Birds Eye View
Aerial cinematography gives us a mesmerizing glimpse of our world from a rare perspective. Movie makers and the entertainment industry are employing this cutting-edge technology more and more. With technology advancing at lightning speed and friendlier regulations, using aerial cinematography is becoming more attractive. If you are a location or production manager, producer or production company you will probably find yourself looking to hire a professional aerial cinematography company in the very near future, if you have not already. New aerial cinematography companies are cropping up all over. So what should you look for to make sure your production goes off without a hitch?
What to Expect from your Aerial Cinematography Drone Team
Depending on the scope of your production you will most likely work with an aerial cinematography team of anywhere from 2 – 5+ team members. This would include pilot, safety observer/visual observer (SO/VO), camera operator, and other supporting team members. Your pilot will be in command of, and maintain visual contact with, the drone at all times. The camera operator can range from professional photographer to Director of Photography. Be prepared to pay more for the experience and knowledge, which come with that title. The SO/VO generally will give a safety briefing to all personnel who will be in and around the aerial cinematography drone activity. The SO/VO also helps the pilot, to both keep an eye out for obstructions as well as remain undisturbed during flight. Depending on the number of aerial cinematography team members the SO/VO can also keep the equipment up and running, swap batteries, etc. If there are other support members they can take this responsibility leaving the SO/VO free to assist the pilot during flight.
You should also expect that your aerial cinematography drone team be experienced, FAA certified, licensed, registered and insured.
What Does This Mean To You?
As stated above, you want to make sure your production goes off without a hitch! So, if you hire somebody to do aerial cinematography drone work you want to make sure they are qualified. This means they are FAA certified, licensed, registered, insured AND experienced. The outcome could be less than desirable if you were to contract with a less experienced operator with no formal training and possibly no insurance. The result of limited training should be self-explanatory. Unsafe flying, lack of law and regulation knowledge as well as unfamiliarity with airspace and weather patterns could all culminate in an accident or violation. One which the liability might fall back on to you and your company.
What You Don’t Know About Hiring an Aerial Cinematography Company Can Hurt You
With new Part 107 pilots cropping up all over, lets take a closer look at what your flight team should look like. As stated above, the flight team should have at a minimum, 2 people. Preferably, 3 or more for adequate coverage and risk mitigation. The quality and experience of these team members can vary greatly. The PIC or Pilot-in-Command, can vary from a newly certified pilot to one with far more drone flying experience and even manned piloting experience. The camera operator can also vary greatly. From a drone plot, who really has no experience operating the camera nor a creative eye for such things to a professional photographer or a Director of Photography (DP). Equipment can vary, so make sure you understand the deliverables you will be recieveing. Another component of an aerial services company is their insurance. Most comapnies carry a $1M coverage policy. Preferably you want to look for $5M or $10M as this will be your layer of protection should the unforseen happen.
Why hire an experienced, certified and insured operator like us?
We have been FAA certified for over 4 years now and been in the aerial industry for 30 plus years. We are not hobbyists, we are professionals with wide industry experience who specialize in Aerial Drone Photography and Cinematography. Within our fleet, we have a range of aircraft. The smaller aircraft are for our budget productions. However, we have drones that suit any aerial job you can envision with larger drones that accommodate professional DSLR cameras up to 80mp and cinema cameras with a multitude of lenses. Our professional and experienced team can accomplish any aerial job, big or small.
Feel free to contact us today to find out more about this subject, our services, or view some examples of our latest work here “Our Projects”.
