38 AERIAL DRONES VS HELICOPTERS
DRONES VS HELICOPTERS Is it a question one of ‘one or the other’ or is it more complicated than that? David Baillie asks the question WORDS DAVID BAILLIE IMAGES HFS / PDG / LEC PARK
MISCONCEPTION There’s a misconception that drones can now do what helicopters used to do. They can’t. They can do incredible things, including much that a helicopter can’t; they can take your camera through open windows, let it drift down forest tracks, and have been fantastic in sports coverage and upping the game of programmes like Grand Designs . But if you need a sweeping shot coming in off the sea on the Northumberland coast in winter, I’d put my money on a helicopter any day. Drones don’t do wind, and they don’t do endurance. Mixing blustery wind, complicated background artist choreography, and an eight-minute
flight duration is a sure-fire way to lose a lot of friends on set and money. At this point I can feel a budget (is that the collective noun?) of line producers bristling with irritation. And I understand that (some of my best friends are, or were, line producers). Helicopters are expensive. But if you’re shooting somewhere likely to be windy, at least you’ll get the shot with a 2000kg helicopter, you won’t with a 20kg drone. But there are even better ways to make helicopters pay their way. And for me this is the nub of the problem. Too often we aerial DOPs are booked at the last minute on the basis of getting a couple of shots on one day’s shoot of one episode of a drama
elicopters are expensive. Especially with a fancy gyro- stabilised camera on the front. Current logic has it that drones
ABOVE Which makes the best financial sense: a drone or a helicopter?
are cheaper. After all, a drone is just a few rotating butchers’ blades held together by bits of carbon fibre and powered by some fancy batteries that haven’t heard of the Duracell bunny. But as an aerial DOP who works with both, I’m increasingly unconvinced by the economics of the rate card. Don’t get me wrong, drones are amazing. My gripe is with the system that means the decision on whether to book a drone or a helicopter is usually based on the day rate, rather than cinematographic or financial creativity.
DEFINITION MAY 2018
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