How Drones Can (Literally) Heighten the Quality of Your Videos

Forget the huge, lavish camera cranes that set the bar and made Golden Age Hollywood pictures the stuff of magic. The age of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or, drones, is here – and has been for a good number of years now.

Remember that ominous opening sequence from The Shining that was shot on a moving helicopter? Well, in this day and age, anyone can be easily equipped to achieve such breathtaking shots from any desired angle or height with nothing but a trusty remote controller.

Filming with a drone may sound like an easy feat, but there’s so much more to it than meets the eye.

In this article, we explain how and why we incorporated drone sequences in some of our video projects, the challenges we faced and overcame, and finally, through some of our past works, showcase the effective end results of drone photography.

But before we begin...

Why The Need for a Drone?

A drone does wonders in giving viewers an interesting and dynamic perspective from a higher or personal vantage point. It can capture visuals that are otherwise deemed extremely onerous or impossible—imagine glorious shots that circle around a towering skyscraper, hovering intimately over water, or going through windows and doors like you’re levitating.

To put it simply, it saves you the hassle of operating a manual camera crane or getting on an aircraft where you would have a slew of other things to worry about, i.e., costs, exertion, safety, and most importantly, time.

Our process when it comes to using drones is to identify what adds to the productivity and feel of the video/concept brief that we are trying to convey.

Drone Videography at its Best

The realm of video production is one of continued learning and gallant innovation. We learn from the masters who came before us— their techniques and methods— and breathe new life into the things we learnt for the ever-changing contemporary audience.

In case you are not aware or may have missed out on it, many corporate videos and commercials over the years have used drones in their camerawork to bring about a sense of dynamism and visual creativity. While creative ideas could be seen as a leap of faith at times, a few of such experiments and bold executions have enjoyed fulfilling results that succeed in wow-ing its viewers, or at the very least, intrigued/impressed them.

Take these two outstanding examples, for instance.

Whizzing through tight spaces and corners never looked more seamless (and personal) with the help of a drone. However, it’s easy to fall into the trope of style over substance at times— especially when you’re able to achieve such breathtaking shots for a prolonged period— but a good video never neglects the importance of good storytelling even amid all the showy visuals and complex technicalities.

And with that, here are two projects that detail our experiences of filming with a drone.

ThaiFEX

The Thailand Food Expo (ThaiFEX) is the largest food and beverage exhibition in the region. It is an annual trade event that boasts people from around the world as they indulge in and share their collective love for food.

As foodies ourselves, we had the privilege of doing video coverage of the mouth-watering event for not one but five consecutive years. It was also the first project where we made use of a drone to secure parts of the event’s highlights.

With over 4000 booths and thousands of international visitors, the challenge to effectively capture the magnitude and heart of the event was most pressing during its planning phase. To shoot a regular walkthrough video wouldn’t be ideal because, let’s be real, who wants to watch a video of someone getting pushed around by a throng of passionate gastronomes?

Filming with a drone in an enclosed, indoor environment poses a big challenge for two reasons. Firstly, it is a safety hazard. With a 907g equipment (DJI Mavic 2 Pro) hovering above thousands of people and navigating through metal trusses around the roof, there can’t be any room for slip-ups or someone is bound to get hurt. Secondly, with so many networks going live in one single venue, ensuring smooth connectivity for the drone’s operation is another cause for concern.

Thankfully, after meticulous planning and teamwork, we managed to secure footage of the event’s happenings with ease. Watch how we stitched everything together in our fifth— and hopefully not the last— outing at THAIFEX:

While you’re at it, check out our BTS video of the event here!

TAFEP (Gardens by the Bay)

As part of an ongoing video series that highlights the importance of healthy work cultures and lifelong career growth in a professional workplace, our most recent collaboration with TAFEP puts the employers and employees of Gardens by the Bay in the limelight.

The abundance of greenery and distinctive structures within this colossal garden is no stranger to anyone in Singapore. However, the challenge lies in how we are going to capture the scale of this attraction and the hundreds of staff members who worked passionately to upkeep its beauty.

After months of coordination, postponement (due to COVID restrictions), and approvals from the relevant authorities, we were finally given the green light to shoot aerial sequences at the rooftop deck of the highest SuperTree in the garden. With only a few hours granted to film and perfect the shots, including the sheer luck of good weather patterns, here’s how it all turned out:

Understanding the Drone Laws in Singapore

In case you’re thinking of getting in on some drone action, here’s a little information to help you understand the process of doing so in Singapore.

Check the weight of the drone you’re using for the shoot.

It is helpful to note that a permit is not required when your drone weighs lesser than 7 kilograms. However, any drones that weigh more than 250 grams would need to be registered with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which pretty much applies to most types of drones.

An infographic on Singapore drone laws from Singapore Legal Advice’s website

Drone activity in Singapore is divided into three categories: Recreational, Educational, and Business/Commercial purposes. Depending on the category you fall under, there are different sets of regulations to abide by.

For more information about drone laws in Singapore, visit here.

Enough Of Us ‘Droning’ On...

Before we conclude, here are some impressive drone sequences from Netflix’s latest hit, Red Notice that stirred up quite a lot of envy in the video production world. The shots were achieved with a 6K Komodo cinema camera from RED attached to an FPV racing drone.

It is clear that drones are here to stay in the video production industry.

Who knows what other jaw-dropping and eye-catching shots/sequences one can achieve with this growing technology. And to reiterate our rationale on why drones: we should never compromise the value and thought behind each frame for the sake of ‘cool factor’.

Explore the possibilities to tell your story with us.