Help Please

mrjps · Mar 9, 2019

hi all,

looking for advice please. We need to film a race horse galloping along a beach for a km or so and would like to know is there a drone that could follow the horse if the horse had a tracking device on it or some sort of device that talks to the drone to keep it with the horse?

Thanks in advance for answers.

sar104 · Mar 9, 2019

Active track mode would follow a horse, but tops out at around 30 mph. How fast is your horse?

msinger · Mar 9, 2019

Mavics (and most other DJI drones) have a flight mode named "ActiveTrack" that allows the drone to visually follow a moving object. In this case, that feature would only work well if the horse does not blend into the beach (like a white/tan horse running on the beach might).

Here are a few videos that show how ActiveTrack works:

Point Zero · Mar 9, 2019

You will not need any form of tracking device with any of the newer dji drones and also many of the older ones. They all have Active Track and some have a newer .2 version. You just set the drone at the height and angle you want in relation to the horse and then you select the horse by placing a selector over it on the remote controller screen and that's it.

DJI Active Track: Make the Drones Follow You

the link above might also help get your head around what you can do.

Good luck with your shoot!

Edit: Lol lots of peeps writing a reply at the same time!

mrjps · Mar 9, 2019

sar104 said:
Active track mode would follow a horse, but tops out at around 30 mph. How fast is your horse?

it's fast planning to race this year, possibly 40mph. Though many thanks for answer...

mrjps · Mar 9, 2019

Point Zero said:
You will not need any form of tracking device with any of the newer dji drones and also many of the older ones. They all have Active Track and some have a newer .2 version. You just set the drone at the height and angle you want in relation to the horse and then you select the horse by placing a selector over it on the remote controller screen and that's it.

DJI Active Track: Make the Drones Follow You

the link above might also help get your head around what you can do.

Good luck with your shoot!

Edit: Lol lots of peeps writing a reply at the same time!

many thanks for tips and shall post vid here when done

mrjps · Mar 9, 2019

msinger said:
Mavics (and most other DJI drones) have a flight mode named "ActiveTrack" that allows the drone to visually follow a moving object. In this case, that feature would only work well if the horse does not blend into the beach (like a white/tan horse running on the beach might).

Here are a few videos that show how ActiveTrack works:

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hi thanks for the videos, much appreciated

Point Zero · Mar 9, 2019

What drone are you thinking of using?

If you get an experienced pilot they could easily set up the shot to follow and track the horse even at those faster speeds if you shoot in Sports Mode, but again I must stress that you will need an experienced pilot as in Sports Mode you will have NO safety measures at your disposal but seeing as its on the coast the pilot could fly over the water adjacent to the horse knowing that the path ahead will be clear of any obstructions. Just a thought.

sar104 · Mar 9, 2019

mrjps said:
it's fast planning to race this year, possibly 40mph. Though many thanks for answer...

In that case you will need the drone pilot to follow it manually in sport mode.

BD0G · Mar 9, 2019

There are alot of different built in options within the DJIGO4 application that is used with every Mavic model. Many ways to accomplish this.
Active Track is one and it has been mentioned and tutorial videos posted.

You could also set up a waypoint mission for the beginning point that the horse will be starting from. Then one at the end of the horses run and finally one at your beginning point (So the Mavic flys back to you at the end).

This "may" be advantageous as there is no need for a drone flyer/pilot to manually use the remote controllers sticks to track the horse and the automated route of travel and camera position / angle would be preset and not change for the duration of the flight.

It "may" give a smoother overall look to the video sequence as there are no stick inputs from the remote controller as the path that is being flown is totally automated.

You would be constructing a "dolly cam" maneuver. Here is one with a Zoom process in the mix which will require a video editor .

You can actually use Tap to Fly mode as well. See here :

mrjps · Mar 9, 2019

Bdog thanks ever so much.

FoxhallGH · Mar 9, 2019

Depending on the type of drone you are flying, you may have issues with the prop's getting in the shot at that sort of speed. A Mavic Pro / 2 Pro at that speed is pretty nose-down, and so the camera will be looking through the prop' tips wizzing by as it races to keep up with Mr Ed. This is the reason why drones like the Phantom and Inspire make better platforms for a travelling / tracking shot at speed - as they have their cameras suspended way below the line of the spinning prop's.

PhantomFandom · Mar 9, 2019

FoxhallGH said:
Depending on the type of drone you are flying, you may have issues with the prop's getting in the shot at that sort of speed. A Mavic Pro / 2 Pro at that speed is pretty nose-down, and so the camera will be looking through the prop' tips wizzing by as it races to keep up with Mr Ed. This is the reason why drones like the Phantom and Inspire make better platforms for a travelling / tracking shot at speed - as they have their cameras suspended way below the line of the spinning prop's.

At those speeds even a Phantom 4 Pro would get props in the picture IF flying forward. You can fly backwards, in front of the horse and the props would not get in the picture. Since the OP probably wants a profile picture of the horse galloping, then flying sideways would work well too.

An Inspire would give you the best options though in terms of both speed and camera shots without props.

Jackcutrone · Mar 10, 2019

Suggest you slow the horse down if plan on having a rider and use active track. Easiest solution. People watching are probably not going to care if 30 vs 40 mph.

sar104 · Mar 10, 2019

Jackcutrone said:
Suggest you slow the horse down if plan on having a rider and use active track. Easiest solution. People watching are probably not going to care if 30 vs 40 mph.

That may depend on the horse's firmware version.

Jackcutrone · Mar 10, 2019

LMAO.

Peter Hughes · Mar 10, 2019

Don’t want to be a kill joy or state the obvious but a small word of caution: horses are generally very nervous of things that buzz, such as the drone. Be a little cautious about trying to get too close.
Looking forward to seeing the shots.