GEAR
Drones and camera stabilization technology changes at a furious pace. It wasn’t till 2011 when FreeFly introduced the Cinestar, the older brother to the Alta, then in 2012 DJI introduced the Phantom that you could buy a capable/pre-built UAS, and launched an industry. Before that it was a cottage industry of custom built one offs. However, the unsung hero of multi-rotors was the introduction of LIPO batteries which made drones a viable part of production with their ability to store energy. These paradigm shifts have forever changed movie making and we’ve been involved since those early days. The FreeFly Cinestar pictured above, with its mechanical gimbal was ours.
Our capabilities don’t stop with drones. We have recently added a four point wirecam system called EagleCam and a car crane named ChaseJib. Please scroll down to see how these two cutting edge pieces of equipment can get you the shots your production needs!
MOST COMMON DRONES
The drones below are the most popular for shooting tv/ movies and content, and our go to drones for most everything.
Smaller drones can be handled by one operator using a visual observer for budget conscious productions.
Heavy lift drones like the Alta X require a two man flight crew as well as a ground crew.
To learn more about drones and what a producer needs to know before hiring a drone operator or crew,
please read our blog post “Five essential questions a producer should ask a drone pilot”
Then give us a call!
DJI PHANTOM 4 PRO
The Phantom has been a mainstay in the industry since the early days starting with the Phantom 1 which was the first multi-rotor that you could purchase ready to fly. The P1 came with it’s own simple controller making it affordable and less intimidating. The Phantom 4 Pro is the latest version though the development has slowed way down. At one time DJI was releasing a new Phantom every year or so, but the P4P was essentially released in Nov 2016, and tho there’s been a couple of revisions to this platform, the camera which uses a 1″ sensor has remained unchanged.
DJI INSPIRE 2
The Inspire 2 was a game changer the minute it was released. The X7 camera on the Inspire 2 is so good many productions opt for this over heavy lifts for the savings in both time and budget. The X7 camera boasts a super 35 sensor, can shoot in, Pro Rez ad RAW up to 6.2k and has a camera that can be operated separately by an operator. While it comes with obstacle avoidance and a host of automated features, you still can’t beat an experienced pilot and camera operator to get you quality aerial cinematography.
FREEFLY ALTA X
The Freefly Alta X represents the latest technology from the company the pioneered flying a cinema camera on a drone. Capable of flying up to a 35lb payload this was significant boost to the industry. Up to this point there were only a few drones capable of lifting over 20lbs payload which presented a limitation as to the lens that could be flown. Now almost any lens (within reason) can be incorporated while still being able to have full FIZ control, filters, etc. The Alta X is fast, folds down to a travel friendly size, and can be set-up in minutes.
SPECIALTY
These are specialty drones, and have very specific purposes in our arsenal.
To learn more see our blog post “Five essential questions a producer should ask a drone pilot”
Or give us a call!
CINELOG 25 + 35
Cinewhoops, and FPV drones are the latest addition to the commercial drone industry. Born out of the FPV racer technology its a mall frame that has ducts surrounding the propellors. We prefer the Cinelog 35 & 25 for our FPV fleet. The operator uses FPV goggles to pilot the little drone close to people, objects etc. Being light, safe and maneuverable it gan get moving shots that were almost impossible until this innovation. The downside is the only camera it can carry a GoPro and the footage has to be stabilized as there is no gimbal, so the camera is stationary and cannot be tilted.
DJI MAVIC PRO 3
Our Mavic 3 Cine fills a middle ground in our arsenal. It fits in between the Phantom 4 Pro and the Inspire 2. The M 4/3 sensor is slightly larger than the Phantoms 1″, slightly smaller than the Inspire 2’s and it shoots 5.1K Apple ProRes 422 HQ. But what makes this drone really valuable is the noise level, it’s SUPER quiet. It also has a longer range than the other DJI drones, being their latest release, and flight times up to 45 minutes. The pro controller has an HDMI out which is necessary for live streaming.
AUTEL EVO II
The Autel Evo II is a specific drone in our fleet. As you may, or may no know, DJI has built in geo-fencing which makes it near impossible to fly their drones in certain airspace. You can get authorization, but it’s not absolute and requires lead time. This is where the Autel is key. You can legally fly the Autel which is stabilized legally in all airspace. The camera is very close to the DJI drones with 5.4 K resolutions, but the flight characteristics aren’t quite as good. On those few times we need it, our clients are thrilled!
Dronewrx has recently partnered with Industry Sherpa and purchased an Eagle Eye wire cam system from SEC Swiss, forming a new entity: EagleCam. Our decade+ of experience with drones has taught us that having the right tool for the job is essential, and while drones are an amazing tool, there are limitations.
The EagleCam 4 winch camera system can provide silent, safe, repeatable aerial shots to your production, augmented reality, show or concert for about the cost of a Techno Crane 50. With speeds up to 6’ per second and payloads up to 50 lbs, the EagleEye 150 has powered cables which prevents the need for battery changes, and cable that contain fiber which carries data and video making for a rock solid signal path. Our system is the only system of its kind in the states.
The EagleEye is, powerful, reliable, versatile and intelligent. but best of all affordable.
The EagleCam was recently featured on the soon to be released season 9 of TBS’s WipeOut. We flew the drone in the morning on the larger course, then EagleCam in the afternoon/night shots on “The Gauntlet” and “The Wipe Out Zone”. and we did that with one team: Drew Cobb pilot and Eric Bergez Camera op performing essentially the same function with both sets of equipment, another savings for production.
Our footage was so key that production is skipping a season they had on hold, in favor of the the EagleCam footage. Director Rich Kim felt that connecting the action was a missing link in the coverage. Apparently the producers agreed!
If you want to learn more visit our EagleCam dedicated web page
Chase Jib
We’ve been developing this proprietary piece of gear for the past three years and now offer this as a service, or a rental. The beauty of this arm is that it works with a Movi XL giving producers the options of much longer lenses traveling at high speed with full FIZ. We pair this with our Flowcine Black Arm + Custom Tranquilizer to provide clients with the smoothest, jitter free shots available. With the Movi Xl we can over-sling the gimbal to get different perspectives and even taller angles.
Our resident expert, Eric Bergez (IATSE 600), who is the first North American re-seller for Flowcine can combine the Black Arm/Tranquilizer combo with any stabilized head for a package that provides silky smooth camera movement. We feature the the extremely powerful MoVI XL (to hire or rent) which can stabilize a camera package up to 55lbs, as well as accommodate larger form factors. We’ve had film cameras on that beast! The lightweight NEWTON, Movi Pro and Ronin 2 are also part of our “fleet”. Our stabilizers are regularly used on top TV shows and our camera work can be seen on Fox’s “The Masked Singer” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” and “Master Chef“, “Wheeler Dealers” and many car commercials. We can turn any vehicle with a 2″ trailer hitch into the perfect stabilized camera support car, or use our Toyota Sequoia that comfortably seats five. A combination of services, and our teams ability to multi-task, makes it simple and affordable to have multiple hero shots on your production.
Visit Industry Sherpa to learn more!
Our ChaseJib was recently rented by the crew of HBO’s HACK’S. The ChaseJib is a simple repositioning tool which is MUCH quicker to mount to a vehicle than speed rail (it takes about 15 minutes), and makes moving the camera from left to right, from up high (12′) to “worms eye view” a push of a button! We helped them rig it up for the first time, showed them how to use it, and off they went on their 2 week, cross country journey!
If you want to learn more visit our ChaseJib dedicated web page.
