Shoot Aerial Video Like a Pro – Mastering Drone Footage – PART 1

by Sebastian WöberOctober 12^th, 2015

Drones. An intriguing new technology for cinematographers! But how do you shoot aerial video with professional aesthetics on a low cost drone and how do you finish the footage? This was the question I asked myself and spent a week attempting to capture cinematic drone footage with a DJI Inspire 1.

I learned a lot in the process and decided to share some valuable tips from shoot to grade. Here are all 3 parts of my video tutorial series on mastering drone footage.

Related article: After the videos

Related article: Part II – Working with Drone Footage

Related article: Part III – Grade Low-Cost Aerial Video

Why another drone shooting tutorial?
Because these are the tips I would have needed when I started shooting. I wanted to get the best out of my drone footage and I didn’t find this knowledge elsewhere. There are lots of technical tutorials out there, but none of them cover how to make aerial video look and feel truly cinematic. And this is exactly what raises the production value of your project and I think really the biggest plus drones offer.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tutorials and they’ll help you get started. All 3 parts of the video series have some essential points I think anyone serious about aerial video can take something away from.

DJI inspire 1 Drone with Zenmuse X3 Gimbal & 4K Camera

A few words on the Inspire 1 drone

As mentioned in the video the DJI Inspire 1 is really an impressive drone, very easy to use, very affordable and very powerful in terms of its ergonomics and the intelligent flight modes. I highly recommend using this drone if you consider going into aerial videography as it is now also upgradable with the new Zenmuse X5 and X5R cameras that produce much better quality. I think this is really the best value for money right now.

As you can see in my video, just using the built-in camera opens up a lot of stunning possibilities. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments.

And now fly safely and then let us know what you learned in the process. Best wishes from Seb at cinema5D.

Helpful Links:
inspirepilots.com
flysafe.dji.com

Music by musicbed.com
Salomon Ligthelm – Bones