Drones, YouTube Videos, and learning to fly cinematically
I was watching a YouTube video with my friend Vlad a couple weeks ago. It was a video that he produced and he made the comment “there is no drone footage in this, that’s how you know it is old.” And by old, her pretty much only meant a couple years old.
That’s where we are in the evolution of YouTube and drone videography; it feels like it has been several years that people have been using drone footage in their videos, but we are only really at the beginning.
Sure drones have been around for a few more years than I am describing, but they have really only recently started to become affordable. Which is awesome because it now gives anyone with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity the ability to make some epic videos for their friends or turn it into a career.
But before I continue with the rest of the post, I want emphasize that as more people get drones, we need to encourage safe use of these fantastic tools. Learn all of the rules, fly safely and not around airports, and use common sense when flying. But back to the post.
It has been almost two years since I bought my first drone. This one tool has made a huge impact on my life and my career. It has opened up opportunities that I never thought possible. I have used it to travel for free, I have used to create business opportunities, and I have used it to spark ideas for software development (my main profession).
There is the saying that “Guys never grow up, they just get bigger and more expensive toys.” I guess that is partly the case for my drone (now drones), it is a ton of fun to fly. But that is only part of the story because drones are also a fantastic tool to get photos and videos that were never available to the average person before.
I have filmed erupting volcanos in Bali, surfers in Mexico and boats in Croatia. My drone has been with me around the world and offered me footage that has added a lot to my portfolio of creative work.
But this is where it comes in that buying a drone is not just about it being a toy, it is a tool. And with any good tool, you have to learn how to use it properly. The same principles of photography continue to apply with a drone, you are just controlling the camera remotely.
It is the video though that takes a ton of skill and practice. I can see it in the videos I created early on versus the videos I create now. In those early videos, the footage is not nearly as smooth or cinematic as I’m able to produce now. And that mostly just came with a lot of hard work and practice.
I’ve spent at least a couple hundred hours by now flying these drones and I’ve learned what looks good in videos and what doesn’t. I’ve learned to make sure that I am careful about not moving the camera too fast, about recording for long enough, and aware of my surroundings.
I have a long way to go to become what I would consider an expert drone pilot, but I think I’m on my way. And I hope that my videos will continue to improve at the same time. So if you are interested in learning more about how to fly drones and get cinematic shots, comment below and I can link you to a few awesome resources that I have used myself.
