If you’ve followed our Instagram account (If you’re not, you definitely should.) you’d know that we love to use our drone. We’ve used it in beauty shots, in real estate videos and sometimes even indoors. Most of the time, the aerial footage a drone can get is the perfect way to wow your audience.
Just look at this simple tracking shot we took this past fall while gathering some test footage:
Wow, right?
We could spend a few days going through the do’s and don’ts of when to use a drone, but this post isn’t meant to be a Part 107 study guide. Instead, we wanted to break down some of the ways a drone can enhance and hurt your story.
Do
- Set the scene. Grab your audience’s attention and draw them in. One of the best way’s to do that is from up above.
- Look for different angles. The movement isn’t the only thing to focus on. A hovering shot from directly above an event is something that very few people expect but when they see it, it blows them away.
- Hold your shots. You have no idea how many times I wish I flew it for just a few more seconds.
- Expirement with jump cuts. those long shots can get boring. Speed it up, slow it down, and jump from point to point within the clip to help tell the story
Don’t
- Get carried away. Yes, a drone can get insane footage but mix it up a little bit. not every video needs to be an aerial view. (Unless that’s your thing.)
- Waste too much time in the air. Shots from the ground can be just as powerful. Don’t focus on the “shiny new toy” when you should be zeroed in on the story
- Keep shooting the same thing. This is more for real estate videos. There are only so many ways you can show a house from the air. Hovering around it 10 times won’t make it any better.
In a nut shell, a drone can get some killer shots but you should always focus on the story at hand. Just because you have one, doesn’t mean you need to use it every time.
Just to wrap it up, here is one of our favorite clips from up above.
