Remote-Controlled
Camera Mount By Ben Wendt 1+ 2+ 3
What do you get when you combine a chunky
remote control toy car with a lightweight camcorder?
You get a street-level action cam that captures video
on the move! I came up with this quick and easy
mashup for kicks, and have had lots of fun with it.
I hope you will, too.
YOU WILL NEED
R/C car with a relatively large base
Lightweight camcorder
Drill with ¼" bit
¼- 20 threaded bolt with matching nuts,
washers, and wing nut
1. Drill the chassis.
Remove the plastic body from the car and drill a
¼" vertical hole through the chassis.
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2. Fasten the bolt.
Push the bolt up through the hole, securing it with
nuts and washers above and below. Then put a wing
nut at the top, facing upward.
3. Attach your camera.
The ¼- 20 bolt fits most camcorders’ standard
tripod mounts. Screw your camera on, point it in
your chosen direction, then secure it by tightening
the wing nut.
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3
Use It.
It’s really that simple! I’ve been using the camera
to do Hale’s Tours of my neighborhood. If you’re
unfamiliar with the history, Hale’s Tours and
Scenes of the World debuted in 1905.
Charles Hale used to strap a camera to the
front of a train going through a particularly interesting route, and film it. People would then pay
to see simulated train rides through exotic locales
in this fashion. As an homage to my community
and to film history, I’ve been re-creating this
experience using the remote-controlled camera
mount.
Ben Wendt is a math and computer science dork from
Toronto.
Illustrations by Julian Honoré/ p4rse.com
120 Make: Volume 20
