One of the most effective tools for film making is the dolly.  It allows you to breath cinematic life into an otherwise boring scene.  In most cases, feature films use expensive camera dollys like the Fisher dolly.  Indie film makers and production companies alike, realize the value of cheaper alternatives – like the skateboard dolly.  I found this post on Ikea Hacker earlier today via Gizmodo.  The idea is to use the Ikea Ivan shelving unit as dolly track.  Interesting idea.  Now lets take a look at how to construct a skateboard dolly first.

At its very basic level, a skateboard dolly is a rectangular piece of plywood fitted with four 45 degree angled brackets that consist of opposing skateboard wheels.

These skateboard wheels ride on top of two PVC pipes – giving the dolly a smooth motion.  Often, a can of “Pledge” is always included with a skateboard dolly.  The “Pledge” acts as a lubricant for the wheels on the pipe – helping to prevent any type of stopping or stuttering in the dolly move, while leaving the set smelling clean and lemony-fresh.

There are several kits available if you are totally against sawing wood and drilling holes – but as you can see it might get a bit pricey. You can make one yourself from scratch quite easily – using materials from Home Depot. (Except for the skateboard wheels, of course – go to a skate shop for those.) One set of plans can be found here. If you do it this way, you can expect to keep your cost down to around $100.

The Ikea dolly track

The major difference between a standard skateboard dolly and this idea from Ikea Hacker is the bracket that holds the wheels.  A standard dolly uses brackets that bend at a 45 degree angle. (see above)  The Ikea dolly uses 90 degree brackets.

This is because instead of using PVC as tracks you would use Ikea’s Ivar Side Units – originally intended for shelving.   My only concern is using rigid wooden tracks. Granted, PVC is also rigid but you can drop it off of a roof without too much trouble.  This looks a bit fragile for me and less convienient. Probably takes up more space in your car too.  I don’t think thats the point here, though.  I think the point is that this is just another way to improve the quality of your shots.

I will say one thing though – and it’s something that is worth remembering – if the shot looks pretty enough, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a Fisher dolly or a shopping cart. Pretty shots are pretty shots.  Watch the video below to see what I mean.  It uses the Ikea hacked dolly for movement and works just as well as an expensive counterpart or the standard skateboard dolly that we all know and love.  It all depends on your budget and your imagination.  Now go make something cool!

EOS 7D + DIY dolly / 1st (snowy!) outdoor test from Aalto on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Gizmodo, Ikea Hacker and solutioneers.net