Steadicam operator Lee Clements shows how he built his own camera cart on a budget:
But a Magliner runs $250ish, and the nose pieces, shelves, etc. all start adding up very quickly. You can buy a fully-rigged camera cart from Filmtools for a pretty penny, which I would love to have, but A) don’t have the capital for, B) don’t have a consistent need for, and C) don’t have room in my apartment for. So! Until the day comes when I have more money, more work, and a house, I will continue to find work-arounds.
Magliner’s are great, but expensive. And I’d rather have any camera cart than no camera cart.
The end result doesn’t look too shabby and Lee says it holds his load quite nicely. Doesn’t seem like it’s too hard to replicate either if you have some cash and a weekend to take on the project.
