So, many wedding filmmakers nowadays use drone technology and often to superb effect.
White Balloon Films have taken the use of drones to such an art form in terms of weddings that they now have a specialist YouTube Channel, via their commercial brand, called Drone Film Guide. It’s a very well presented channel and well worth a watch.
But in a market where we all want to offer choice to couples, should we all have drones? Should we, at Curious Robin Films, invest in a drone. Well, the truth is, we’ve got one. But, it’s an old Phantom 2 and the gimbal is knackered. So we won’t be using that anytime soon.
We did use it once, for one shot, in a wedding film. But unless you’re paying attention, you’ll probably not remember it, even though it’s an impossible shot to get otherwise. And that wasn’t in the UK.
The thing is, would a drone represent the best return on our investment? As a rough idea, here’s the likely investment required;
- Drone – ranging from £1000 to £2000 for a decent machine with a good camera & sensor, plus batteries.
- UAV operator qualification – £1500 (illegal to use drones for weddings otherwise)
- Specialist insurance (separate to normal PL and Kit insurance) – £400
- Safety kit, cones & stuff – £50-100 (drones are flying food blenders and require a serious amount of respect).
And, let’s be honest, we’d use it for maybe one or two shots a wedding. So that’s a initial investment of £3-4k for 30 shots. That cash could buy new lenses, new lights, new audio, a land rover (!), a huge amount of Percy Pigs. All of which could improve my films more than a drone would.
But, that is not to say we are not tempted. If you watch what someone who really knows what they are doing with a UAV then the cinematic possibilities are huge. Heck, here’s a new film from me old mucker John Duncan Filmmaker to demonstrate the point;
So it’s on the radar, especially with the new Mavic Pro 2 on the scene, just not this year. My main investments going forward are in learning. I can see acres of room for improvement and studying people better than me is the way to exponentially increase the value I offer to clients. Once that’s underway, then we’ll start thinking about the wee flying cameras.
But if you think one of our films would suit you, despite the fact that they don’t have some sort of Peter Pan with a Polaroid contraption flying about in them, drop us a line today.
