AV News: Improving Your Drone Videography Skills

Thousands of people interested in the drone industry made their way to Las Vegas in September for InterDrone 2016. Our Tyler Mason tells us about one of this year’s hot topics­ capturing better images from the air.

Drone enthusiasts of all skill levels filled classrooms at InterDrone to learn more about the ever changing industry. Among the highlights­ several drone related classes were offered. Instructors including Scott Strimple, a captain with United Airlines, offered tips on how to take better drone videos and photos.

“Filmmaking is filmmaking in my book. Hone your storytelling skills, learn how to fly your drone, and then attach your camera to it and start taking the same skillset you have with filmmaking just like you’re doing right here on the ground and applying it to your drone. Go in baby steps. Don’t try and bite off all the technology at one time.” - Scott Strimple

Romeo Durscher is the Director of Education at DJI, one of the top drone manufacturers in the world. He’s also the co­founder of Visual Aerials, an aerial photography and education website. Durscher spoke to InterDrone attendees about the ever changing landscape of aerial photography and videography. Like Strimple, Durscher recommends a patient approach to getting into the industry.

“If you are new to the theme of aerial photography or videography, take the time to learn the platform. Go out, fly in a safe environment. Don’t fly crazy maneuvers, but get the hang of flying. Because if you know how to fly, then you can focus on the artistic side later — on the pictures and the videos — without having to worry about the flying part.” - Romeo Durcher

For those who want to take drone videos or images but don’t know how to fly, you’re in luck. Yuneec, another large drone manufacturer, showed off the Breeze, a selfie drone, at the convention. The Breeze is marketed as an easy to fly drone that can be controlled from a smartphone. It’s ideal for the amateur drone pilot still wanting to take aerial videos.

“It’s a really good drone to capture your selfies and share on social media. We’ve actually built into the app the ability to share to Twitter, to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp — all the different social medias that people like — so that when you’re done taking your image you can download it from the drone right away and then put it onto social.” - Trent Siggard

With the Part 107 making it easier for drone pilots to fly commercially, honing your video skills will be important in order to stay ahead of the competition. While part of that involves lots of practice flying drones, a keen eye for what looks good from above is also important.

“Our mind has to adjust to all the possibilities that is available to us now because for over 100 years we have been taking images at an eye level perspective. Not anymore. That’s the cool part.” - Romeo Durcher

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