CASE STUDY EASY RIDER
can choose to control the drone with the compact remote controller connected to your cell phone – or through simple SmartCapture hand gestures if you prefer. I have the Ferrari Red colour option, and it’s become my favourite flying companion. Before leaving for the USA with your drone of choice it is, of course, important to remember that FAA regulations state youmust have a Small UAS Certificate of Registration to fly in any US state. In addition to the usual regulations for drone flying inmost modern countries, this licence ensures you fly within the law in the USA. Travel without one and you’ll probably have your equipment confiscated and face a serious fine, so beware. You can apply for the licence online at faa.gov/uas/ where, for few dollars, you will be issued with a miniature certificate in just a few days. It can be stuck discreetly within the battery housing to be shown if required. I discovered that the advancedmulti- sensor obstacle avoidance system is switched off in Sport mode after I hadmy first crash into a rock face during a bike tracking sequence. To be fair, I had pushed it to the limit, and the little red drone had
trip, so I turned to the experts: my 11-year- old and 18-year-old sons. What these guys don’t know about drones is just not worth knowing. Despite never owning one, they both followed countless social media groups and were hotlined to every YouTube drone fanatic in cyberspace. The DJI Mavic Air stood out for me immediately, being better equipped than its smaller Spark cousin, yet more compact and affordable than the iconic Mavic Pro. Folding down to the size of an average croissant, I bought the Fly More Combo Kit with three batteries, givingme an hour of usable flight time. It comes with a very neat carry case that my fashion-conscious wife would describe as ‘clutch’ sized. Easy to fly, even for a novice like me, I nevertheless had a two-hour lesson from the great guys at the PhantomFlightSchool in Kent before I left for the US. Equipped with a three-axis mechanical gimbal, the Air shoots 4K 100Mbps video at 30fps with QuickShot functions, including the iconic Asteroid, Helix and Boomerang flight patterns. ActiveTrack makes following a movingmotorcycle a piece of cake, with a top speed of over 68kph, and you
damaged props and a piece of one of the legs snapped clean off. I tracked it down using the remote to a pile of rock debris where it lay upside down still blinking its lights. I dusted it down, fired it up and the drone leapt straight back into flight despite the battle scars… Awesome! The use of drones in filming has become pretty much expected by clients these days, and you just can’t fail to be impressed by the majestic scenery of Death Valley and the Mojave Desert as seen from the air. The tiny Mavic Air punches well above its weight in terms of features and video quality. On-bike shots No road trip would be complete without the mandatory on-bike camera sequences and, when it comes to action cameras, there really is nothing to compare to the GoPro. I have owned and loved Drift cameras and
“The use of drones in filming has become pretty much expected by clients these days”
ABOVE This is the kit Bradbury used for his journey. He had to think carefully about what to pack, since everything had to be accomodated in the carrier on the back of his Harley-Davidson motorbike. Alongside such essentials as Godox speedlights and ultra-portable light stands, he also packed a GoPro Hero7 Black and a DJI Mavic Air drone for aerial shots
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2019
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