The hype is real when it comes to Aerial/drone videography. It seems like everyone is getting into the action, from production companies to extreme sports stars to everyday people are using drones to capture incredible video content that leaves the audience stunned and memorized. In order to understand the buzz surrounding drones you have to first realize all of the benefits that aerial videography offers and drones make it easier to capture truly unique visuals that give the audience a totally new perspective.
8 Benefits of Drone Videography
For the longest time, the only way to produce any aerial video or shot would be to rent a full sized helicopter and a licensed pilot for your shoot.
Then all of a sudden, with birth of first drones and improvement in technology and camera equipment, RC enthusiast were able to capture awe-inspiring shots, from viewpoints never seen before. What was originally something only few could afford, is now something that is readily available to the masses. Because of this explosion in this field, there is now a wide range of rigs and systems for just about anyone to use in any situation.
Below, we will take a look at the top 8 reasons your business should consider using drone videos for your next corporate video production.
1. Price
Whether you know it or not, to professionally produce a business video usually isn’t cheap, but is an important investment to your brand’s identity. They are able to provide an unprecedented value – in terms of your marketing ROI – for the money that is spent on it. With such high amounts of possible uses, video content provides versatility in its ability to reach potential clients in a way that no other marketing tool can.
As mentioned before, the old school way of getting aerial video footage would be to rent a full-sized helicopter and licensed pilot in order to get these types of shots. And as you can imagine that would cost a pretty penny to get those things. But due to the rapid development of drone technology, you can now get the same picturesque shots you would get from renting a helicopter, at a fraction of the price.
The best thing about drones is, that with a little bit of planning, you will be able to capture all of your footage on the same day as the rest of your production, which will save you time, money and a headache from organizing all you would need to get the aerial shots you want. And who doesn’t like to save time and money?
2. Full HD Quality
One of the many services that we are proud to be offering at UAViation is our aerial video service. With the use of multi-rotor drones that are equipped with professional recording devices, we are capable of offering aerial videos that produce remarkable results. For a service that is relatively simple to setup and use, the outcomes are truly amazing.
As drone and video technology have improved over the course of time, they are now capable of producing amazing aerial films that are captured in 4k – like the camera that we offer here with our drone services. The fact that there are more gimbals – professional 3-axis stabilization systems – that are about to hit the market means that there are more opportunities to use a wider variety of cameras with the drones. This allows aerial filming companies, like us, to have the ability to swap out different cameras, depending on the type of footage you are looking to capture.
3. Video Application
Currently, many people see the use of drones with TV and film production, from music videos to newscasts. But there are many other areas that could truly benefit from the use of drones. Industries such as realtors, property management and development, event coverage, tourism and sports training can all benefit from the use of aerial footage.
Realtors:
Aerial videos capture the true size, shape, and layout of a property
Possible buyers can see the property and its location in general
Aerial video does an excellent job of showcasing the real dimensions of the property. Provide customers with what they are searching for, aerial shots of the property in all its beauty
Property Development and Management:
View plans for that new condo development you’re working on
Be able to see how progress of the construction site is going
Show a bird’s eye view of the property for marketing uses and the surrounding infrastructure.
Shoot cool lifestyle videos of the location of your property
Event Coverage:
Great way to showcase sporting events in new and unprecedented ways
Show a bird’s eye view of the hottest concerts and outdoor festivals, fully capturing the whole experience
It provides a totally unique perspective in order to highlight a sponsor’s involvement in an event
Tourism:
Resorts will be able to provide unprecedented tours, all while highlighting the location & facilities.
Golf course will be able to provide a cool and unique view of the course with a “tee to green” flyover.
Show an overview of activities, such as surfing, kayaking, mountain hiking, etc.
Show breathtaking scenic vista views of tourist attractions and landscapes.
Aerial video can also provide a distinctive view of a place, location or event. It is ideal for showing a completely diverse vantage point of the business and/or service through a bird’s eye point-of-view. Any company that can enhance their overall appeal by using aerial video should be assured that you will attract and maintain your customer’s attention, which should result in an enhance in your future sales.
4. Save Time
In order to achieve aerial footage in the past, booking a helicopter was the method of choice, over a fixed wing plane, due to their versatility. But even though they are very versatile, you still needed to invest a ton of time to prepare the site and all of the staff in order to manage the whole process and ensure the safety of everyone involved. With a drone team, you don’t run into those issues anymore due to the fact that you use a much smaller team – usually just a drone operator and someone to operate the camera at the very least. What this means is that as soon as you arrive at the site, you can be up and flying around in about 5 minutes time, assuming that all of the site surveys and risk assessments have already been taken care of ahead of time.
Also, if inclement weather starts to play a factor in your shoot, you can simply land the drone and literally wait out the storm until the next window of opportunity arises. Even with a small window of a few minutes, you’ll be able to get your drone back in the air and get those shots that you need. This would never be able to happen with a helicopter or a plane.
5. Unlimited Versatility
Due to the drones compact size in nature, they are able to provide unique and interesting video angles that were not possible with the use of a manned aircraft. Drones are so powerful that they can fly anywhere from a few centimeters off the ground up to a few hundred feet in the air and everywhere in between. Another cool thing that drones can do that nothing previously could have done is fly around a room, out through a window to give a completely unique shot to aerial filmmakers everywhere. On top of that, the drones can hover in place and route in that spot, move left, right, up and down all at the command of the pilot. Drones are fully autonomous to the pilot and able to provide the perfect camera position for the perfect shot.
6. Become Unforgettable
By being able to produce a corporate video that is both striking and attention grabbing, you will be much more likely to get engagement with the customers and keep their attention. Because of this, your brand will be able to enhance sales conversions, as well as increase your brand awareness, after viewers watch your new aerial branded content. Using aerial video as an attention-grabbing first impression of your company is an excellent opportunity to get your brand to stand out amongst all the noise of your competition. On top of this, it provides a remarkable chance to showcase the advantage of your location, access, as well as surrounding features from angles that were not available in the past.
7. Video Branding and Marketing
This blog post has included just a few of the several industries that could utilize aerial video to benefit their promotional video content. On a wider spectrum, all types of businesses and companies can find ways to utilize aerial video for all of their branding and marketing needs. It has become commonplace to see videos that were shot from an aerial vantage point. Because they have become more popular, more people want to included a bird’s eye view to their video content. Any company could enhance their visual look through using exceptional aerial video. Branding techniques could also be largely influenced by this kind of video.
8. Shots That a Drone Can Capture
Being that shooting with a drone is both like and not like any other type of image-capturing tech you may have used, the techniques used resembles that of shooting with a jib, Steadicam or a dolly. Although there is no ground to keep you in place, it is important to focus on making very slight movements and moving at a slow and methodical pace to keep focused. Most aerial cinematography taken with the uses of drones is based on the following types of essential shots:
The Still Shot: This shot is created by keeping the drone motionless while recording the object, or objects, that are in motion
Crane Shots: The shots listed below all belong in this category and are among the easiest shots you can create. Most of the time, these shots can be used as establishing shots. All you need to do to pull off these shots is start your drone, point it in a direction of your choosing, then either yaw or pan to whichever side you would like to capture, all while keeping the object you are shooting in view
The Pan Shot: The process of creating this shot lies in moving the camera from one side to the other, at any speed (or angle) that is chosen by the videographer.
The Pedestal Shot: This shot is created by moving the camera up, or down, in a parallel movement.
The Tracking or Dolly Shot: To create this type of shot, the camera needs to be moving at the same pace as the object being filmed, maintaining a horizontal parallel line to its movement.
The Strafe Shot or Side-Slide: This shot starts off with the object, or subject, off-camera and continues with the camera heading towards it in a straight line. As the subject enters the frame, the camera will pan across it to one side and let the subject being filmed slide across and out of frame.
The Orbit-By Shot: To achieve an orbit-by shot, start off by having your drone fly towards your subject – remember to have your drone be slightly off to a side of the subject – then pan away with the subject still in the frame by moving the drone backward and away. This shot is one of the more complex and difficult shots to achieve in this list.
Aside from these essential shots, there are also several, more complex shots you will be able to capture, either by combining the filming techniques above or by finding creative ways to reveal your subject. Here are some more interesting ways that you will be able to capture aerial video footage:
Shoot to show off details first. One way you’ll be able to create a dramatic reveal of your scene is to start the shot with a close-up focus in order to focus on relevant details. From there you can pan out, up and away, in order to show off the entire setting.
Start from the foreground. Identify an interesting subject within the foreground, then gradually pan out vertically to reveal the entire scope of the scene being filmed. This works especially well when you are trying to capture a forest within a valley, a river, or nearby lake, in an amphitheater or over an athletic stadium, etc.
Line of sight. You can establish a straight line through the objects framed within the scope of your shot, then maneuver the drone either straight toward or away from you. This shot is far easier to use if you’re a novice drone pilot than it would be to fly a drone around an object, like a tree. The latter technique requires you to be able to adjust the depth-of-field perception on the fly. A good rule of thumb is to identify all of the objects that form a straight line in your proximity – think trees or a narrow canyon – and use speed and motion in order to add a sense of excitement and danger to your shots. It is important to note that these are some of the more dangerous or difficult shots you can try to produce while filming with a drone.
The orbit. If the shot above is the most dangerous shot to perform, this one is most definitely the most difficult type of drone shot you can use, since it involves having great drone piloting skills, as well as having great hardware. First, you’re going to need the best possible gimbal, that offers significant stabilization potential. Then, you’re going to have to practice this type of shot a lot, to truly hone your skills to perform it. The trick is to keep the pan or yaw pace as steady as possible, while also maintaining a consistent distance from the object that you’re shooting. Lastly, the speed at which your UAV is traveling at needs to be steady, in order to produce the best results.
Why You Should Use Drones Video for Your Next Business Video
Let’s recap here and summarize why you should be utilizing drone technology to build your company’s brand awareness. It’s a unique way to get your name out there and allows your target market to view your company in a new way. The price is right, you’re still able to get HD quality aerial shots for less because there is no need to rent a helicopter or pilot, plus you can get all your shots done in one day, saving you time and money.
Aerial videography can benefit any type of industry, from realty to tourism, and by using drone technology you get a wide variety of angles and different camera shots that can only be captured by a drone. Lastly, by using a drone for your aerial video, you are providing your potential and existing clients with an unforgettable, attention-grabbing video that allows them to experience a different point of view, this alone will make your company stand out from the crowd.
