Interviewed at Get Connected

We were recently interviewed at "Get Connected," a networking event in Atlanta, Georgia.  Here's the video of the interview from The Lounge Magazine.

Aerial Tips - Lesson #1

Recently, people have been contacting us about how to sharpen their aerial video chops.  Now, we're not the Bruce Lee of aerial video, but we'd like to think that we're well on our way to a black belt.  So we've decided to share a few tips about what we've learned along the way.

We proudly present a cheesy new series of videos called "Aerial Tips."  Very original title, huh?

Aerial Tips - Lesson #1 from Yonder Blue Films on Vimeo.

Now if we get more than five views, we may actually release a lesson 2 video.  But let's talk a bit about lesson #1 - "Keep it moving."  If you're a student of film, you may have noticed that good directors and DPs keep the camera moving, whether it's on the shoulder of a great camera op, on a dolly, or on a Steadicam.  Whether subtle or grand, camera movement adds visual depth to a scene, giving it dimension.

So if your camera is mounted on something that flies, you might as well make it move.  Hovering shots may show how stable your aircraft is, but it doesn't make for a very exciting shot.

Have a great moving shot you'd like to share?  Post it in the comments.  And if you liked this video, feel free to click on the share button in the upper right corner and post it to your grandma's Facebook page.  We hear she has some sick RC heli skills.

Note: This video was shot from a Cinestar 8 with a Hoverfly Pro flight controller (the killer combo).  Piloted by Benjamin Rowland and camerawork by Will Wheeler (the dynamic duo).

Roadtrip

We're taking a roadtrip to Hoverfly next week.

We're excited for a day of R&D, meeting the team, and trying out their latest flying magic.

Like our Facebook page to stay in the loop about what we discover while we're down there.

On Location

We spent the day flying for the Georgia Municipal Association. Yonder Blue grabbed aerials for GMA's Annual Conference video. Check out some stills and our "selects" video below.

Testing Settings

We used an off day to test settings on our HoverflyPRO flight controller. Velcroed to the top of the copter is a battery surrounded by eight ESC's, which control the speed of each individual motor.

Ben Rowland pilots the Cinestar 8 towards the front door of a house. The shot began across the street over 150 feet away.

Both the copter and gimbal are controlled by two Futaba T8FG remotes.

Orientation lights and tape let us know what direction the front of the copter is facing. The yellow velcro holds the battery which powers our 360 degree gimbal, downlink system and remote receiver. 

The legs of the Cinestar 8 rotate with the 360 degree gimbal. Ben uses the red orientation light to find the rear of the copter.

Yonder Blue camera operator, Will Wheeler, has control of 360 degrees of pan and 85 degrees of tilt. Using a wireless downlink, Will can see the footage in real-time on the ground.

Check out the shot in the video below.