Chasing Unicorns.
The (almost) impossible kick.
“Wow, what a seamless journey it’s been with you guys. Thank you all so much and please pass on my thanks to all the wider team.”
Louisa Meecham
Producer, Accenture Song (formerly Spark44)
The Brief: ‘It’s pretty simple, kick a rugby ball and land it perfectly in the back of a distant Land Rover with a drone following the ball (action) all the way’
‘We want this captured in FPV, can you do this ? Absolutely !’ (This is our default answer for most things TBH)
What’s the difference between FPV and normal drone filming? Fundamentally FPV or First Person View drones tend to get you much closer to the action, the footage tends to be more immersive, it’s as if ‘you’ are flying, they’re fast, dynamic and potentially dangerous. FPV in the hands of a good pilot can get you deep into the action, normal drone footage tends to observe the action from a distance.
NOTE: Always make sure your chosen pilot has the correct credentials and certifications.
So which is better ? It’s like the difference between driving a Rally Car or sitting in the back seat of a Rolls Royce. Both are fantastic, FPV drones can effectively fly at speeds up to 120mph, which is almost triple the speed of a regular drone. This speed requires a very high degree of skill from the pilot, additionally FPV drones are often stripped down to save weight so they don’t contain many of the safety features found on regular drones. The footage has a raw energy to it, as they often don’t use stabilised cameras. ‘Normal’ drone footage on the other hand is the exact opposite, they tend to be slower and smoother enabling gentle establishing shots, revealing a landscape or view, it all depends on what you want the footage to communicate as to which is better.
Ironically FPV drones tend to be less sophisticated in many ways when compared to normal drones, they leverage recent developments in battery and motor technology to fly as fast as possible, but forego GPS positioning systems, stabilised cameras and some safety features. The consequence is they have less safety but more freedom when flying. FPV tend to be much smaller enabling them to fly through tight spaces and turn on a dime. This size reduction in the quest for speed has a major trade off, they tend to fly for a few minutes before needing a battery change.
For this particular brief, we reached out to ‘JR’ one of our favourite drone pilots, ‘JR’ is also one of the best humans you’ll ever meet. In the end we mixed our ‘Normal’ Red camera footage with JR’s FPV to create a fun, dynamic and immersive piece of content.
“Adrian and Alex are the best at what they do. Their attention to detail, and meticulous approach to to every aspect of the production process made for one of the smoothest shoots I’ve been a part of. FPV piloting for them was a great privilege and their inputs allowed us together to deliver a tricky brief to a very happy client in the end. Hope to work with them again soon!”
JR Catipon
FPV Drone Pilot
