Do you have insurance??

What are the legal limitations and what permission do I need?

A: YES! We have a full liability policy on our drones just in case. If you would like we can add your company as an additional insured for shoot days. 

A: Visit our legal page here to read more about this and how to apply for a Certificate of Authorization if your shoot requires it. Many operations like night flying, within 5mi of airports, over crowded areas or flying in Los Angeles city need special permission well in advance (up to 90 days). You can also contact us to get your questions answered.

How do I direct you and tell you what I want for each shot/scene?

A: You will have a live screen to frame the shot from while we're flying around, to put it simply you will be directing 2 operators, one controls the camera position (pilot); example: low, high, left, right, "over there!", and the other controls the camera angle (camera op); example: pan and tilt. Both of which will be standing next to you if possible that way you can tell them what you want, but the best scenarios work out with a good pre-planned maneuver and minimal adjustments once in the air since flight time is very valuable. We also have creative minds and love bouncing ideas off each other. 

Q: What kind of cameras can you fly and what are their capabilities?

A: The lightest rig we fly is a quadcopter (4 blades) equipped with an integrated camera which is very high quality and shoots UHD 4K at 25fps, 4K at 30fps and 1080p at 120fps which is fully stabilized by an incredible 3 dimensional gimbal. Our mid-sized rig is a hexacopter (6 blades) equipped with a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC) capable of 1080p at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30fps. Features Super 16 size 1080HD sensor, 13 stops of Dynamic Range, MFT mount, recording in a plethora of 10 bit Apple ProRes 422 formats, and the meat and potatoes is 12 bit Lossless CinemaDNG RAW which up-resses to 4K and 6K flawlessly. Our largest rig is an octocopter (8 blades) which is capable of a 5lb payload but it's equipped with a gimbal for a Sony A7s which is a spectacular lowlight camera, blowing the competition out of the water.

Q: Can you fly indoors?

A: Yes flying indoors is easy provided there is enough space to fly in.

Q: How big are each of the multicopters?

A: The smallest (quadcopter) is about one square foot and 8" tall. The mid level (hexacopter) is about 3 feet in diameter and a little over a foot tall. The biggest (octacopter) is around 4 feet in diameter 2 feet tall.

Q: How long does it take to set up once on location?

A: Generally we can be set up and in the air in 10-15min.

Q: What kind of flight (shoot) time can we get?

A: Anywhere from 5min to 25min depending on wind speed, outside air temperature, and types of maneuvers. But we come prepared with multiple batteries to at least have 60min of nonstop (except for battery swapping) shooting and if a standard 110v outlet is provided then we can shoot continuously all day long. 

Q: Can you fly at night?

A: Yes! All of our rigs have bright LED lights on their undersides to provide super easy night flying. But the new FAA rules require a Certificate of Authorization for night flying. Read more on our legal page.

Q: Is weather an issue? 

A: Weather is an issue if it is precipitating (rain, sleet, snow) in any way in the immediate area or will be soon. We can always reschedule the shoot if this should happen or wait it out.

Q: How far can you fly? 

A: Distance is variable depending on what obstructions are in the way, but anywhere around a 1/2 mile in any direction (line of sight), and about half that vertically...but we never fly above 400ft to stay away from real aircraft.

Q: How close can you get to subjects?

A: Depending on which rig we're flying we can be  1ft-4ft, but super close ups can be handled by an assistant holding the rig with it turned off, right on the subject (few inches away) and then backing away and taking off out of their hands. We have perfected this to the point that you cannot tell there was any transition...called "the hand release"

Q: Can I watch a live feed of the video?

A: Yes, we generally have three displays that display a low resolution copy of what’s being recorded in high definition on board the hover camera. We also have high definition digital touch screen displays on our Phantom 4 and Inspire quadcopter for better camera control and adjustments.