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Riu Dunamar, Cancun

mahjohn

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Just back from a quick 5 day vacation with the family in Cancun, MX. Took the drone as carry-on without any problems. 400' max alt. in Mexico with line-of-sight. I shot a lot of video and subsequently got rid of a lot and cobbled together the rest into the video linked below. There were some very specific shots I was looking for (flying out of the room and over the balcony), and some that just happened, as in shooting the wife walking on the beach and swinging in off the water in PoI mode...noticing the rapidly approaching palm trees and quickly rising up to reveal more of the ocean and horizon. (close one)

On my beach shots following the family, I was too far away seeing that there is no zoom on the Mavic Air 2, and would have liked to have filmed earlier in the day to offset the backlight from the sun. However, now that the wife is more confident that she won't be listed as "death by drone", I'm allowed to get closer next time so long as the kids stop trying to jump and catch the drone (who does that).

I did shoot a lot of Slow Motion video which I thought was cool until it came time to put them all together, which really extended the total length (of course I didn't think of this when flying around).

Anyway, thanks for checking it out and for any comments, looking for ideas on what could be done better...flying...shot selection..., what shots would you have taken to get a good snapshot of the vacation, and any tips of editing.

(Jet Ski footage is not me, that's something they offered and was shot with a Mavic Pro)

Video link below
Family "LONG" version

Short "Public" version

Riu Dunamar, Cancun, MX
 
Last edited:
Very nice. The shot going out your balcony door and all the way to the beach is epic. Well done. You should do two versions of the video, one any length you like just for the family to watch and the other one about 3:00 to post here or elsewhere.
 
Very nice. The shot going out your balcony door and all the way to the beach is epic. Well done. You should do two versions of the video, one any length you like just for the family to watch and the other one about 3:00 to post here or elsewhere.
That was exactly my thoughts...keep the family one, then use the edited one for posting. Also have some nice photos of the resort in the morning hours to add-in. Sidenote....the shot out of the room over the balcony looking at the walkway to the beach, we called that the "walk of shame" as it was great people watching as a few drunks tried hard to navigate it in a straight line late in the afternoon....hehe...
 
That was exactly my thoughts...keep the family one, then use the edited one for posting. Also have some nice photos of the resort in the morning hours to add-in. Sidenote....the shot out of the room over the balcony looking at the walkway to the beach, we called that the "walk of shame" as it was great people watching as a few drunks tried hard to navigate it in a straight line late in the afternoon....hehe...
Very funny...too many pina coladas, huh?!
 
Just back from a quick 5 day vacation with the family in Cancun, MX. Took the drone as carry-on without any problems. 400' max alt. in Mexico with line-of-sight. I shot a lot of video and subsequently got rid of a lot and cobbled together the rest into the video linked below. There were some very specific shots I was looking for (flying out of the room and over the balcony), and some that just happened, as in shooting the wife walking on the beach and swinging in off the water in PoI mode...noticing the rapidly approaching palm trees and quickly rising up to reveal more of the ocean and horizon. (close one)

On my beach shots following the family, I was too far away seeing that there is no zoom on the Mavic Air 2, and would have liked to have filmed earlier in the day to offset the backlight from the sun. However, now that the wife is more confident that she won't be listed as "death by drone", I'm allowed to get closer next time so long as the kids stop trying to jump and catch the drone (who does that).

I did shoot a lot of Slow Motion video which I thought was cool until it came time to put them all together, which really extended the total length (of course I didn't think of this when flying around).

Anyway, thanks for checking it out and for any comments, looking for ideas on what could be done better...flying...shot selection..., what shots would you have taken to get a good snapshot of the vacation, and any tips of editing.

(Jet Ski footage is not me, that's something they offered and was shot with a Mavic Pro)

Video link below


Riu Dunamar, Cancun, MX
I'd say you should make two versions of this....one long one like this, for the family and for family vacation memories, and another short one for forums, and friends, lasting about 3 minutes. In the short version I would delete many of the repetitious scenes of the hotel, beach, palms, surf, people in pools, etc. I think you over did it with the frequent slo-motion clips. I'd make each clip about 3-6 seconds long unless telling a story. The scene flying from your room to the ocean was the best part.
 
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I'd say you should make two versions of this....one long one like this, for the family and for family vacation memories, and another short one for forums, and friends, lasting about 3 minutes. In the short version I would delete many of the repetitious scenes of the hotel, beach, palms, surf, people in pools, etc. I think you over did it with the frequent slo-motion clips. I'd make each clip about 3-6 seconds long unless telling a story. The scene flying from your room to the ocean was the best part.
Thanks. I had the slo-mo going and thought "that was cool", then later realized it was a LOT of slo-mo...doh!
 
Thanks. I had the slo-mo going and thought "that was cool", then later realized it was a LOT of slo-mo...doh!
You can chalk it up to a learning experience. That's how we all learn. By doing something, seeing the results , and correcting it the next time around.
 
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You can chalk it up to a learning experience. That's how we all learn. By doing something, seeing the results , and correcting it the next time around.

@Dale D, @DaveS,
Thanks for the critique. I've created a short version at 1:40 that I believe conveys what I want the viewer to see. A question for you both. If you were to shoot this location, what are some elements you would be looking to capture that I have missed or not shot in the correct style. Thanks again.

 
@Dale D, @DaveS,
Thanks for the critique. I've created a short version at 1:40 that I believe conveys what I want the viewer to see. A question for you both. If you were to shoot this location, what are some elements you would be looking to capture that I have missed or not shot in the correct style. Thanks again.

THAT was absolutely PERFECT! You captured the essence of the resort, the large scale of those hundreds of room, the setting, the overheads of the pool areas, and finally, the great scene from the balcony to the sea. You didn't lose a bit of the information. As always, less is more. Great job. Now go ahead and sell it to the hotel.!
 
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THAT was absolutely PERFECT! You captured the essence of the resort, the large scale of those hundreds of room, the setting, the overheads of the pool areas, and finally, the great scene from the balcony to the sea. You didn't lose a bit of the information. As always, less is more. Great job. Now go ahead and sell it to the hotel.!
thanks...hmm, selling, had not thought about that.
 
Nice video. I like the flight path from the room down to the beach. I would’ve tried a second shot straight down (higher altitude) following the path to the beach...then, start to pan up to reveal the ocean right as you reach the sand.

I like what you did with the pool, something I need to keep in the back of my mind and try to apply in the future to my videos.
 
So no problem flying in MX??? I leave is 2 weeks and was thinking about taking my drone......
 

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