Been a while trying to get some decent footage with the drone, and it was KenX doing the filming this time around and better than my previous attempts, the secret is to not try and be too clever, plus have some beautiful terrain and powder.
And the trees were not too bad either but could have raised the GoPro a little more.
@Weathercam, nice. Been stalking your video threads for a while. as a 'cold' viewer - the drone bits have a nice perspective, but the change in angle feels _really_ jerky - maybe better just to ensure the entire run is 'in frame', or follow the skier?, or is there a way to do a 'slow pan'. (mayb Ken's hands were cold....
The tree stuff is nice, but
- pic quality noticeably poorer
- angle, as well as height, could be better - much more fun to watch the trees, than the ski tips...
I liked the bit about 0:53, where the camera is quite low to the powder, has a nice perspective.
... and not at all jealous of the conditions!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Looks like good snow. I think the wide/ distance shots work well. Definitely when the conditions are good is the time to shoot.
It is possible on default settings to pan in a way which looks natural, but you have to be very gentle. Alternatively you can tweak the control response to reduce sensitivity. In my humble opinion the pan should ramp in and out, so it feels natural and not jerky to the viewer.
I don't find the tree stuff very watchable. I think it needs a wider perspective, a "point of view" which maybe ought to be similar to the skiers, so you can see what's coming.
@hamilton, @philwig, only my second time flying the drone so on a bit of a learning curve! I'm sure I'll get smoother on the panning, also have to fly the drone sideways to keep the skiers in shot and operate the camera gimbal at the same time!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
That's pretty damned good for the 2nd go! It took me a fair amount of practice to learn to get it to rotate gently, it's the smallest touch. I hear you about the camera - you can see why people want 360 degree cameras there (so you can deal with that in post production).
Lovely drone footage. Tough problem, seeing a phone screen in white bright light and tracking a subject/skier: DJI Crystal screen is viewable in full sunlight on top of a glacier, a revelation but silly expensive. Keep at it ;o)
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Another vid from today mixing it up with drone and GoPro and this time had more luck with the follow me mode at the end of the vid.
I actually use an Ipad Mini so do have a better screen to look at in bright sunlight.
Lessons learned today, turn the gimbal speed right down, and I think with the follow me mode we can start to film/follow from a much lower height.
After all it is free
After all it is free
The follow-me (if that's the bit at the end) works quite well, there's a sway in it which you could probably take out in post with a bit of stabilisation. I think the cuts (from drone to POV) work well, and shorter POV with less sway/ more horizon works better too.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Always helps to have great subject matter to film with a drone
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
how do you find using a drone on the slopes, it just seems a recipe for disaster for me, but I am willing to learn. Looking into getting a DJI Mavic Mini as these circumvent aviation rules and the are so handy yo have on a back pack. ok the footage is 2.7k but that is going to be fine for most shots
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Wylie66, Mavic mini is a cute drone but with a 2.5 mile range and a max height over 150m, I’d like to think it doesn’t circumvent aviation rules. Think the CAA might have something to say if you flew too close to an airport.
@Weathercam, On steeper pitches, I’ve experimented with Follow Me mode skiing toward the drone in the hope that it will retreat, which it does, but it won’t descend... instead it eventually rotates when you pass under and then follows from it’s non-reducing altitude. Even if you start with drone 150 m at eye level, it backs away, then turns and follows: usually increases its altitude - as your following shot at the end also seems to do.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@Grinning, I meant with regard registration. I might be reckless at times but even i am am not that foolhardy enough to fly close to an airport
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Safer for all concerned to familiarise and comply with the simple rules and get the test and registration done rather than select the craft you want to fly on the basis that it circumvents compliance: a 249g craft can probably do as much damage to a helicopter as a 251g craft. Non-droner types: you don’t need to register etc for a sub-250g drone.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Most places with snow aren't in the UK and so have rather different rules than here. If people don't understand that, that's worrying.
It's obviously not legal to fly drones near helicopters (in Canada but I'm sure also anywhere else) for obvious reasons and the weight of the drone or the "badge status" of the flyer has no bearing on that either way, also for obvious reasons.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Last season French rules didn’t require registration with their CAA for sub-800g craft. They’ll probably be changing that to tighten up like UK did but nothing new on their site since 2016. Easy enough to check the rules country by country. Oh, and local rules like no flying in the nature reserves.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Basic rules for France for ski filming
1. no overflying open ski runs
2. no flying over or close to mountain restaurants
3. no flying over or close to lifts
4. watch out for helipads/altiports
5. no flying close or over ski villages
- no problem for Gav's video, the runs are closed at the moment.
The DJI Mini is also subject to these rules and remember the 250g limit will be broken on the Mini if you put the supplied stickers on the drone or any other mod like that.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As @davidof, mentions where we were filming there were no people as that sector was closed.
I do have to acknowledge on the screen that I am flying the drone in a restricted area (heli rescue flight path) in certain locations eg outside where we live.
There is a massive faff factor when filming with a drone say to a GoPro, but when ski touring it's not too bad as you have to stop to transition so setting the drone up is not too bad.
I think we can now experiment more with follow me, it's when trying to navigate to fly filming it's critical that both the skier and filmer identify an area before starting, and in big wide bowls that's quite hard, we looked at some trees at first but when it was up in the air all the trees looked the same!
We were also trying to stay away from my tracks of the previous day, but in hindsight following tracks is probably a good way to practice flying, navigating and filming at the same time.
The other big issue is then flying back to "home" and it's here that I have issues, as in all the cases of reading of people seeing their drones fly off into the blue yonder or trees in my case, it's after having clicked the return to home button!
And yesterday there was the issue of a lot of forest between me and Ken, so I flew using the compass but even then it's very tense when you can't see or hear the drone!
So you look at the distance, height etc readings on the screen, and then, of course, there's the battery that's left!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
1:31 Road cycling under heavily lined trees
6:05 Convincing drone to see me again to continue following after getting itself in a pickle
7:57 Incredible bridge crossing
9:54 Sunset riding near windmill
11:25 Solo orbiting while riding at speed
12:50 Leading riding (looking backwards) at speed
15:56 Mountain biking - mostly wide trees
17:58 Dual rider tracking with similiar clothes in trees
21:35 Indoor testing (upstairs/downstairs)
@kitenski, yes lovely piece of kit, and there are others out there, especially in the US and if you're a semi-pro videographer etc etc
But simply for the likes of us, not that practical to carry in a back-pack with all your other gear, bad enough with the Spark, remote and Ipad Mini.
And with the Spark I can land it in my hand, would not fancy doing that with one of those, so then you have issues, especially in deeo powder, of somewhere to land it etc etc
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Weathercam, that follow me clip is sweet... lots of potential there. a bit more practice from the skier, perhaps....
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Great footage! Making me very jealous
After all it is free
After all it is free
Weathercam wrote:
... The other big issue is then flying back to "home" and it's here that I have issues, as in all the cases of reading of people seeing their drones fly off into the blue yonder or trees in my case, it's after having clicked the return to home button!...
Back in the olden days if you lost signal flying under trees, they would auto-trigger RTH and then the drone would rise up into the canopy. For your situation you probably want to switch the controller so that "home" is where the controller is, not where the flight started.
I think the secret to any good filming is precisely "faff". It's double with a drone, as unless you're packing a 360 camera then you need a pilot and a camera man, which is why it's very hard to do. The wide shots are likely to be significantly easier to get (and very effective) because you don't need to actually steer the camera much. Although my interests are very much technology, it would take a very advanced system to replace a camera man - it's not just about getting the subject in the centre of the lens - hence I think the 360 approach is likely to win in the near future.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
That's pretty damned good for the 2nd go! It took me a fair amount of practice to learn to get it to rotate gently, it's the smallest touch. I hear you about the camera - you can see why people want 360 degree cameras there (so you can deal with that in post production).
