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watch Aerial footage tests

So about a year ago I came across a video where they used an RC helicopter to create some epic shots. I became extremely interested in the craft but soon realised it would be a $4000+ investment. The start of this year DJI released a ~$700 craft designed to hold the GoPro. Initially I was interested but knew I was going to wait a while. Then I showed a friend and he convinced me to buy it (jointly with him) and so after weeks of research we did! So I've had it since about May but haven't really got it up to standard in terms of video quality just yet + in Australia it's illegal to use commercially without a $2000+ licence so we've been on the down low with it for a while.

The main footage below was just testing for an MTB shoot I had. At the MTB shoot I flew next to a radio tower stupidly, lost control and this happened

The copter :)
images


This video was made with the Phantom with GPH3 Black edition and just a simple anti jello mount. Filmed at 2.7k and stabalised with Warp stabaliser in Premiere Pro. I also had Protune turned on.

I actually filmed it almost 2 months ago but because I had a flyaway and this was only test footage I didn't exactly look through the footage a lot. Turned out it wasn't all that bad :) Watch in HD to increase the awesomeness :P

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1bYIJ8_H4U&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1bYIJ8_H4U

At this point in time I don't have FPV so I'm just blind filming and hope for the best ie I don't find out how bad the footage was till I put it on the computer



One of the first times I flew it with the GoPro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYQK8h75Yak



Anyway I hope you enjoy, let me know what kind of footage you would like to see me create!

Cheers, Brendan
 
Looks super professional... I'm a little more impressed by the stabilization... do you have any non-stabilized clips?
 
That's really awesome :)

Make a video of a drone strike, or something. Great chance to composite in ridiculous explosions, too. :cool:

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Here it is not stabalised. It is important to note that there was basically no wind that afternoon and that in the shots where it is going sideways I actually gunned it sideways then let go of the throttle and let it just use it's momentum to continue. Flying sideways results in sideways, or at least wonky footage.

It is also important to note that I was filming for about 15min (two takes though, battery life is about 7-12min) and these are the most smooth bits, or the longest smooth bits. Sometimes I would realise I was moving too fast or slow and he wasn't really in the frame (hard to tell though coz its blind filming) and I would try to adjust thus ruining the entire shot.

My setup is with the GoPro is about $1150 total, and I'm about to add a $200 gimbal so that the raw footage is much more smooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSNGGeLt61Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSNGGeLt61Y
 
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Looks really good. The only thing is, is that the image looks kind of bent. is the lens really wide angle?

As the others said, GoPro lenses are really wide angle. And I was shooting on a little bit of a hill so it's even more extreme looking than it should be. BTW I haven't bothered to try and remove the fisheye. It is semi possible.

Steve the only problem with the different angles is that it then becomes zoomed in, which increases the chance of shake being visible. Today however I'm going to go out and test every single setting and decide which I like best
 
Good job! Even un-stabilized, it looks amazing. Was it difficult to control the DJI?

Define difficult haha. It is easy to fly the Phantom without caring about the video, and in an open space. But once you bring it enclosed in trees and trying to track somebody it becomes much more difficult. A lot of practice though and I would consider myself a decent controller. I haven't flown FPV yet, I imagine it will be very easy with it
 
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0fb8737029.png
 
Airdog; Your product looks great... But! You are advertising to the wrong crowd in my opinion... well sorta. Your product seems more suited to the "selfie" generation types who don't have any friends to take pictures of them.. LOL, just kidding. But really, advertising in other forums, motorcross, bmx, skate, ski, etc. will net you more customers most likely.
 
Airdog; Your product looks great... But! You are advertising to the wrong crowd in my opinion... well sorta. Your product seems more suited to the "selfie" generation types who don't have any friends to take pictures of them.. LOL, just kidding. But really, advertising in other forums, motorcross, bmx, skate, ski, etc. will net you more customers most likely.

Hey!

Thank you for your comment!

Well, we admit that Airdog is mainly for filming action sports, but we think that filmmakers can reach new quality heights using Airdog. You can achieve great aerial shots or use it for stories with chasing elements etc. Usually for shots like that you need very expensive equipment, so, in our opinion, Airdog is a great solution!
 
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