AV News: Aerial Movie Magic

Have you ever wondered how the opening scene in Spectre was so artfully crafted? Or how TV shows like Game of Thrones shoot complicated moving shots? Here's a hint: it involves drones. ------------------------- “Have you ever wondered how they shot the opening sequence in the movie 007 Spectre? We found out here at the International Drone Expo.” You might not REALIZE it, but drones have been involved in the entertainment industry for years. Now, you'd be hard-pressed to find a motion picture that isn't using them. “So I’m a registered pilot, I flew this on the set of Pirates.” Aidan Kelly has been flying drones professionally for 8 years. He's the COO and a pilot for XM2, a drone cinematography company that partners with major film and advertising studios. He sees the use of the drones increasing in the entertainment world each day. “Look it’s a vital part of the world at the moment. I think anyone that’s into drones or has used drones to do filming will understand how much it’s actually being used in everyday productions. You watch a TV show or a TV commercial, good chance there’s a drone shot popping up in there sometime. It’s become a vital part of many productions and it’s getting asked for all the time.”
One film that used drones was Spectre, the most recent installment in the James Bond franchise. In an interview with FXGuide, Mark Bakoski of Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects company behind franchises like Star Wars, the Avengers, and Transformers, said the drones captured intricate details in the streets where the opening helicopter flight occurs. The library of aerial images was the used to touch up and enhance other shots in the sequence. Video was captured by Intuitive Aerial's AERIGON drone, a heavy lift cinema-specific dodecopter. “The whole purpose of a drone versus a helicopter is that you get closer to the action. The reason helicopters need super big long zoom lenses is they have to stay far away.”
“This certainly gives you a tool that maybe in that instance gives you a safer alternative to a helicopter, certainly less expensive.” “It’s a new tool for directors and DP’s to be able to use on set. It gives them new opportunities and new angles. It’s also capable of reducing or, not taking over other productions tools on set, but you can replace things like cranes or dollies even.” And if you think flying a drone of this size can be a tricky endeavor...Kelly says you're right. “It uses very familiar flight controls to some of the smaller drones that you guys are familiar with like the Phantom, it’s the same controls on the sticks. It’s very big so you have to be aware of its size, it takes a lot more to get it to move around. However, it’s a very powerful machine, so it’ll get up and track at 40 mph. It’s quick…it’ll move.” And it takes a full team to keep the drones shooting and in the air. “So we usually run with a 3 or 4 man team, so we have one person flying the actual drone, a camera operator, and then we usually have what we call a drone tech, someone that’s making sure the batteries are changed over.” As drones become more advanced, the entertainment industry will certainly continue to develop them as a time and cost effective alternative the traditional equipment. “I wouldn’t be surprised if 90 percent of today’s productions are considering drones.”
“So the drone is probably in every conversation today.” And the era of drones in cinema has only just begun. At AirVuz news, I'm Ryan Hoag.