Mounting your camera on a doorway dolly enables smooth movement.
A camera dolly is a piece of wheeled equipment on which you mount a camera. The wheels enable you to move the camera from one angle to the next quickly and smoothly. A doorway dolly is a type of camera dolly. Unlike a track dolly, the doorway dolly has large rubber wheels that don't require rails. There are multiple practical and creative benefits to using a doorway dolly on your next film shoot.
Equipment Safety
The doorway dolly is stable and strong, with a base typically capable of carrying 1,100 pounds in weight. Mounting your tripod on the non-slip dolly base means you don't have to carry the camera. For shooting scenes that require you to track movement, such as a person running, the doorway dolly significantly reduces the risk of the camera being dropped.
Maneuverability
The doorway dolly gets its name because it is designed to fit through a standard doorway. This makes it an ideal choice for filming scenes in an indoor set. The doorway dolly typically has a turning circle of 2-meters, which is suitable for filming in confined spaces. Although well-suited to indoor filming, the doorway dolly can be put to use outdoors, provided the ground is sufficiently flat.
Cost Saving
Because of its large rubber wheels, the doorway dolly doesn't require a track on which to operate. This saves you money on production costs. Because it is smaller than the "Western" type dolly, which is designed to carry a seated camera man, the doorway dolly requires only one person to move it. This saves on personnel costs.
Smooth Camera Movements
The dolly has rubber wheels, insulating the dolly base from any vibration caused when moving it along. Although designed for movement along the floor, you can mount the dolly on a track if required. The doorway dolly is very versatile in this respect.
Wide Horizontal Plane
The doorway dolly doesn't require rails for smooth operation. This means that you can vary the distance between the dolly's horizontal trajectory and the scene being filmed. Where a rail-mounted dolly can only film from one distance, you can experiment by moving the doorway dolly back and forth in relation to the scene, then moving it horizontally.
Indoor Haulage
While not being used for filming moving scenes, you can use the doorway dolly to move small- and medium-sized equipment from scene to scene. Since it can fit through doors, you can move cable, small boxes and pieces of lighting equipment from one set to another.
