Have you set out to find a crew for your film/commercial/music video/passion project and realized you have no idea where to start? If you don’t live in one of the world’s big production hubs, like LA or London, where you can’t swing a cat without hitting potential crew, the internet offers a bounty of crewing rescues to suit your needs. Before scouring the web to find those who will carry your vision to greatness, however, there are a few important things to consider.
Pond5: Getting Great Aerials: Secrets to Drone Video Success
Though still in their relative infancy as a technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, aka drones) are already essential tools in the kits of filmmakers, documentarians, and journalists. To content creators, small quads — like the DJI Phantom, for example — may in fact be the single most powerful camera-support tool in our kits, dollar for dollar. Can anyone fly? Sure. Can anyone fly safely and legally, get the shot(s) they need, and recover their flying $1,000+ investment? Maybe.
Here are some helpful tips to get you thinking about the types of shots you can get in the world of unmanned aerial cinematography. If you’re new to drones, I highly recommend spending time at an official R/C flying field to practice your skills. The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) can help you start your career in remote flying — I joined when I was 11 years old, and have always found them to be a dependable resource.