How To Capture Long Smooth Running-In-The-Meadow Scenes

February 2, 2014 by Udi Tirosh 6 Comments

Every movie that happens in a valley or a meadow has this shot – a bunch of small kids running in the grass with a small cute dog running along with epic piano music in the background. You know what I’m talking about…

One way to capture this kind of shot is to use a camera drone, but if you are shooting on a budget, a cable cam and a GoPro are your best bet.

Matt Hardy shared this great tips with us, on how to build and setup a DIY Cable Cam. It is just this kind of small fast rigs that you can set to run over a hundred meter shot.

The rig is made from a trapezoid Aluminum with 2 grooved scooter wheels, and it smoothly slides across 100 meters of 3mm Dyneema rope. (The rope has to have some downwards angle to pull on the rig, so you better know your nuts – Matt used a Double Bowline Knot and an Alpine Butterfly knot).

The nice thing is that the aluminum trapezoid folds flat when not in use.

Epic piano and running kids and dogs in 3,2,1…

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is the Founder and Editor in Chief of DIYPhotography, he is also a photographer, a relentless entrepreneur, a prolific inventor and a dad, not necessarily in that order

« GoPro – I’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

True Tilt-Shift With Smartphones and CCTV Lenses »

Ricky

Any places where I could get pre-grooved wheels? A similar one of these popped up in an older DIYP post, but I couldn’t get past the fact that you have to carve a groove in the wheels. I don’t have the tools, and I most likely don’t have the skills.
- Raven Youngblood
  
  old bike wheels will work, just remove the tires and tubes.
- Jayson Carey
  
  You can either use V-groove track wheels ( http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-wheels/=qjd71h ) or some basic rope pulleys, which is what I would use ( http://www.mcmaster.com/#rope-pulleys/=qjd7jk )
  - Ricky
    
    Thanks I’ll check it out!
Chris Aldridge

“Know your nuts”
- dave e.
  
  That’s knot funny!