A guide to hiring a drone pilot for drone photography and aerial videography.
Why would you hire a professional drone pilot?
Today, drones are everywhere. It feels like every tom, dick and harry has one and they all look the same. If that’s the case, why would you bother hiring a video agency or professional drone pilot when someone else can do it a little bit cheaper? Well, there’s several reasons from safety, permissions and insurance to qualifications, skill and equipment. This blog will walk through what you should think about when hiring a professional drone pilot or drone company vs anyone else with a drone.
Drone safety and permissions
Drones are flying cameras that can travel at speeds of over 100 mph, if that’s not alarming then I don’t know what is. Over the last 8 years of delivering drone related services, we’ve seen a lot of people claiming they are ‘qualified experienced pilots’ who can deliver services for cheap. Sometimes this is true, but we’ve also heard a lot of horror stories of people being delivered sub-par content that they can’t even use because local authorities hadn’t given the pilots permission to fly or even worse, the client has got in trouble for the actions of the drone pilot.
So, what should you be looking for in a drone pilot? Well, at the very least you should be asking your drone pilots whether they are CAA (This stands for Civil Aviation Authority) approved. This means they have undertaken the correct qualifications and exams to ensure they understand the rules of the air, how to use a drone, how to undertake correct risk assessment for EVERY flight and how to seek permissions to fly in different locations. This is very important. Today the air is a fast-changing environment. Once upon a time it was saved for the army, and private and public air travel. Today, drones are writing this landscape and are coming into constant conflict with different authorities. Imagine today if an air ambulance was flying over a city, can you imagine the consequence of an untrained drone pilot putting their craft in the air without understanding how to listen to warnings and air notifications. If you wanted to learn more about drone safety please feel free to get in touch with the CAA or just drop us an email and we’d be happy to help.
Insurance
Insurance is a major thing to think about when working with any drone pilot. At a minimum, insurance is a legal requirement for all professionally working pilots. You should always ask to see a drone pilots insurance of at least £5m public liability covered as you will be left liable for not undertaking due diligence. All qualified professional drone pilots will have proper insurance so if someone tells you they don’t need it please think twice.
Skill
Drone services don’t come cheap but for many people, content captured from a drone is the corner stone of their marketing or needs. So, why risk having subpar content when a qualified experienced pilot could get exactly what you need and more, safely, in the first attempt. Here at here Now films we’ve been flying drones for over 8 years, and we’ve worked with some of the UK’s biggest clients, from AirBnB to the Wildlife Trusts. We know how to take a great drone photograph and how to shoot captivating aerial videography. Flying several aircraft requires different skills. Whether we’re flying FPV drones, small Mavic drones or big cinema Inspire drones, you need to have the skills for the craft. If you wanted to learn more about the different services a drone provider can offer just get in touch we’d be happy to walk you through what we offer.
Equipment
Once upon a time the helicopter was the only drone around leaving aerial videography or photography to those with the deepest pockets. Today, drones have done away with helicopters leaving the sky open to everyone and anyone with an ambition to create quality content. Over the last 8 years drone technology has come a long way. Today, there are three or four main types of craft to think about when considering how to deliver your drone content. DJI are widely considered the gold standard of drone technology and their price is to match. Here are what we consider the drones to choose from.
Inspire
Did you need crystal clear resolution and pinpoint accuracy, did you need content to be captured at dusk or in challenging lighting conditions, do you need top of the range video, if it was a yes to any of these then the DJI Inspire is the drone for you. DJI’s flagship drone the Inspire packs a punch. Coming with two different lenses the Inspire is a cinema camera with wings. This drone also has the ability to fly at speeds of over 80mph and can handle the harsh visual conditions of festivals and night-time. We’ve used this craft for several our largest videography and photography productions. The Inspire is also the drone with the biggest price point, all in this drone comes is at around £12,000 a pop and is unlikely to be flown by any old person.
The Mavic Pro
Considered the bay sister to the inspire the Mavic is an affordable option to those wanting top of the range content without the price tag. The drone is about half the size and half as loud as the Inspire which amongst other things makes it a great option for those filming in tight locations, in cities or around wildlife sensitive areas. We’ve worked with client big and small using this drone offering drone photography and aerial videography.
FPV
FPV is a fast-flying miniature drone that gives you a perspective like no other. Imagine you’ve put a camera on the head of a falcon, and you see everything it sees. The drone pitches and rolls as it turns and can navigate extremely tight flight paths. This drone is perfect for adding an extra view to your shoot. FPV drones are also perfect for video walkthroughs for businesses and property videography.
Here Now Films has been flying drones for the last 8 years. We’re fully qualified and well experienced drone pilots at competitive prices. If you were interested in learning more about our services or simply wanted a quote, we’d love to hear from you.
