The first thing to think about is the difference between drone videos and other videos. Videos are longer than photos, so you can take longer to get into place for your shot. This means thinking about what will be happening in your picture before you record it. You don’t want to get bored standing around! I’ve seen some drone videos where they’re zooming around all over the place without really capturing much. That’s not what you want to do with yours, so take a few minutes before you start filming to get all set up, following this checklist:
1. Get in position and check your surroundings.
Check for trees or power lines that might spoil the shot, think about where you’re going to stand or sit when you film. Think about what else is in the picture – people, cars, etc – these can’t be moved after the picture is taken, but they can ruin the shot.
2. Time it right
A drone will give you plenty of time to get into position and compose your shot, so take advantage of this by checking what will be happening around you at the time you want to film. For example, if you’re filming animals playing outside, check for sunlight- animals won’t play in the shadows, so if it’s too dark you’ll have a blank video.
3. Think about sound
You can record some amazing sounds from a drone- the buzzing of bees for example or birdsong can add a lot of atmosphere to your video. Wind will ruin your recording though, so if there isn’t any wind, open the camera microphone to let in more sound. If there is wind, close it- wind passing through microphone holes will ruin your recording just as much as turning up too loud on an external microphone would.
4. Check your light
You can fix all sorts of issues with editing software afterward but you can’t make a dark video turn white or a dull video bright. Check your surroundings for shadows and choose a time when there isn’t too much of either. If you’re filming in daylight, beware the golden hour- this is the time in the afternoon when the sun is low in the sky, lighting up trees and buildings with a warm glow. It’s great for photography, but not so good for video as it can make your footage look dark and moody.
5. Test everything
Before you Start Filming Drone, check that the camera is recording both sound and picture correctly. You’ll also want to turn up the volume if you can hear yourself breathing or other noises from inside the drone. Then test again before you take off- you’ll probably be doing this several times as you get used to flying, so it’s good to get in the habit of it now.
6. Research before you go
This will help you choose your location and prepare for what you’re going to film. For example, if the weather is bad, or there are animals around that may not like you hanging around, it’s best to give the shoot a miss – you can try again next time.
7. Get permission first
Whether you’re filming on private land or public land, make sure you get the owner’s permission before you start to avoid any trouble. Don’t film anyone without their permission either- if they don’t want to be in your video, respect their wishes.
Once you’ve done all that, don’t forget to have fun! Coming up with an idea is the hard part when writing a short story. Coming up with an interesting one can take months or even years of letting inspiration strike when it’s good and ready. But you don’t need any great imagination to write a short story- all you need is an interesting subject and a few minutes of time. The first thing you should do is choose your subject.
This can be anything from someone close to you who has inspired something in the past or something that happened to you that was strange or funny. You could even pick up an object and imagine what story of its own it could tell. This is a powerful way to create a story, as you’ll find that objects have a habit of deciding how they want to be used in the story- usually with surprising results!