• 1300 759 359
  • info@justdrones.com.au
    Just-Drones-Logo-StandardJust DronesJust DronesJust-Drones-Logo-Standard
    • HOME
    • STORE
      • Aerial Photography
      • Fishing & Waterproof
      • FPV Racing
      • Hobby
      • Professional
    • SERVICES
    • REPAIRS
    • NEWS
    • BLOG
    • CONTACT
    0

    $0.00

    ✕
    Sentera Adds Powerful New Features and Capabilities to FieldAgent Mobile
    March 16, 2018
    3DR Solo Drone
    The Perks of Being a Recreational Drone User
    July 19, 2018
    DJI Inspire

    If your drone footage just isn’t up to scratch, you might need some tips. There are many factors at play here, such as camera movement and lighting, and these need to be right and getting it right during a drone shoot is harder than one on the ground. It can be rather tricky to fly a drone and knowing how to operate one cinematically can be a challenge. The following tips are a start:

    1. Go slow:  You’re more likely to get silky smooth camera moves if you go slowly.
    2. Shoot at a good time: Because drone cameras don’t have a great dynamic range, try to shoot at sunset or sunrise.
    3. Match grade on all footage: Otherwise it looks like rubbish.
    4. Use an ND filter: Using one of these filters will help to expose your shot without messing about much with shutter speed or other settings.
    5. Colour grade: Less is more with grading, but if the colour in your footage needs a bit of a tweak, go for it.
    6. Add some zoooom: Rope your viewer in with subtle zooms.
    7. Cinematic crop: Opt for a ‘cinematic aspect ratio’ like 1.85:1 and 2.39:1.

    Shooting Techniques and Manoeuvres

    1. Slow Down

    Slow filming is more cinematic, and it gives viewers the feeling that the footage is taken from a helicopter or such, making a more crafted and controlled product. Use only gradual movements, decelerating and accelerating slowly or you could shake the camera, resulting in distortion or ‘jello’.

    2. Use Two Movement Axes

    The big budget shots you see in the movies have two axes so why not imitate? They’re usually done by flying downwards and backwards simultaneously, at a steady, smooth rate.

    3. Sideways Moves

    When showing landscapes from a unique perspective, try sideways moves or strafing. This will make your footage stand out because most aerial landscape videos move the drone only back and forth.

    4. Orbiting

    Strafing left or right and pulling the yaw in the other direction creates an orbit. But go easy on the yaw stick, or you could end up in a fast spin and spoil the effect.

    5. Shooting fly-throughs

    If you want cinematic, then fly-through shots are good, but they’re risky because you have to rely only on the controller screen (FPV) to navigate. Unless you’re confident don’t try it. These shots always look drone-shot, which might distract viewers.

    6. Gimbal moves

    To add another dimension, you can combine drone and gimbal movements to give you up to three axes of total movement. Try flying forward, then tilt the gimbal up to show the landscape.

    7. Parallax effects

    Use the extreme parallax effects to add depth to your aerial shots, often with structures or trees closer to your drone, which gives the viewer an idea of the size of the surrounding landscape. advantage of extreme parallax effects

    8. Pan 360

    Drones usually don’t do these moves precise enough so a 360 pan isn’t recommended. If you’re not careful, this can result in the footage having a whip-pan effect.

    9. Time of day and weather

    We’re all pretty much at the mercy of nature in this regard. You need to avoid heavy misty fog and rain, especially on cold days when condensation can develop on props and the drone, which can actually freeze at high altitudes.

    10. Wind is the enemy

    The biggest enemy of the drone is wind which can result in ‘jello’ footage. Just don’t fly on a day with winds more than 30 km/h. Most drones are rated to fly in 40 to 55 km/h winds but your footage won’t be worth wasting your time.

    11. Sunset and sunrise

    Filming during the ‘golden hours will help your footage stand out from the crowd. Shadows are contrasted which helps define the terrain that you can’t see in the afternoon.

    Camera Settings

    12. Flat image profiles

    Camera settings are also important, so try to film in the flattest camera profile you can. This way you get the most dynamic range from and it prevents the clouds and sky from blowing out and keeps detail in the darkest areas of the ground.

    13. Set the shutter speed

    To avoid the strobing, lower your shutter speed on shots close to the ground. Set it below 100th to 250th of a second and use a filter if necessary to keep the speed down.

    14. Correct Distortion and motion blur

    If you filmed with a GoPro camera you’ll probably need to remove distortion from the footage. If you filmed at a higher shutter speed, or if you use a GoPro camera without control over shutter speeds, you’ll need to add a motion blur to your footage.

    15. Processing and colour grading

    Use one of the post processing programs such as After Effects or Adobe Photoshop e.g., and the two best colour grading plugins are probably Film Convert and Red Giant Colorista.

    Share

    Related posts

    Red Castle Scotland
    January 4, 2022

    3D Mapping Drones are Helping to Preserve Scottish History


    Read more
    Construction Working wih a Drone
    November 18, 2021

    5 Ways Drones have Boosted Worksite Productivity for AEC Projects in Australia


    Read more
    Reception Venue
    April 15, 2019

    10 Of The Best Wedding Photos Taken With A Drone


    Read more

    Free Shipping

    PLEASE NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic please allow up to an additional 3 business days from the Estimated Delivery Date.

    • Free shipping in Australia.
    • All orders processed within 24hrs.
    • Delivery within 2-10 working days.
    • We ship with Australia Post.

    Security Guaranteed

    Shop with confidence. Your order is safe and secure. Just Drones utilises an SSL Certificate to ensure our store is safe and all transactions are handled by PayPal or your humm account.


    Payment Methods

    Office Hours

    Monday to Friday

    10.00am - 4.00pm
    By Appointment Only

    Saturday & Sunday

    Closed

    Public Holidays

    Closed

    Know Your Drone Safety Advocate

    Contact Us

    Our address:

    Just Drones
    14-16 Fitzroy Street
    St Kilda VIC 3182
    Australia

    Have any questions?

    info@justdrones.com.au

    Call us:

    1300 759 359

    2021 Just Drones | All Rights Reserved | ABN 69 935 192 795 | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Returns and Refunds | Humm
      0

      $0.00

      • 1300 759 359
      • info@justdrones.com.au