Quick Tip: Plastic Down on a Garage Floor AKA Sand is not Your Friend

At some point in your career, you will eventually find yourself in a garage, industrial space, etc., with a poured concrete floor. A few things to note. First, it will either be insanely hot or insanely cold, and your feet will absolutely be killing you by the end of the day. These are universal truths that you will not be able to avoid. I cannot help you with either of these beyond telling you to sit as much as possible and have a warm jacket and pants and/or wear some really good deodorant and drink a lot of water.

What I can help you with is this: At some point you are going to want to do a dolly shot, and with that beautifully poured floor, you or your dolly grip are going to suggest throwing down a couple sheets of plastic (4x8 sheets of flat black plastic that are used on smooth surfaces for dolly shots) and rolling on it.

Don’t.

Any industrial space like that is going to have sand and while this won't affect your shot, it will make a crazy amount of noise as the dolly rolls on the plastic and the plastic crushes the sand. If you must use it, sweep it well, but this often won't be enough. If you have more time, do a wet sweep–but that still may not do the trick. Throwing down a piece of plywood underneath can help, but it often isn't the solution either. Dolly track will have less surface contact but is a hit or miss too. This is one of those instances where, if it’s a small move, a slider can save you a lot of time. 

But when you get to the location, recognize this and start to talk with the key grip and the DP to let them know what the issues are so you can work them out ahead of time. Like so many things in the film business, which of course is all about time, pre-thinking and learning from past mistakes is everything.