Hyperdolly is being touted as an evolution of the camera dolly. It is the brainchild of Andrii Statieva who is a filmmaker and entrepreneur from Ukraine. He set out to come up with a product that was easy to set up and use that could provide robotic camera dolly moves.
In the past, the company attempted to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, but due to a lack of entrepreneurial knowledge, it did not reach its target goal. With the experience gained and an improved product, the team is determined to bring Hyperdolly to market.
The dolly setup only takes a few minutes, and it can be operated by a single person, which makes it a good solution for small crews or one-man bands. The universal tripod brackets allow the use of any tripod of a suitable size and construction.
The dolly is equipped with a high-torque silent stepper motor for precise dolly positioning. The load capacity is 12 kg / 26.4 lb which makes it possible to use small to mid-sized cinema camera setups.
Hyperdolly is operated via a dedicated remote controller that has a control range of 100m+. It is powered by a set of two 14500 batteries that provide a runtime of 5 hours.
Hyperdolly can not only be programmed to run from point A to point B, but it also offers the following operating modes:
- Hyperlapse mode- Requires the user to set the time and distance of a shot. The dolly calculates motion patterns and timing for camera shutter release signals.
- Loop mode– Hyperdolly continuously circulates between two points.
- Multi-Pass mode– The dolly runs to a specific point and back to the initial position as many times as needed.
- Live Operation– This mode makes it possible to adjust the speed and direction of a dolly in real time using the intuitive remote control.
Hyperdolly is designed to be used on flat surfaces, however, the company is working on wheels that absorb floor imperfections such as cracks, bumps, tile joints, etc. Hyperdolly is still trying out different shapes and compounds, and with the funds raised on Kickstarter, they will be able to complete the development and achieve great performance in the final product.
Price & Availability
The Kickstarter campaign is scheduled to launch at the end of November 2023. The launch day price that will come with a 30% discount will be $1,190 USD, while the full retail price will be $1,700 USD.
The package includes a dolly, remote control, hard case, and tripod mounting straps. The development of the product is mostly complete, and the manufacturing process is set to start soon after raising funds. The delivery is scheduled for March 2024.
The only existing dolly without tracks on the prosumer market is edelkrone Dolly Plus, although high-end productions have a variety of solutions like GF-Quad Dolly, Proaim Quad-4, and other wheeled platforms. As cameras these days are getting smaller and require less bulky equipment, Hyperdolly believes there should be more accessible dollies for independent filmmakers.
Hyperdolly may seem unusual to filmmakers at the moment, but the company believes it will reach product-market fit over time.
