28 TVBEurope Summer of Sports: OB Focus Aerial manoeuvres
Miniature remote-controlled aircraft have really taken off recently as low-cost, flexible camera platforms. David Fox reports on the rapid rise of the drones
MINIATURE HELICOPTERS or drones (typically multi-rotor aerial platforms) can be a great way of capturing aerial shots without the cost of full-size aircraft and gyro-stabilised camera systems. They are being used for a wide range of programming, including sports, events and documentaries, and are claimed to be able to achieve 80% of the potential range of shots you’d normally need a full-size aircraft for — plus lots of shots that manned helicopters or planes can’t do, such as flights in and around structures or inside a large building such as a sports stadium. “It’s not a replacement for
full-size aircraft. The flight times are limited, but you can fly close to the subject and get incredible sweeping shots,” says Scott Walker, co- founder of Boxx TV, which has just launched a new live links system for drones. Thanks to new technology, low prices, and the relative ease with which these systems can be flown, drones have quickly moved from being a toy flown by hobbyists to becoming professional camera platforms. “The past two years has seen
the introduction of reliable and highly effective brushless gimbals,” explains Andrew Schaale, specialist cameraman
and director of Extreme Facilities. He has a background in offering gimbal and hothead systems to broadcasters, and was never satisfied with the servo and cog systems used on earlier drones. “They will not react fluidly and swiftly enough to accurately correct the swift pitching, tilting and roll of these very agile aircraft. When the first mass produced brushless gimbal was released we were early adopters and have not looked back.”
Light box: Boxx TV’s new Zenith Light live links system He has used the systems to
shoot Top Gear (most notably for a recent Africa special where the drone appeared on screen), a new series with James May (one of the Top Gear presenters), and an
architecture-based series similar to Grand Designs. Having experienced “the
difficulty and excessive cost of procuring camera helicopters overseas and in remote areas, our original interest was to have
an airborne camera system that could travel with us on projects worldwide,” he explains. It can now pack the system into two cases and take them almost anywhere. When shooting a road trip it keeps the system ready assembled so that it can be in the air quickly. It has three BNUC-S qualified pilots and two complete systems, with two further systems currently being flight tested by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Extreme Facilities also does its own modifications for special projects, such as arctic weather protection, a water landing/ take off system, and a rotor safety system. On Top Gear it occasionally
Upon reflection: Dave Hollins with DJI’s low-cost Phantom Fly guy: Alex Prentice of Heliguy with a SkyJib octocopter
has to fly the drones while controlling them from follow cars. “This was done in Africa and means taking great care in bumpy conditions and making sure we control the area and people are well away from our operational area.” The shots required were low passing shots and low tracking shots close to moving vehicles. The images were particularly dynamic with foreground trees and bushes passing between camera and the subject, “but doing this at speed requires good planning and great concentration to avoid catching twigs protruding from the main canopy of trees,” says Schaale. “We have also filmed regularly from small rigid hull inflatables
on fast flowing rivers and at sea, with the need to take off and land on a piece of ply no larger than a coffee table whilst negotiating rapids or rough water — and have now developed a successful float system for water landing and take off for use at sea. On Lake Victoria, special care was taken to circle and film our ship during the Top Gear Africa Special. Due to the combined speed of a headwind and the ship it was necessary to ask the Captain to slow the ship slightly so we could successfully circle the ship at a distance of 500m and make it back safely against the combined headwind and ship’s speed.”
Powered flight All the current drones have significant weight limitations, so choices of camera, control systems and links have to be carefully considered, particularly with regard to their impact on power consumption, as you can’t fit heavy batteries. You’ll be lucky to get 10 minutes in the air from one of the larger set ups, and perhaps twice that from a lightweight system. Extreme Facilities has
produced onboard camera systems and cable cameras for multiple series, including Driven to Extreme, World’s Toughest Truckers, and Formula One, and power is always a concern. “For yacht racing we make 11-hour duration waterproof packs, and our in-car systems for Toshiba
Ready for lift off: Schaale in Africa for Top Gear
www.tvbeurope.com June2013
Photo: Rod Fountain —
www.rodfountain.com
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