Red Rock Entertainment: An Easy-to-use Guide for Drone Filmmaking
A drone is a perfect tool for filmmaking and no one is trying to deny it. With the right skill, this smart aircraft system can create amazing shots that would benefit film of any genre and budget. Modern level of technological advancement allows filmmakers to use these flying cameras with ease. The questions that are usually arising among filmmakers include “how to approach aerial filmmaking” or “how to learn using a drone”. Well, that’s the topic of the article. So take a notebook, and start making notes.
Production stages
You know that any film production is divided into three stages, namely pre-production, production, and post-production. And there is no difference here. Pre-production includes planning, production — actual shooting, and post-production is the magic of making a film out of thousands of films and hours of recording.
Pre-Production
The general idea of pre-production is the same for films of all genres, lengths, and audiences. However, when it comes to drone filmmaking there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
1. Learn flying the drone. Before you can make art out of drone footage, you need to understand the basics of using it. To do so, it’s better to work with someone who can explain and demonstrate the functionalities and features of these flying vehicles. If you can cooperate with a drone filmmaker — it’s even better because you will also be able to learn the art of filmmaking rather than just “how to manage a drone”.
2. Permissions. Recently, there were specific regulations implemented in the US regarding drones, their usage, and their “pilots”. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limited the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS — a part of which the drones are) and decreed the following: for drones under 55 pounds there should be an operator with a proper certification no younger than 17 years old; the UAS can make flights only in the daylight within the restricted heights; the drone must be registered and a confirmation should be available on demand at the operator’s. While these are rules applied in the US, most countries begin working on toughening drone filmmaking due to the privacy concerns. Summing up: you should always ensure that you know local regulations and try to follow them in order to avoid fines and legal problems with the local authorities.
Production
The quality and easiness of your production process, as well as the quality of the raw material, depend heavily on the drone you choose to use and on the skills you have. So here Red Rock Entertainment coupled several tips to help you get around the new trend in film-making:
- 2-axis of movement
High budget films tend to use at least 2-axis of movement, but 3-axis option comes upfront nowadays. The former is more affordable, while the latter offers greater stabilization for smoother footage. If your budget allows only 2-axis of movement, then you’ll need more time to smooth the raw footage during the post-production. - Timing
Since aerial footage is mostly used for some nature shots or city views, get the softest light in the golden hour. This will add your film some charm and aesthetic beauty. To see why timing is essential, check the film Australia which was the winner of the Landscape category in the DFF ANZ film festival in 2017. - Think of the weather
Even if you’re using ⅔-axis gimbal stabiliser, it doesn’t mean that rough and gusty wind cannot spoil the whole footage. The rule of thumb is not to get your drone too high in the air and monitor the weather to choose the calmest day. - Settings
Yes, drone camera is still a camera that requires fine-tuning every time you get it running. Before every flight, you need to ensure that ISO and exposure correspond to the current light and your footage purposes. Don’t also forget that if you want the drone footage to be a slow-motion demonstration in the film, you should set the drone’s camera to record at a higher frame rate.
5 drone shots to master
Besides the general tips, producers from Red Rock Entertainment also share several most commonly filmed drone shots for you to master.
1. Birds Eye
This is one of the easiest shots which in fact is self-explanatory. All you need is tilt the camera all the way down, so it points directly down towards the ground. To add some movement to such shots, you can track a moving subject, keep the camera completely still, or increase the altitude of the drone.
2. Orbit
Orbit is one of those intelligent flight modes available by default in most modern drones. Orbit mode is also self-explanatory — the drone flies around an object in circles keeping that object in the center of the frame. The shot is easy to pull off and looks stunning in any film.
3. Reveal
The reveal shot is possible by the following means:
- You fly the drone backwards over some subject until it comes into frame.
- You utilize the movement of the drones’ gimbal in order to reveal the main object of the shot.
The important note here is that the object or person you’re trying to reveal with such shooting technique should be worth waiting for it.
This is a well-known technique for filmmakers. In this kind of shot, your drone will follow a subject of your shot, generally from behind. To add some spicy and curiosity to the shooting, you can experiment with angles. Keep in mind that modern drones also have a ‘follow me function’ that can simplify such shots.
Flying backwards shot is easy to master and it always looks stunning in a film. Red Rock Entertainment team advises generally to use only backwards flying mode because some drones may catch their own propellers in the shot when flying forwards.
Post-production
You shouldn’t have much problems with post-production of drone footage because it looks completely the same as for a general notion of film. However, different models and kinds of drones may provide shaking footage which you will have to fix during the post-production. Since you’ve almost read the article till the end, you can now consider whether you have a great post-production specialist who has no troubles with editing the shaky footage, or maybe it’s better for you to invest in a better quality of drone.
