without drilling through the legs.

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to awakebyjavaNov 1, 2011. 2:10 PM

Cool. Good luck. If you're going to try this, though, you may want a beefier version of the gorillapod. With the wheels on the bottom, the gorillapod has no grip and so you are solely relying on the friction between all of the leg components to keep it in position. The gorillapod I used is rated at more than my camera needed, but could still lose position if I extended the legs too far.

Then again, the 4S is pretty light. My camera weighs about 17 ounces, 4x the 4S.

Good luck avoiding the drilling. I tried a couple different non-destructive methods and then just went to the drill press. Don't bother with hot glue.

awakebyjava in reply to fungus amungusDec 11, 2011. 10:11 AM

Here is what I came up with. Works really well! Thanks for the inspiration!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Removable-Tripod-Dolly-Feet/

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to awakebyjavaDec 13, 2011. 11:45 AM

Excellent. Great job!

awakebyjava in reply to fungus amungusNov 1, 2011. 4:58 PM

Yah, the video pod has magnetic feet, so i was thinking of rigging up a metal angle piece with the wheel shaft ending on that. Also would go with smaller wheels, maybe some roller bearings instead of the blade wheels. Would need a really smooth surface, but for my applications I think it might be fine.

inkfzz says: Nov 8, 2011. 12:17 PM

As promised, here's a link to a youtube video (if it works, cause this is the 4th time i'm trying) of a few tests i did right after i made my tripodolly. It runs way smoother than i expected and it holds a Pen E-PL1 easily. it's a few simple shots like riding into focus, left to right and some circular movement:

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to inkfzzNov 9, 2011. 10:46 AM

Sweet, thanks for sharing. Love the knocking into the blocks, too :)

evan808 says: Nov 8, 2011. 7:17 PM

Really nice! I'd like to build one now! It is amazing how one always finds roller-blades at thrift stores, goodwill, yard sales, etc.

Also: I'd like to build a simple method for rolling it along a surface (very slowly) to have some tracking time-lapse video... Maybe a string winding slowly along a lego gear motor spool or something... (does that make any sense?)

inkfzz says: Nov 5, 2011. 9:38 AM

i just finished making this. and i am very pleased with the result.
it runs way smoother than i anticipated.
i went to a skate shop and just bought everything new, cause the old ones they had were to worn out and uneven.
but still, the whole thing cost me no more than €20,-.
excellent!!!

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to inkfzzNov 5, 2011. 1:42 PM

Nice! Can you post some footage shot with it?

inkfzz in reply to fungus amungusNov 7, 2011. 6:28 AM

how do i post the shots tho? i don't want to upload them to my youtube channel, since i use that for my jobs only. can i upload them to instructables?

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to inkfzzNov 7, 2011. 1:25 PM

No, sorry, Instructables doesn't host video. Maybe you can post them somewhere else, like vimeo?

inkfzz in reply to fungus amungusNov 5, 2011. 2:30 PM

will do! as it is right now, i deleted it, cause i just quickly tested the functioning of the tripodolly. but i'll make a few shots and upload them!

mevans12 says: Nov 1, 2011. 7:18 AM

nice hack but for some reason I loose all respect for someone when they whip out a pair of needle nose pliers (in vid.) to tighten a nut. :-(
Not trying to be ugly just saying use the right tool for the job, if you don't have the correct wrench or socket at least use an adjustable wrench. As a professional tool user this will haunt me the rest of the day. :-)

aturan in reply to mevans12Nov 5, 2011. 2:57 AM

I had the same feelings.
Especially if the author says : . I'm also the Content Manager here at Instructables.
I expect a more instructive (as in use the right tools) video.
Using needle nose pliers is NOT suitable for this job.
Really sad when people think that this is OK.
You can easily hurt yourself with the wrong tool for the job.
I hope this post does not get me banned as the comment is about a Content manager.. :)

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to aturanNov 5, 2011. 1:52 PM

I forgot to mention this before, but those aren't regular needlenose pliers. It was a cheap multitool with a grip for nuts inside it.

Here's one like it.

Which is why I didn't see what the fuss was about. If it was a standard needlenose, yes, you'd run the risk of slipping and nicking your finger.

inkfzz in reply to aturanNov 5, 2011. 9:35 AM

hurt yourself with needle nose pliers? how tight do you think these nuts should be?

overblast in reply to mevans12Nov 4, 2011. 9:05 AM

Did it work? Yes.
End of story. :)

stringstretcher in reply to mevans12Nov 4, 2011. 2:07 AM

Can I borrow your rule book? Mine has disappeared somehow... (long live McGyver)

tfreeman5 in reply to mevans12Nov 1, 2011. 10:04 AM

As a professional hacker with absolutely no tools I actually have MORE respect for someone who can use what's at hand to get the job done. I've actually used two sticks and a zip tie as pliers before because I didn't have a real one.

mevans12 in reply to tfreeman5Nov 1, 2011. 10:59 AM

As I posted I half knew someone would take offence, oh well, I was ASS-U-MEing that he had the right tool close at hand but didn't use it...
As to your plight, its cool that you can use two sticks and a cable tie as a wrench but you shouldn't have to except in a survival situation. You can get a drawer full of tools for just a few $$ by going to yard sales, pawn shops, flee markets, etc.
the time and $ spent will be made up quickly.

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fungus amungus (author) in reply to mevans12Nov 1, 2011. 9:41 AM

Trust me, if I had another wrench, I would've used it. Our workshop has been very busy lately and tools have been wandering. Still, it worked.

overblast in reply to fungus amungusNov 4, 2011. 9:08 AM

What's great about you using needle nose pliers is that you spark innovative ideas in readers.

Why not use a different tool than what's normally used even if you do have the right one at hand? Will you get arrested for that?

That is one way innovation is started.

mevans12 in reply to fungus amungusNov 1, 2011. 10:50 AM

Oh, I AM sorry, sometimes I forget the privilege of being a crotchety old man, lots of tools and if I share, I know exactly who has them... anyway, the tripod dolly is a great hack that I may well build.

glitteringsky says: Nov 4, 2011. 6:58 PM

THIS IS BRILLIANT. Doing it. Immediately. Thank you. :D

overblast says: Nov 4, 2011. 9:04 AM

I wonder if you could adapt a RC car chasis to this somehow (4 wheels = more stable on flat floor) so you could put a video camera on it and remotely guide it somewhere.

Opens up ALL kinds of possibilities.

Maybe even a police bomb squad could use this.

sircaptaintigerotter says: Nov 3, 2011. 8:08 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oSJj8xXSLo&feature=channel_video_title this is very similar to cheesey cams idea that he came up with a little while ago and its pretty cool check it out

askjerry says: Nov 3, 2011. 6:29 PM

Very nicely done... and as fate would have it... I already have about 24 scooter wheels and a similar tripod... so I'm very excited to build this project!

Thanks!
Jerry

WestCoastKenny says: Nov 3, 2011. 12:37 PM

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are a few Daiso stores which offer a knock-off of that flexible leg tripod for a couple of bucks. It's not exactly the same, but close enough. Daiso is a Japanese discount variety store. The merchandise is very high quality.

alienorbit says: Nov 3, 2011. 10:57 AM

Check out the FotoPro Transformer flexible tripod for a solution that has pre-tapped 1/4-20 holes in the feet, ready for wheels! (It also comes with rubber spiked, and suction feet!)

http://amzn.to/s1YARY