Pro Moviemaker Autumn 2018

FLYINGHIGH

DRONE OF CONTENTION UP IN THE AIR Should you sprint to catch up with the aerial bandwagon or save your cash and wait for the next big thing?

I t started about two years ago. As a judge for the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, I was settled in, laptop poised, ready to continue watching that year’s batch of films. Being a couple of years into this position there were a few things I’d come to expect; a disproportionate use of the words “stoked” and “pumped” for instance. Or an obligatory timelapse of a tent under the night sky. But as the first film opened on a lovely aerial shot tracking a mountain-biker down a dusty forest trail, I couldn’t help but feel déja vu. I checked my notes; I definitely hadn’t watched this film before. Alas, over the coming days I would realise the problem: drones had become the new slider. They were everywhere. Having aerial in your adventure film no longer made you stand out, more notable were the films that didn’t have any drone footage. Much like the slider, the drone had become a kit bag essential; a way of replicating a high-end production value for a fraction of the price. In most instances the shots were beautiful, but it didn’t feel like the cinematographers were carefully choosing

aerial because it was the best way to tell the story. Rather, it seemed as though whoever owned the drone was determined to get as much use out of it as possible. Now, adventure films typically have quite a low bar to entry. To make one, all you need is access to camera equipment and some fearless friends who are semi-talented at an extreme sport. The accessible nature of these films made the drone deluge all the more interesting – had all of these people undertaken Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or equivalent training, were they all shooting with their own drones or had some of them hired in external operators? I’ve since noticed the impact in other genres: estate agents looking for CAA- qualified videographers; commercial clients wanting to re-edit promo videos with new aerial footage; and a fewmonths ago I was exhibiting at a wedding fair when I overheard a bride-to-be saying: “Our only requirement is that they have a drone. We really want some drone footage.” All of this begs the question, do you need a drone just to compete now?

WORDS ZENA OLIANI

“It seemed as though whoever owned the drone was determined to get asmuchuseout of it aspossible”

75

AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER

Powered by