How Drones Are Revolutionizing Film Making

What’s the Latest?

Unmanned ariel vehicles, or drones, are being adapted by film makers to capture more innovative shots with fewer technological constraints. In a spot for Converse, South African photographer Iwan Zwarts used wide lenses and hovering UAVs to achieve the effects that would otherwise require wires, spider cam rigs, dollies, cranes, and crane operators. Drones can also be programmed with artificial intelligence to operate in network, working to achieve wider coverage for filmmakers. “For Zwarts, the perfect drone shot starts close on someone indoors, with the camera pulling out, maybe through a window, and into a wider shot.”

What’s the Big Idea?

The Federal Aviation Administration currently classifies drones as commercial aircraft but of course drones are less expensive, less complicated, and less dangerous (at least in their civilian iteration) than helicopters and airplanes. This murky legal territory has forced most projects involving drones overseas, where regulations are more lax. Zwarts sees it as just a matter of time before drones become ubiquitous. “We’re on the verge of a boom much like the GoPro,” he said. “You’ll just see it more and more, in movies, commercials, everywhere. The application possibilities are phenomenal.”