For one shot in my movie, I need to move the camera (a small Sony HD camcorder) from point A to point B, a straight line about 10 feet. I want the camera to pan slowly and smoothly. The ground is flat. Any advice or tips? I'd like to keep it cheap!

-2pro

Well the classic example of how to do this guerilla style is to strap your camera on to a wheelchair. If the ground is flat, you should get a very smooth shot.

I guess a chair with wheels could get the job done, but I was looking for something maybe a bit better. Any suggestions?

Skateboards are good to. I barrow my friends board all the time and it works really well. But if you dont know any one that boards then you can pick them up for like 5 bucks at Wally-world (aka: walmart)
Hope that helps.
Kat

Rollerblades! Strap on a pair and dangle the camera between your hands. Your legs will absorb any bumps, and you can have somebody push you from behind. Plus you have complete control over the shot.

Stand on a hand truck, have one of your friends tilt u back then roll.

Well, the only thing better than a wheelchair is a dolly, and those aren't cheap. You can build your own, but it takes a bit of work.

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Rollerblades! Strap on a pair and dangle the camera between your hands. Your legs will absorb any bumps, and you can have somebody push you from behind. Plus you have complete control over the shot.

Not feasible at all! First off, you have to be GAY to even BUY rollerblades...

what' wrong with rollerblades. Sure, if you wear short shorts with them, that's pretty gay, but, what else is wrong with them? Better then roller skates.

Hit record and throw your camera.

I dont know, roller blades can work pretty well. I dont know if you guys have seen the dogtown movie. If you havent, I dont blame you it wasnt that good. But any way they shot most of that movie with a guy on roller blades.

what's the hardest part about rollerblading?...
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...telling your parents that you're gay.

but serously, if you want something better you could build a dolly out of a tripod mounted on some kind of platform with wheels on the side (*sigh* rollerblade wheels work VERY well). That shouldn't be really very hard to build, but i agree that a skateboard would come in handy.

Thanks for all the help. I'm gonna try both a skateboard and rollerblades before hand, to see which is easier/better, and I'll let you know what happens.

Ok, I tried them both and rollerblading is a ton better. Not only is it smoother, but you can much easier turn and pan, along with control the camera functions. The salkateboard shakes more, especially if it isnt on something extremely smooth. Turning is also impossible.

you've never been on a skateboard before huh?

well either way im glad things went well

Kat

No, I've been on a skateboard before, but I'm not any good. I tried holding the camera on the board, and I wasn't very stable, and was limited in quick motions. But I'm sure if your a better boarder than blader, the skateboard might work better. Personal preference, I guess.

Hello, there's a lot of resources out there about this topic, but here's some really big photos telling a really simple story...

http://www.microfilmmaker.com/comgroup/viewtopic.php?p=...5b114a548e37b463b62c

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Originally posted by REDking:
Hit record and throw your camera.

Haha, thats funny.

Hopefully you will have a spare camera...

Use a zip line. some how hook the camera on a string or rope, then you can push it along the line and it will be very smooth.

cheap practical works