No Second Take Required
- Aug, 11 2011
- By admin
- Blog, Film, MLG
- No comments
If you’ve had the chance to get your hands on a KesslerCrane Pocket Dolly, you probably already know how this review is going to turn out. I thought I would share my thoughts on this new and profoundly smooth tool. If the Pocket Dolly were transformed into a human, it would probably turn into Frank Sinatra. Not exactly a scientific fact, but you may be called upon to excuse my hyperbole throughout this post.
Full disclosure: I was able to acquire the KesslerCrane Pocket Dolly from them due to the fact I’m doing a video for their fantastic Kessler University website. I was offered payment in whatever manner I wished, but I thought it better to get gear for my work. So while I definitely am not getting it for free, I thought this something I should disclose right off the bat. I don’t have a “statement of ethics” or anything like that, but I’d like to think I behave in an honorable manner in any of my dealings, on or offline.
I must say, Eric Kessler, Chris Beller, and KesslerCrane’s reputation for good customer service is not undeserved. I knew I could probably use the Pocket Dolly for an upcoming shoot, and let them know. That shoot was a few weeks ago for MLG’s “Dr. Pepper Ultimate Gaming House.” The basic idea of the web series is to pick from user-submitted videos, and remodel the winner’s room into a gaming den of epic proportions. Eric and Chris graciously hooked me up early and sent the Pocket Dolly and needed accessories to the hotel we would be arriving at in Illinois. To say I was ecstatic to finally get my hands on this would be a bit of an understatement. My frequent collaborator Joseph Pollock and I filmed a short test film of sorts called “Firm” later that night.
The temptation to go on a slider fetish run was great, I won’t lie. If that makes you scratch your head and wonder what I mean, I mean abuse of a slider, doing moves with one “just because you can” and for no other reason than that. Thankfully my duties on the shoot prevented me from letting my mind wander to my new piece of gear. We ended up only using it for one part of the shoot, for b-roll in an old arcade. This was one area my DSLR was an absolute nightmare, trying to tweak the shutter speeds to match the refresh rates on the different arcade screens. However I was able to get some great shots regardless.
One thing that surprised me immediately was how much I disliked the hand crank. It felt very unnatural to me to use the crank, so I opted for a more hands on approach. If you choose to go the Pocket Dolly route, know that any errors on slider moves are probably your fault. The Pocket Dolly is seriously as smooth as butter. You may not be perfect at it immediately, but keep using it and practicing with it so you can use it perfectly when it does count. Joe and I’s short film “Firm” was more or less an interesting way to practice using the Pocket Dolly. The only slider I’d used before was a Glidetrack SD. I won’t say much about it other than I was not impressed with it. I’m sure I could have gotten better with it over time, but having it seize up mid-move drove me nuts. The high quality craftsmanship behind the Pocket Dolly shows. Any minute errors with the different moves you can achieve with the Pocket Dolly were definitely my fault. I had to even learn to control my breathing so as to achieve perfectly smooth motion. There are a host of different moves you can achieve with the Pocket Dolly, you are not limited to just horizontal moves.
The next gig I used it at recently was MLG Anaheim, in Anaheim, California. Major League Gaming is the governing body for eSports in North America. Our events attract thousands of spectators, competitors, and millions of viewers online. Our most recent event, in Anaheim, attracted over 20,000 spectators, over 120K in prizes, and 35 million views online. MLG’s broadcasts employ a sports type model for broadcasting on the internet. The production values are quite good – we have 4 channels on our website, one for each game and one “best of” type of channel that broadcasts all 3 games. MLG currently has Halo: Reach, StarCraft 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Pro Circuit.
This was my first experience traveling with the Pocket Dolly. I got no trouble from TSA or airlines carrying on the Pocket Dolly and a Pelican 1510 case. The Pocket Dolly fits quite nicely in an overhead for travel. The Anaheim event was 3 days long – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday I used the Pocket Dolly for strictly vertical moves. This configuration is easy and requires only one tripod with the quick release plate mounted in the middle. I used a Giotto ball head so that I could point the camera perpendicular from the vertical Pocket Dolly. This enabled me to do vertical moves with the camera pointing at whatever I was shooting. Most of my camera work on Friday was crowd shots, and shots of our players. I refrained from using the Pocket Dolly on Saturday, and used it in a horizontal configuration on Championship Sunday. In order to have it properly balanced, I used 2 tripods on either end. If you get the Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly or Pocket Dolly Traveler, you do not need to do this(or so I’m told). The PD Travel or Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly only require one tripod.
Carrying around the two tripods and Pocket Dolly rig was a bit of a workout but more than worth the trouble. It enabled me to do various moves I hadn’t been able to do before. More dramatic crowd shots, and on one occasion to do a pull-out move on a pro StarCraft player. Moving away from him with my camera accentuated the fact he had just lost and worked quite nicely. On one occasion I used the Pocket Dolly in a slightly unorthodox manner. One player had just beat his mentor on the main stage, and he immediately left his area to talk to his mentor who had just lost. It was a fast moving moment, could have been easily messed up, especially on a DSLR where a stabilized shot is key. In my current configuration I had the Pocket Dolly mounted parallel to the main stage – and I had the camera mounted to the quick release plate attached to my Giotto ball head. I slid very fast with it in a pseudo-handheld type of shot that worked well. It allowed me to follow him across the stage in a much smoother manner than just pure handheld.
If you’re looking for a “score” at the end of this to rate the Pocket Dolly you’re out of luck. I can tell you it’s a solid addition to anyone’s kit. If you’ve gotten to the end of this and are envious, you’ve missed the point. Writing this is not some elaborate ad for KesslerCrane – purely my own thoughts on how it’s already helping my own creativity. The thing about creativity is, it’s all well and good but you can’t do a jib move without a jib, or a slider shot without a slider. There are certain moves you cannot achieve without certain pieces of gear. There are so many sliders out there, I can’t tell you if KesslerCrane’s Pocket Dolly is the best one out there. All I can tell you is it’s a solid product with fantastic customer service to back it up. Would I have bought the Pocket Dolly if I wasn’t doing a video for KesslerU? The answer is most definitely yes – while I am prepared to accept some compromises on quality & price in some areas of gear purchase, this was not one of them. I’ve heard too many horror stories about a slider seizing up mid-move during an event where there are no second takes.
If you’re interested in a product that requires no second take, check out the KesslerCrane Pocket Dolly.
