This is the cheapest camera dolly hack you’ll ever see for a smartphone
Oct 5, 2018
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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The humble pizza cutter. Who knew it could be such a wonderful cinematic tool? Well, it turns out that it might be. For your smartphone, anyway. The folks at COOPH have come up with a great way to get a dolly or slider for your phone without actually buying a dolly or slider. All you need is a pizza cutter.
Literally, all you need is a pizza cutter and a couple of rubber bands. You use the rubber bands to attach your phone to the cutter’s handle, and you’re all set. Load up your app, hit record, and go. You can mount it sideways for a tracking shot, or turn it 90 degrees to push in or pull out. Or even move it in an arc.
When it just runs on a single wheel, you get a lot of freedom that you don’t with a more conventional dolly or slider.
If your phone’s got good optical and electronic stabilisation built in, you’re probably ok to use the footage as it comes. But if not, be sure to run it through Premiere Pro’s warp stabiliser or something.
The cheapest pizza cutter I could find on Amazon was about $5, but you can pick these up at pretty much any dollar store in the USA or pound shop in the UK. I dare you to make a camera dolly for your smartphone that costs less than this.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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3 responses to “This is the cheapest camera dolly hack you’ll ever see for a smartphone”
Make a movie and slice your knuckles open at the same time! What’s not to like about this!
This is so simple and great.
And… cut!