AERIAL GEAR.
“I would defy you to find the point in which it goes from airborne to handheld”
“In the past, it was ‘I want this, I want this shot of this house’, being very specific, just asking you to get a nice, high wide shot. Drones were tools that created establishing shots. We’re now involved very early on with productions, talking about other ways they can use the drones for unusual shot construction. We do quite a lot of handoffs, so our crews are doing complex shots that require rehearsal time. It helps that our pilots are enormously skilled!” Productions that are willing to involve drone specialists early enjoy results which are less identifiable. “You could often spot a drone shot a mile off, but now I’d challenge you to see what’s a drone and what isn’t. We’re able to work in tandem with the camera
FIND YOUR NICHE The rapid growth of the sector has seen companies create custom builds
be possible to run 3D systems in the UK.” That eventuality aside, the amount of choice should continue to provide practical options to all productions. “The heaviest aircraft we fly is 36kg,” Boswell notes. “We call them Super-Heavy Lift and, for those, got a specific authorisation from the CAA. Those open up flying Sony Venice, the Arriflex 235 film camera with 400ft mag or heavy lenses. At the other end of the spectrum, it’s fantastic that anyone can learn to fly a 249g DJI Mini to use for scouting – I know lots of camera operators and location managers who have that as part of their everyday toolkit.”
department and DOP. We worked on The Sandman and the FPV drone was shooting the point of view of one of the characters. That was the first instance of flying FPV with our Red Komodo, performing a really tricky shot where the pilot needed to dive down through some trees and as if we were going into a doorway. There’s a company called GripHaus which developed a seamless handoff tool. I would defy you to find the point in which it goes from airborne to handheld.” With techniques and technology developing so quickly, Williams describes a market in which specialists exist in many niches. “A lot of drone operators are running businesses that are unique, because they’re their own, custom-designed drones,” she says. “For film and TV there are no commercial drones that will handle super-heavy 3D cameras, nothing that will carry two Alexa Minis.” Here, Williams sounds a note of caution: “If the Civil Aviation Authority clamps down and says you can only use certain approved drones, it won’t
Contacts AERIALWORX aerialworx.co.uk THE HELICOPTER GIRLS thehelicoptergirls.com
MORE CONTROL The relationship between pilot and operator is key to flying these nimble aircraft
67. OCTOBER 2022
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