Pre-programming Flights for Videography

[PaperbakWriter]

Does anyone out there have any experience with pre-programming flights for videography?

I work in TV and I’m in charge of our aerial footage utilizing the Mavic. I have some great ideas for shots but find it’s a bit cumbersome to frame the shot I want while flying the drone steady. We trained on the Inspire so I’m much more capable of either flying or shooting; not both at the same time. There are apps that pre-program flights for you but that seems a little lazy if the Go app already lets you set waypoints.

I’ve tried plotting a path a few times before but when I yawed the drone it felt like it wouldn’t turn to frame the shot I want while essentially flying sideways to the point.

Does the Mavic need to fly straight, camera pointed forward to its waypoints or can it fly sideways/backwards with camera facing in different directions?

 

[lisadoc]

Does the Mavic need to fly straight, camera pointed forward to its waypoints or can it fly sideways/backwards with camera facing in different directions?

No, it can point in any direction you want while traveling between waypoints.

You might want to look at Litchi, as it is far better and a more complete program when utilizing waypoint missions.

 

[PaperbakWriter]

No, it can point in any direction you want while traveling between waypoints.

You might want to look at Litchi, as it is far better and a more complete program when utilizing waypoint missions.

How good is this Litchi app in terms of pre-planning? You can program altitude changes as well as distance?

 

[lisadoc]

How good is this Litchi app in terms of pre-planning? You can program altitude changes as well as distance?

It's brilliant. Go here and you can see what you can do:
Mission Hub - Litchi

The app has even more options when you use that but you'll get the point of what is possible from the Mission Hub. Go to "Missions -> New" and go from there. You can also explore other people's missions that are on the web by hitting the "Discover" button on the left (the world logo). You don't need to even create an account unless you want to save missions or upload them to your Mavic.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

You can also get a second controller for the Mavic. A second operator with a set of goggles could frame and shoot while you fly.

 

[Cut.Aussie]

Use a big screen iPad Pro and DJI GS Pro software to pre plan the whole shoot

 

[Randyp1234]

I saw this when loading GO 4 on a new tablet I hope will work: Drone Harmony - Reinventing flight planning for DJI Drones assuming Android.

 

[Hauptmann]

Does anyone out there have any experience with pre-programming flights for videography?

I work in TV and I’m in charge of our aerial footage utilizing the Mavic.

Man, do you have the DREAM job or what?

Try Litchi--it's made for your kind of work. Even better, use Litchi with Google Earth, which will give you a better preview of your "shots". You'll end up with some kick-@$$ footage. I guarantee it!.

 

[guest112]

Does anyone out there have any experience with pre-programming flights for videography?

I work in TV and I’m in charge of our aerial footage utilizing the Mavic. I have some great ideas for shots but find it’s a bit cumbersome to frame the shot I want while flying the drone steady. We trained on the Inspire so I’m much more capable of either flying or shooting; not both at the same time. There are apps that pre-program flights for you but that seems a little lazy if the Go app already lets you set waypoints.

I’ve tried plotting a path a few times before but when I yawed the drone it felt like it wouldn’t turn to frame the shot I want while essentially flying sideways to the point.

Does the Mavic need to fly straight, camera pointed forward to its waypoints or can it fly sideways/backwards with camera facing in different directions?

Hi PaperbakWriter,

I suggest you check out our flight smoothing feature - from my personal experience it's great for videography. Here is a small tutorial video to get you started.

Best,
DH Team

 

[ErikDF]

I am looking forward to the iOS or web version whenever they are developed