Why Drones Will Never Be As Good As Birds

The invention of drones opened up a million possibilities for the world of film. Actually, maybe even more than a million. With drones, you can get shots from angles that weren't possible before. You can follow things that weren't possible to follow before. You can even use drones to attract people to you by impressing them and you can actually make friendships with those people which might lead to connections in the industry.

There is however one thing that drones fail to do, and that is match the skill of a bird. Drones are limited by the motors and batteries that power them whereas birds can fly free with literally no limitations.

Watch this video that a bird took with a GoPro camera:

You might notice two things. 

First of all, you might have noticed that this bird has the ability to grab and drop the camera. This opens up the doors for amazing shots such as one where the camera is going and then it drops and is caught and keeps going. You can use your imagination to picture more shots like this. 

Secondly, you might have noticed how fast this bird flies with the camera. Accounting for the adrenaline that the bird had from the rush of thievery and running away from a predator, which may have affected its speed by up to 15%, it still flew faster than a drone ever could.

For these reasons, drones will always be a little worse than birds.

What would you do to get the shot?

When it comes down to it, it's not about what camera is used to obtain a shot but what the actual shot is of. Many filmmakers go the distance by sending their cameras into the air, under water, or even attaching it to their pet. But this filmmaker has to take the cake. Having stumbled upon a rattlesnake pit, they attached their GoPro to a stick and dove in to receive some amazing footage. 

As you can see these reptilian beasts reacted surprisingly well to camera for a bit, but eventually started to strike. I've never seen any sort of footage of the sorts.

It felt like a horror film as they began to attack the camera, but nonetheless the technology that we have at our fingertips these days is what enables this sort of filming making. A camera attached to a stick is all it took to enter this rattler nest and that hockey stick is what also enable the filmmaker to get it out after it fell off its mount.

It's because of the accessibility of this sort of technology that results with these immersive videos. It makes you not only wonder if the camera operator is crazy but also how you can take a simple set up and capture something brilliant. You won't be finding me near a snake pit like this anytime soon but I definitely will take the concept of this video and apply it to my work. Live the moment and think outside the box because this may just be the reason you walk away from a day of filming with a viral video.

The DJI OSMO

Needless to say one of the most up and coming camera companies is DJI. With their state of the art drones, portable 3-axis gimbals, and the new line of cameras they are releasing, they are changing the world of cinema as we know it. These kind of technologies create a more immersive experience and allow filmmakers to create new and unique shots. The newest item to their arsenal is the DJI OSMO, take a look at the video below to experience the magic.

As you can see it is quite the gadget. I see large resemblances of GoPro type features, including stills, variable frame rates, high resolution of 4k, and they even added a panorama feature which will be interesting to see results of. However, it doesn't seem that the OSMO is waterproof, this is the edge that GoPro still has going for them.

The gimbal is truly amazing as well. DJI is very good at combing all of their products together, and the OSMO is a fine example of this. Taking the gimbal features that were originally used with their drones and Ronin, and adding a true handheld design is amazing. The shots of the boxer in the video above took camera moves to a whole new level. The new Zenmuse cameras for DJI's drone series can also be interchanged on to the pistol grip OSMO to have the ability to change lenses and take advantage of the micro 4/3rds sensor. The additional viewfinder via iPhone is also genius. With cameras like the GoPro, the bluetooth signal to your phone is never strong enough and the LCD viewfinder is just too small. You can also change settings of the camera like shutter speed and ISO through the app on your phone.

This new device packs a powerful punch and I am interested in seeing how it is put to use within the next few weeks. The film industry is in a constant stage of progression and this is a clear example of what we are capable of and what is in the near future. Storytelling has never had so many resources available, now just to get out there and capture the moment.

GoPro

      Nick Woodman created the GoPro company after a 2002 surfing trip in Australia. While surfing Woodman wanted to get high quality shots of him on the waves. This however was not possible because the equipment that was necessary to get these shots was out of his price range. At first to raise money Woodman sold bead and shell belts from his van. Then in 2004 the first camera was sold. The first GoPro was a 35mm film camera. Since then the camera has made many changes. When it went from film to digital the cameras were only able to record 3 megapixel 10 second clips now the "HERO3" can shoot 1080p at 60fps with lens that can shoot 170 degrees making it possible to shoot almost 3D video.
   
     Originally created for surfing the GoPro camera is used for skiing/snowboarding, car racing, mountain biking, or just recording your trip to Disney World. As seen on there website's about page Here and in the video below you can mount a GoPro to anything your brain can imagine.

     

     Even people that don't do extreme sports are able to get use out of the GoPro do to its varies mounting accessories, the fact that it is water proof, its extreme durability make it possible to get dynamic shots of just about anything. Click Here to view a website that has posted five videos that use a GoPro in some pretty interesting ways.

I Could Watch GoPro Clips Allllllllll Day

Personally, I think GoPro footage is always cool. And when they released the newest GoPro, the Hero3 series this past October, YouTube has been flooded with new (and pretty sweet) footage.

Seriously, turn this up to 720p (why it isn't automatically uploaded in HD is a shame because it looks stunning) and marvel at how pretty it all is. And on such a little camera. Amazing.

This video is also a favorite because I am terrified of heights. And planes (I'm really claustrophobic). But this is awesome, and also a little ironic because the skydiving club is called the "BombSquad" 

So yea, enjoy the videos, and I'll see you all in class soon!