Bikesplendor

I'm considering a drone for shooting video on tour.

What I would like to know or see is a wider range of possibilities for drone video shots. Hopefully there are some people here who have seen memorable online drone video shots, and can link them, or who have experimented with it themselves and can describe or post some of the videos.

If you've seen any drone video footage that is especially good, unusual, beautiful, or memorable (especially on tours, but any other context as well that might show more of what can be done with a drone), please post or link. Thanks.

seeker333

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG...y8pXEdJb9Vsx-g

Soody

I think they're possibly more annoying than jetskis and extremely overused on low budget projects
especially the cliche shot of a drone pulling up
not to say that there isn't potential, but it's a piece of equipment like any other which should be used not just because you can or that it looks cool, but for a reason. Because it doesn't really look that cool and everyones seen drone shots a million times now.
like, you're zooming in on a character because of a dawning realisation or you go shakey handheld because someone is drunk. Just examples.
Even if it gives you a great perspective or view, it's still strange to see images looking down
What is a drone perspective? It's kind of a 'eye of god' perspective. Drone shots are a kind of hubris of man to think we can have the view of god.

jefnvk

This is my favorite:

https://youtu.be/HAP53yJQJRQ

JoeyBike

Drone footage is great for mixing into other video shots and generally used sparingly by pros. Still shots of a bike tour from distant vantage points sounds appealing to me. A follow-drone would be nice to have.

That said, here is a video shot 100% with a drone and it is the most fantastic example of drone use I have seen to date. Obviously the drone pilot is a pro and makes money with it, but just so you can see what is possible, here ya go.


The main drawbacks to drones are: Low battery life and damage you can't fix on a bike tour. Then you are hauling a 2-lb booger until you can ship it home. Personally, I wouldn't haul one on anything other than a weekend outing.

djb

Holy fricken heavy looking backpacks Batman!!

(with a shout out to holy waving back and forth seatbag!)

Bikesplendor

Very interesting drone footage. This is something that I had imagined, but had never actually seen.

I'm guessing that an ace drone pilot could do a lot.

Maybe the follow-behind types of drone software will become increasingly sophisticated and flexible, and there will be more possibilities for different types of creative drone videos for a solo bike tripper.

jefnvk

Yeah, I wouldn't take cycling advice from that video, but the cinematography was pretty cool.

Bikesplendor

Ryan van Duzer has some good shots and tips in his videos. Some of them appear in this one:

Bikesplendor

Does anyone know if drones can be used in place of setting up a camera by the side of the road, then riding past to get the shot, then backtracking (again) to retrieve the camera setup?

Why not just fly a drone ahead and land it by the side of the road? Then, after finishing the shot, fly the drone out your way to meet you? It would save all the backtracking, the outs and backs....

TimothyH

Soody

*chirp chirp*
*soft breeze in trees noises*
*river flowing noises*
*BBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

Happy Feet

I've done some solo go pro work both diving and biking and you really have to be committed to getting multi angle shots that way. It almost becomes the sole reason for the tour/ride and usually wind up having multiple cameras so you don't have to swap mounts all the time. I use two. More advanced GP's have wifi triggers so you don't need to waste so much SD card space with set up footage. Using a drone would be cool for overall arial footage to show a route in places but also quite a pita for charging all electronics involved. There's the drone itself, the controller, the cameras... and at that point you probably want some way to field edit/review like a tablet or laptop so you can recapture any shots you may have missed or flubbed. The more you lay out for gear the more results you expect from it.

If you have two or more in the group you could have some dedicated models and a videographer that rides ahead, sets up shots, flies the drone overhead etc... I've seen that in some traveling videos that look cool.

djb

Great points happy.
the bottom line with all this is that while it's all cool to do video stuff, and I appreciate well done and interesting trip vids, boy it's got to be a big commitment of time and expertise of thinking of shots, shot sequences, the physical back and forth and time spent simply on the back and forth.

Again, I'm awed by Iohan Gugoriev's work, beautiful stuff, entertaining and he seems like truly a good person. But holy doodles the work involved.

Heck, I find just doing stills, editing and prepping them, and writing a daily blog to be a chore.
At least with stills, I'm used to this and am used to shooting quickly and efficiently, and know what is worth taking the time for.

That said, I imagine it's the same for talented video people. Still a lot of work.

There is a point where one just wants to experience the experience.
I actually found writing my daily experiences and observations and thoughts enjoyable, but even that takes time.

Happy Feet

What inspired me to get into it was seeing "Alone in the Winderness" by Dick Proenneke on PBS. It is amazing that theguy, at his age, chose to try to film himself in that way. It gave me the insight into using video as a means of personal storytelling. From there I started studying the craft in terms of angles, timing, transitions etc... and playing with the gopro platform as an affordable means of hidef video. Here's a short clip of Dicks work:

Bikesplendor

Thanks, HF, for sharing your experiences. It seems to take more dedication and work than it appears on the surface.

Another aspect is how it can affect simply enjoying the tour (unless you enjoy the video making process). And how it can affect a relationship with a touring partner or partners. Ryan rode across the US from Oregon to New York with his girlfriend. At a certain point, he decided it (the drone and the video making) was taking away from the relationship. He wasn't able to be there with her. And he cut way back. She also wasn't too happy having a camera in her face beginning first thing in the morning.

For it to work, it seems better if the other person shares an interest or passion for making videos.

It seems there are often behind-the-scenes problems with the electronics too, and the editing can take many hours. I can see enjoying the editing process, though, and how it all might be worth it for some people. There's often a lot of non-obvious work behind the scenes in other creative projects, even if the final result looks breezy.

Happy Feet

I can see that.
I have far more experience in diving videography than biking and there it only really works well if everyone is on page with the pace of shooting. If I dive with others it"s almost always UW photographers and with them it's all about the picture. That works well as I usually shoot video of them doing their thing and all ends well. Here's an example from a few years ago. It's diving not biking but it demonstrates my efforts at multi camera angles (2 cams, mounted front and rear), editing, narration and music.


and probably my best video for telling a complete story:

JoeyBike

A word of caution about photos/videos on bike tours, or any vacation:

A "bike tour" can very easily become a "movie shoot by bike" where the filming becomes more important than the bike tour.

Getting nice photos or video footage takes time and energy (apart from simple snapshots) which can be a big distraction to any activity. If you go out on your bike to make a movie, great. If you go out on your adventure and your trip gets pirated by all of your video equipment, would you still be happy about that?

Some of us enjoy an escape from technology on a bike tour, others revel in it. Give this some thought.

DanBell

I never saw the appeal of drones until I cycled with a French guy in Bolivia who had one. After seeing his footage, I can understand why you might want one. That being said, there was a fair amount of effort expended on getting good shots with it. More brain power and time than I would want to spend while on a bike tour for sure, but I get that other people have different interests and priorities. The guy I knew had a DJI Mavic, and you really didn't need to 'fly' it at all. You just used your phone screen to tell it what to do, like circle around a particular rider or go ahead to this point and come back while keeping the camera on me. He had made a mount and on his handlebars and got all kinds of great footage while riding.

But for me the biggest hangup for this kind of thing, and the reason why I also don't have a GoPro or similar action camera, is that you need to do something with all the video footage when you're done. No one cares to watch a hundred unedited clips of your trip. Unless it's just for you to take a trip down memory lane at some point in the future, if you want other people to see and enjoy your footage, you need to put in a lot of time editing and compiling the footage into something worth watching. Having done a little bit of that kind of task for my job, I know that I do not enjoy that process at all.

Papa Tom

I don't remember their names and I can't find their posts, but that couple from...France? Sweden? who documented their trip to the USA took some really tasteful and dramatic footage with their drone. Can anybody provide a link for the OP?

cb400bill

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqhNJkJyJPbP9OJ9a6aIlYw

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1139182-2-french-guys-riding-us-we-love.html

Spoonrobot 

The drone footage in the Silk Road Mountain Race documentary Wild Horses is really nice. Not sure of the technical evaluation but the scenery is amazing.

https://vimeo.com/317470522

SHBR

I can't see myself ever owning a drone.

The footage can be amazing, I've also seen far too many drones that have crashed, while also creating a serious hazard.

The skill level required is more involved than any other type of video footage, professional setups have two operators, one for the camera another for the drone.

fietsbob

Francis Gary Powers for the CIA, from a U2 high above CCCP/Russia, until he was shot down.

Subject of a prisoner exchange for Rudolf Abel, in Berlin, a topic of the movie Bridge Of Spies

djb

fiets, a friend of mine once had an aircraft camera, picked it up from a govt sale or something, it was huge. Used 8x10 sheets if I recall,
anyway, as you say, aerial photos and filming have changed a hell of a lot in the last 100 years.
the first aerial was from a ballon by prob the Montgolfier brothers in france.

but back to drones, the automation of them now is quite something, how it will go up and then follow you, pretty damn impressive.

and when used well, as by iohan guegueriv in his latest vids, and not over used, is really quite breathtaking-----but we come back to the main question----how much time, effort and brain power are you willing to put into this, and how it affects your "bike trip"..............