AERIAL FILMMAKER
FLYINGHIGH
IMAGE Aerial shots can be spectacular, but also practical in terms of showing a landscape from a new perspective, which is why drones are so popular with a range of filmmakers.
Indeed, filmmaker Andrew Tregoning’s reservations about aerial were upended when he started working in one particular sector. “I’d always thought drones were a fad, until I started using them in construction videos and realised they’re a game changer,” he said. The ability to capture the progress of large scale building work opened the door to enough new clients for Andrew to make the business shift financially viable, but this isn’t always the case. The alternatives For many, the cost of buying a drone and getting qualified is just too much of a barrier. If you’re a wedding videographer wanting to add aerial into your service offer you’ll probably need to book another three weddings or so just to cover the cost of getting qualified. Great news if the number of enquiries you’re getting increases significantly after you publicise your new skill, but how confident would you feel that those couples wouldn’t have booked you even without the drone? Will you be using the drone because it’s what the couple really wants, because it’s the best way to capture that moment or because you’ve invested a lot of money in it so you’d feel guilty if you didn’t use it? Fortunately, there are alternatives for both the specialist and generalist filmmaker. Arguably, drones make a great addition to the kitbag of a destination
“Arguably, dronesmake a great addition to the kitbag of a destination wedding filmmaker”
filmmakers’ arsenal but what really matters is how best to use it to your advantage. Consumer drones are getting cheaper and better spec’d by the day but that doesn’t mean their teenage owners know how to use them. It also doesn’t mean that an experienced filmmaker who buys a drone is going to get great footage out of it immediately by virtue of their age and job title. Doing aerial well takes significant investment in both time and money so you’ll want to be in it for the long haul in order to see a return. While many clients won’t know the about the PfCO licence or what’s involved in getting it, simply seeing aerial in your showreel will demonstrate that you’re a versatile professional with access to equipment who’s also aware of what sells. After all, the market isn’t this saturated with aerial footage because no-one likes it! If you’re seriously contemplating jumping into drones, now’s the time to do it as you’ll want to be confidently operating by November next year when the increased regulation widens the gap further between professionals and players.
wedding filmmaker as there are often beautiful, spacious vistas to be captured and access can be difficult. Even in this situation though, there are other routes. Companies like Airstoc have over 10,000 drone pilots in 120 countries so if you were the aforementioned videographer just looking to add some location-setting aerial to a couple of films a year it might be more cost effective to subcontract it out. Also, nearly every popular stock footage website now has aerial clips in their portfolio and there are a few dedicated providers too like dronestock.com. Sub-contracting or using stock may be a good way for you to test the water of your own market. Once you have some examples of effective aerial in your films you can talk to future clients about why they booked you and try to find out how important aerial is to them. Should the responses be positive, you’ll feel more confident about the investment. If the responses are more ambivalent you can continue using third-party sources when needed. If you do decide to invest in a drone and accreditation down the line, you’ll know there’s a secondary market in uploading footage to stock sites too. Ultimately, there’s no doubt about the importance of aerial in the modern
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AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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