Digital Video - February 2008 - (Page 14) IN REVIEW AXIS DOLLY sized professional units. ENTER AXIS The Axis is a robust, well-constructed, small system that offers a considerable amount of versatility in a very reasonably priced package. The Axis is a triangular-shaped platform with three sets of wheels, one at each tip of the triangle. Each wheel is adjustable within single-degree increments and setting the wheels in various configurations will make the dolly travel in a straight line or in an adjustable radial curve around a fixed subject. In essence, you can perform precise curved dolly moves without requiring the curved dolly track. The Axis Dolly was created using the same concept as the higher-end P+S Technik Mini-Skater dolly, with some advantages in Axis’ corner, including the price point, which is almost a quarter of the cost of the Mini-Skater. The Axis Dolly is rather perplexing at first, but even with the very rough assembly instructions on their Web site, and a moment or two working with it, the concept becomes intuitive. Like the MiniSkater, the Axis can work as a tabletop dolly, and this is where I think it really works best. You can mount a tripod head directly to the dolly, as long the head has a flat base and a 3/8”-16 threaded tiedown. The surface of the dolly sits a mere four inches off the ground so depending on the head you’re using, you can get some really low shots. In tabletop mode, the Axis can do straight-line moves in any direction you choose, or you can set a curved move around a fixed radius. You can also set the wheels to spin on the dolly’s own center axis and create a high-hat that pans, which is a really cool feature. There are three business card-sized “cheat cards” included with the Axis that give you degree measurements for specific radius sizes so that you can quickly set the wheels to perform curved movements. You can also download a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or PDA application from the Axis Dolly Web site to calculate your own radii. www.dv.com SMOOTH MOVER THE AXIS DOLLY IS GREAT FOR BOTH TABLETOP WORK AND TRIPOD USE. BY JAY HOLBEN A s a cinematographer, I was a dolly man. I preferred them whenever possible, as I found that tripods were often too constricting, time consuming, and too tedious to move and adjust — especially with heavier cameras that took two people to raise or lower the tripod. Everything was just easier, faster and more comfortable on a dolly. The biggest disadvantage of small dollies, however, is the fact that the operator has to walk along with the dolly. This means your operator is concentrating on his or her own movement (around the dolly) and on operating the camera. SCORE AXIS DOLLY PROS: Exceptional capability and price. CONS: Difficult to break down for transport and storage, no braking system. BOTTOM LINE: A great addition to your kit. MSRP: $1,999 CONTACT: www.axisdolly.com 14 dv february 2008 Often, on smaller, inexpensive dollies, the operator is not only walking along, they’re the one pushing it! This severely limits the operator’s ability to compose the frame. It’s not like handholding or Steadicam, where the equipment becomes part of your body: Walking along, pushing the dolly and holding the panhandle while watching the action and composing the shot is an incredibly complicated list of duties to humble even the most seasoned operator. The physical limitations of the dolly, tripod and your body position often make larger moves impossible; you just end up tripping over the equipment. In addition, because the operator is pushing (or pulling) the dolly from a standing position, high above the dolly’s center of gravity, this motion is considerably affecting the dolly’s performance in doing so. That said, not everyone can afford big dollies, and not every shooting situation will allow for or require a larger dolly. There are many applications where small, compact platforms for little movements really shine over the Cadillac- http://www.axisdolly.com http://www.dv.com
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