Top Tips for Making a Great Drone Video

Our guide to nailing your drone video shoot!

Drone technology has revolutionized the abilities of photographers and videographers to capture stunning scenes on film. But that doesn’t mean it’s a cakewalk. While drones have opened up access to aerial and unconventional shooting angles, creating a great drone video still takes skill, practice, and hard work. It’s not just about the subject matter or the lighting. It takes good preparation and a dedication to the craft that carries on into the cutting room. So to get your films up to snuff, Yummy Sounds presents our top 3 tips for making a great drone video!

1)   Laying the groundwork

Make sure you double check if your location requires a permit or license. There are a ton of rules in place for operating drone cameras, and of course, they differ depending on where you are. Some countries, such as the UK, require special permissions to use a drone for commercial activity. For example, shooting marketing videos or footage you intend to sell.

What’s more, you should check again when your shoot date gets close because the laws change all the time. New Zealand, for instance, has been reconsidering its own permissions in recent months due to a couple of near-miss events with manned aircraft. If you’re at all unsure whether it’s okay to be shooting drone footage in your area, definitely check with the local aviation authority before you set up your shoot. You don’t want to be caught out and blow your shoot budget on fines.

2)   Location, location, location

Obviously scouting a location is a standard part of the process when making a great drone video, or any video shoot. From Where I Drone gives great tips for finding beautiful places from scratch. But most videographers are going to be told where they’ll film – a wedding venue, a travel resort, or a heritage landscape perhaps. It’s still absolutely crucial to scout it out before you start filming.

That doesn’t mean you have to spend ages wandering around to find the perfect launch site. It does mean checking the map, understanding the terrain, and picking out a few particularly beautiful features to include. You can do that in person, for sure. But for many locations, you’ll be able to do most of that work from your computer. But whatever you do, don’t skip this step! You want to be properly prepared on the day of the shoot.

3)   Choosing the tunes!

Once the shoot is done, and the footage is in the bag, it’s time to edit that baby! And cutting in some excellent music is undoubtedly the most important post-production job – at least, Yummy Sounds thinks so! After all, a great drone video, like any film, needs top quality audio to make the project complete. Soaring, inspiring, majestic—that’s what beautiful vistas and birds-eye-view landscapes love. Or grab some electrifying rock or hip hop for cool cityscapes and extreme sports films. Wherever your filming adventure takes you, be sure to give it the soundtrack it deserves! Here are a two examples to get give you an idea: Track “Rise Of Dawn” and “Corpiano”.

Check out more Aerial & Drone Music on Yummy Sounds.

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