Are you looking for a Professional Pilot for Drone filming services in the UK?
Benefits of Drones
Drone or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technology has skyrocketed in the last decade. Onboard control systems that can assess the aircraft’s orientation in 3 axes 50 times a second are now industry standard. Cameras that can shoot 4K footage are now the size of your thumb print. The technology has become affordable and mass produced, enabling the use of drones across a huge range of applications.
There are now drones that weigh less than 250 grams at take off which is tiny. This means that should an accident occur the incredibly low weight minimises any risk.
This low weight, long (30 min) flight times and incredible 4K camera resolution mean that the hardware is now available to qualified pilots to use in almost any location.
Affordable Aerial Filming
Now we have this incredible technology for aerial filming, the cost of acquiring aerial footage for TV and films has become vastly lower. Once upon a time the only way to get semi-stable aerial footage was from a helicopter. This was usually not stable nor affordable to most people.
Now in 2022 we have aerial camera platforms that fly for 45 minutes and deliver 5K cinematic footage. They cost a lot less than your car.
Drones filming services in the UK
With a qualified pilot, drones can be flown in many applications in the UK.
At Lightning Strike Productions we offer drone filming services across a huge range.
We are proud to say that our pilots are qualified and insured for commercial Drone flying in the UK with A2 Cof C and GVC certifications.
Film and TV Production
As mentioned previously, aerial footage was only ever used sparingly in high budget Hollywood movies because of the huge cost. But nowadays the ability to acquire very high quality , stabilised aerial footage using drones makes them extremely attractive to filmmakers and producers. We have available now, drones that weigh 250 grams up to behemoths that carry Arri Alexa Minis and REDs.
For the mainstream a DJI Air 2S like the one in the video above is perfect for medium budget films and TV. These drones output 5.4K 10 bit LOG footage at up to 60fps…. Quite incredible! The 5.4 K allows a significant crop even down to 4K and a huge zoom in for Full HD.
These are single operator platforms. This ensures that costs are kept low whilst delivering incredible quality aerial footage for your production.
Other more expensive platforms have cameras with interchangeable lenses shooting at up to 6K RAW.
Weddings and Events
If you want to gain an aerial perspective on a big event like a Wedding or corporate retreat this is the tool for the job. Taking the appropriate precautions, drone flights can still be undertaken with people and property in the area.
This is why we would always recommend hiring a pilot who has the appropriate qualifications and insurance so that you can be rest assured they know what they’re doing and your event attendees will be safe. No-one wants an accident. You can read more on the laws governing drone flying and filming/photography in the UK here.
Check out this short video from a Corporate Retreat we filmed on a private island in Essex.
Drone Mapping and Photogammetry
Drones are now used for mapping of property and commercial assets. Their ability to take thousands of photos that contain details of their altitude and exact location allows software to “stitch” them together to make 2D and even 3D digital twins of real objects.
Drones can map large areas of land, conservation areas, building sites etc. We can also create 3D digital models of assets such as telecommunications towers, buildings.. We can even determine the volume of a quarry and how much rock has been removed over 1 day or 1 year.
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