Flying low 3-5ft above water - video taping kayak/swim

[virtualphotographers]

I agree with Fred. Manually flying, stay within your comfort zone. No sensors. I do it all the time. Sometimes over great distances. Personally? I like flying close to the surface. Salton Sea at Bombay Beach

Autonomous flight in winter and summer

 

[Tentoes]

Thanks. I managed to avoid the trees by simply stopping the drone before it got there. What the camera sees is a narrowed field of view and things seem to appear closer than they actually are.

I do continue filming beyond what you see in the clips. I position the drone, start the recording, then start moving the drone through the shot I want, stop the drone, then stop the recording. So, at the beginning of the clip, there is a period of time where there is no motion, or a little motion getting setup. Same at the end. There's the stopping motion and stopping the recording.

These bits are edited out. I fade into the motion of the drone and fade out before the stopping motion. Sometimes I only use a tiny portion of the original clip, work in bits of other clips, then use another part of that original clip....and so on and so on. This is "weaving a story" and putting together multiple parts of many clips. Makes for a better video.

Including the whole clip, start to finish, wouldn't look very good. That's not how you make a good video. You setup the shot, start recording, get the shot, stop recording. Nip off the bits at the beginning and end so you end up with "the shot" you wanted. I do this even when creating a "quickie" like the one I posted.

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Interesting book. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Dingo]

leave sensors on , and dont stop to hover. hovering is when it slowly descends , worse when sensors are off.

 

[virtualphotographers]

Sensors off... manually flown. Key is knowing you have no obstructions (like a sailboat.

 

[Jaysjob]

I like to be able to video my friend on kayak or swimming at a calm lake
The plan is to fly backwards and above water 4-5feet at approx 10-15 feet infront and slowly moving to the side of the subject.
Questions:
1. which mode should i use as active track
2. What sensors i need to turn on or off to make sure the drone does not go for a swim ( i will be within 150-200 feet of subject)
3. Pretake off do i need to set any elevation limits (if there is one)

Thanks in advance

MTC? Don’t fly under any bridges.

 

[Colberado]

Don’t know why everyone thinks this is so difficult. Even the example videos posted are still a conservative boring >5ft above the water. Just fly it as you normally do, pay extra attention to your relation with the water relative to your drone and you won’t crash. Water does create an unstable surface altitude for your bottom sensors, but again all you have to do is manually compensate for that. I regularly fly within a foot or two above water at high speeds especially when filming surfing at water level with waves.

 

[GB1Yorkshire1]

Don’t know why everyone thinks this is so difficult. Even the example videos posted are still a conservative boring >5ft above the water. Just fly it as you normally do, pay extra attention to your relation with the water relative to your drone and you won’t crash. Water does create an unstable surface altitude for your bottom sensors, but again all you have to do is manually compensate for that. I regularly fly within a foot or two above water at high speeds especially when filming surfing at water level with waves.

However the consequences of a. “whoops” over water rather than land is far more expensive !

 

[heyengel]

I like to be able to video my friend on kayak or swimming at a calm lake
The plan is to fly backwards and above water 4-5feet at approx 10-15 feet infront and slowly moving to the side of the subject.
Questions:
1. which mode should i use as active track
2. What sensors i need to turn on or off to make sure the drone does not go for a swim ( i will be within 150-200 feet of subject)
3. Pretake off do i need to set any elevation limits (if there is one)

Thanks in advance

You should master manual controls before using automated modes, especially around people. There have been cases where the drone attacked the subjects while on some form of activetrack. Also use propeller guards.

 

[braddenton]

Actually I think if you’re going to be flying backward or around a moving object, my favorite place to do it is over water. No risk of backing into trees or power lines. Lots of room to try for that nice shot a few times till you get it. And as long as you go to the elevation you want—even if it’s only five feet—you know you won’t hit the ground as long as you don’t descend. Good luck!!

 

[Camino Ken]

Living near the ocean, I've gotten used to flying over water. On a lake, I put the drone about 3 feet above the water and fly. Of course, I assume the water is flat (unlike land). I recommend you practice flying over water before you add the kayaker. Start with simple shots. Here's a video where I fly low over both water and land.

Nice video, loved the music. The transitions reminded be a bit of doing psychedelics when I was young.

 

[Fred Garvin]

...Living near the ocean, I've gotten used to flying over water...

How did you license Steppenwolf???

There's a TON of music I'd love to use in my videos, but my pocketbook won't allow me to use it. I certainly can't afford a copyright infringement suit.