3 mistakes to avoid in aerial filming

Aerial photography and filming are complex activities, and above all they serve many different purposes. For this reason they must be carried out in different ways depending on the need. If the goal is a tourist or promotional video, for example, you should not improvise and leave things to chance, but plan the day and the route and put together at least a basic storyboard.

If, on the other hand, we need the footage for mapping or a survey, in addition to the two points just mentioned, it is also important to define clearly and precisely the final purposes of the filming and of the flight (of the drone, glider or helicopter).

But there are three mistakes and small-but-significant oversights that can be common and ruin any type of aerial filming, such as:

1 - Not taking the weather forecast into account

Whether you are filming with a drone, a glider, or taking shots with a telescopic pole, we must always keep in mind what the optimal weather conditions are for the type of equipment we are using.
For example, drones cannot be used with wind gusts above 15 km/h, while telescopic poles, although very handy and user friendly, can be difficult to hold steady in very strong winds and may not guarantee maximum stability.

2 - Flying without certification and permits, and over critical areas

The web is full of beautiful videos of historic town centres and beaches filmed from above. They last only a few minutes, leave us breathless and make us think: "I want to / I can do that too with my drone or to promote my business".
But we do not know what happens when the camera is switched off. We do not know that many authors of online videos are currently on trial or caught up in legal disputes, both civil and criminal, because of the regulations on the use of drones in critical areas.
To sum up, we reiterate that to carry out aerial filming with a drone you need:

• a pilot recognised by ENAC
• a drone recognised by ENAC
• a permit from ENAC, particularly for critical or mixed areas, that is, areas where a malfunction could cause damage to property and people.

You might also be interested in the article The ENAC rules explained in plain words

3 - Relying only on drones

In reality there are many ways to produce, for example, respectable and high-impact promotional footage even without using drones, helicopters or gliders. By drawing up a storyboard of the video or of the shots to take with a high level of creativity it is possible, for example, to use the aforementioned telescopic poles, which are very popular today in the fields of:

• interior design,
• luxury resort marketing
• visual storytelling.

Their light weight and handiness, not to mention the fact that they are exempt from any regulations other than those on the use of any work tool, make them a very valuable tool in photography and video-making.
In addition, a whole range of accessories, such as the tilting head that ensures maximum verticality for the camera or video camera, or more sophisticated remote control devices such as the CamRanger, make the pole even more complete and competitive among aerial photography devices.

You might also be interested in the article 4 ways to shoot aerial footage without a drone