Why do so many young movie makers utilize a wheelchair for their dolly shots as opposed to a steadicam, jib, or real dolly tracks? After all, the wheelchair limits you to shooting on only the smoothest of surfaces if you want a 100% smooth dolly shot (a normal sidewalk has too many cracks for smooth wheelchair rolling). And this 100% smooth dolly shot is difficult in and of itself because the person in the wheelchair holding the camera also has to have a steady hand while being pushed. So why the wheelchair? The most obvious reason is cost. The cheapest steadicam will cost at least $100 and it will only give you minimal improvement over your handheld shots. You have to move up into the $250 range of steadicams to actually get a smooth shot while doing those action scenes. I bought my wheelchair (more correctly rolling walker) at the thrift store for $47. The second reason to start off with a wheelchair is because it makes you feel like you’re a real independent movie maker. You’re being resouceful. You’re grinding. I remember reading Robert Rodriguez’s book, “Rebel Without A Crew,” and learning that he used a wheelchair dolly in some of his shots for El Mariachi. I thought this was fantastic. If he could use a wheelchair in his breakout movie then why couldn’t I do it.
And the final reason why I like the wheelchair is because it makes random people smile and thus, more willing to help you out. While shooting my Busking D.C. documentary, I sometimes bring my wheelchair. Naturally, all of the documentary is shot outside in the streets of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. With my wheelchair, I have gotten random strangers to push me around to get great dolly shots of street musicians or just for cool b-roll footage. Once I even got a young, beautiful woman police officer in Chinatown to push me up a crowded 7th Street from F to H. It must have been quite a weird experience for someone walking down Chinatown to pass by a black police officer pushing an Asian guy in a wheelchair holding a video camera. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone in life is to trip them out with your actions.
So one day I will probably graduate from the wheelchair to something more “professional.” Until then, “all I need in life is me and my wheelchair. Me and my wheelchair. Down to ride ’til the very end. Just me and my wheelchair.”
Haiku for my wheelchair:
Ride steel griffin ride
Take me to the Promised Land
Or straight to the Hell (I had to put in “the” to complete 5 syllables)
Listen for the girl who says, “That’s a nice ride.”
The beautiful Officer Young pushes me in my wheelchair through Chinatown in D.C.