DRONES
AUTHORISED PROFESSIONAL DRONE PILOT IN BERGEN, NORWAY
I am a professional drone pilot authorised for flights in Norway under RPAS categories A1, A2, A3, and Spesifikk SORA (formerly RO3).
This allows me to shoot footage for you almost without legal limitations as to where and when I can fly. Whether you need an operator that can fly higher, faster, at night, in a city environment, or with the drone beyond the pilot's line of sight, I can legally perform those flights. I have the highest Norwegian drone license category and hence the fewest parameters as to where I can fly. Click here for more info on safety and regulations.
I offer the following types of video/film operations:
For film & TV
Event coverage video
Business & advertising
WHICH DRONE SHOTS WILL IMPROVE YOUR VIDEO?
Drone shots usually are most effective and impactful when movements are purposeful and preplanned.
Using clear terminology to communicate to me the type of shots you are hoping we can create together can greatly improve our efficiency and reduce stress on a shoot day.
Each of these videos shows various versions of each drone move, to give you some terminology to work with and some inspiration as to how to plan a flight.
I find that the simplest drone movements often work best, particularly when combined in a scene with ground cameras.
Of course combinations of moves with are easily possible, if they serve a specific purpose within the context of your end edit. Oftentimes complex flights involving dynamic movement on multiple axis can look cool individually but will confuse a viewer as to what they should be focussing on.
Aerial footage is often a great way to establish where your video is taking place, quickly giving the viewer an idea of the context of the action in the rest of the video. Push in shots - often from high and wide - are associated with the feeling of arriving at a place, the beginning of something. Conversely, pulling back signals to the viewer that we are leaving - they know intuitively that this is the end of the scene. Rotating around a subject of a focal point is a common way to subtly show the viewer what to look at, without telling them.
Reveal shots can help draw attention to the foreground of the location you're showing the viewer, or to draw some intrigue while the viewer waits to find out what is still out of sight.
Tracking can be used to mean two things. Primarily it means moving the drone to it's left or right, just as you would a ground camera along a dolly track. The second meaning is just as common - you want to follow (track) a subject, whether keeping them at a particular position in the frame, or prolonging their time in shot before they exit beyond the edge of the frame.
Top down or "bird's eye view" shots are commonly the first thing requested of me as drone pilot. This is an angle that can show beautiful patterns in a landscape, or the scale of a space, but in urban environments this angle can also require a fairly large area to be tidied to a 'presentable' order.
Remember that a drone is just a camera you can place anywhere you want in a 3D space - it doesn't need to move at all. Static or still shots from ground cameras are the norm, and you would only add movement for a specific reason - why operate a drone camera any differently? Hovering in one place is now simple for drone pilots and can achieve surprisingly stable shots even on windy days.
SAFETY & REGULATIONS
I take safety seriously, in order to minimise risk to other aircraft / people and property / and my film subject. This of course requires an element of pre-planning, risk assessment, and as always in Bergen, consideration for the weather.
Planning aside, drones are easily the quickest and most cost effective method of getting impressive aerial imagery that adds that wow factor to your project.
Some customers need a same-day fast turnaround from calling me to shooting to using the content I make on the day without any editing, so I like to keep my whole workstation setup completely mobile.
Where possible, I prefer to review my work, make any necessary colour corrections to shots, trim clips, and even edit a complete video with audio and graphics as chosen by the customer. In those instances, a pre-flight planning meeting helps begin a dialogue between customer and pilot so that I can hear what your goals are and can guide you to making best use out of what a drone can do to get that result. A small amount of planning can save a lot of expense and time, and is a crucial step in preventing accidents.
Whether your project is for TV production, real estate sales, advertising, or construction site inspection, a short flight can give you and your customers either a wide overview of the subject or a close up perspective of somewhere the human eye can go.
I choose to work with very compact drones which allow me to be a nimble, go-anywhere operator since they are so lightweight. Their small size helps me swiftly reach remote locations where shots are required, and then helps stay in the air longer since they are so light. Image quality is not sacrificed when using smaller drones, rather it is often improved since these tools are so stable and smooth in the air. At present, I film aerial videos at up to 4k and take aerial photos up to 20 megapixels.
When considering aerial projects, it is important to bear in mind that commercial drone use in Norway is strictly controlled so that both the drone operator and their customer can be charged for using footage taken during flights carried out without the appropriate permissions. Click the graphic below for a simplified explanation of flight categories in Norway.
If you are unfamiliar with drones or in anyway unsure of what can practically or legally be done in the air, please just call me and ask - I am very happy to help clarify what solutions might work for you.
