Rough cut of a night shoot with my Dji Mavic 2 Pro

[Recoveryone]

 

[Thomas B]

Enjoyed most of it. Well flown!
A tad long... might delete some of the daylight and interior shots.

 

[Recoveryone]

Enjoyed most of it. Well flown!
A tad long... might delete some of the daylight and interior shots.

Needed to include them as this is a Real estate project (interior shots)

 

[Thomas B]

Needed to include them as this is a Real estate project (interior shots)

Ahh! It’s good to have work these days!

 

[Recoveryone]

Ahh! It’s good to have work these days!

I've been working this project for 8 months, started from the grading to the finish build. Taken over 200 stills and this was the 2nd video, I was not a fan of doing a night shoot (just from working in the industry, would make me wonder what you are trying to hide), but its different. The tenant takes over next week, so its a big push to finish the punch list of touch ups that need to be done.

 

[bcfd29]

nice job, good perspective to look at landscape and overall lighting scheme. good looking building.

 

[Dale D]

After 2 1/2 years of droning I have still not done a night shot. Deathly afraid! Any tips? If I did anything, I would just go straight up, try to film somewhere near but not over , a traffic circle or cloverleaf, and come straight down. Not sure If I should attach and turn on my strobe (Firehouse) since I wouldn't want to affect the image with the strobe light. So, straight up, straight down, no trees, traffic circle would be my criteria for a start.

 

[Thomas B]

After 2 1/2 years of droning I have still not done a night shot. Deathly afraid! Any tips? If I did anything, I would just go straight up, try to film somewhere near but not over , a traffic circle or cloverleaf, and come straight down. Not sure If I should attach and turn on my strobe (Firehouse) since I wouldn't want to affect the image with the strobe light. So, straight up, straight down, no trees, traffic circle would be my criteria for a start.

Going straight up is the place to start as the first few night flights will be spent with imaging and video setting until you’re sure you have it right as well as a feel for minor tweaks sometimes needed. Unles there is significant fog or dust neither the Firehouse ARC2s nor ARC XLs have ever cause any problem. I recommend using them as they could be a drone saver, especially near/over busy streets or freeways.

 

[Dale D]

Going straight up is the place to start as the first few night flights will be spent with imaging and video setting until you’re sure you have it right as well as a feel for minor tweaks sometimes needed. Unles there is significant fog or dust neither the Firehouse ARC2s nor ARC XLs have ever cause any problem. I recommend using them as they could be a drone saver, especially near/over busy streets or freeways.

Thanks Tom. I am really tempted- will wait for freedom from quarantine.

 

[bob8755]

Very good video.
I’m trying to learn more about shooting video. So, your shoot brought a few questions to mind. Hopefully you can share some information.

1 - What app do you use to create the video?
2 - Where do you get your audio? The music fits the video very well.
3 - Did you slow down the speed of the drone yourself?
4 - This question is merely based on my personal preference. The exposure could use a tweak. Does your app allow for lightening the video? I realize that it might compromise the quality. So, this one is just me being curious.

Thanks for sharing. It makes me want to do better.

 

[Recoveryone]

Very good video.
I’m trying to learn more about shooting video. So, your shoot brought a few questions to mind. Hopefully you can share some information.

1 - What app do you use to create the video?
2 - Where do you get your audio? The music fits the video very well.
3 - Did you slow down the speed of the drone yourself?
4 - This question is merely based on my personal preference. The exposure could use a tweak. Does your app allow for lightening the video? I realize that it might compromise the quality. So, this one is just me being curious.

Thanks for sharing. It makes me want to do better.

1. I use Vegas 17 Pro for now (Have used older version 13, 16) I would recommend staying with one manufacture/product line as learning a new system can be frustrating.
2. I get my audio from the Youtube audio library
3. The best way to fly is slow and smooth when doing landscapes and real estate, you can always speed up footage in post (see my Phantom 4 video )

4. I used the Hypelight mode for the stills,

so it has it own settings, not able to change, I kept it in auto for video to keep the 100 ISO as I knew I was going to fly close to the building on some shots. I was worried about the amount of grain if I went with higher ISO

5. The only reason I felt somewhat comfortable flying this at night is that I have been flying this location for 8 months at least once or twice per month. I was familiar with the heights of the power poles, trees and traffic patterns of the area, so not to get caught up in something unexpected.

 

[cory_foy]

A reminder for those wanting to try night shots that you need a Daylight Waiver from the FAA if you’re in the US and want to fly later than 30 minutes after sunset / 30 minutes before sunrise.

 

[RobH2]

@Recoveryone, I'm curious how you went about getting you Waiver and how long it took. I've never been able to get one.

 

[Recoveryone]

I have 2 waviers, 1 city wide and the other was for the night flight. The city wide was quick once I submitted it in the proper format (1 week) and the same for the daylight wavier.

 

[RobH2]

This is interesting. Thanks for the info. What was the city-wide one for specifically? I'm just trying to get a feel for what the FAA is willing to approve. Finally, what was the "proper format" so that we can follow your lead?

 

[Frostfrog]

I’m a professional photographer and plan to study up for my commercial drone pilot license next week. My preliminary investigations reveal that nighttime drone use is prohibited with a commercial license. How do you deal with this issue?

 

[Recoveryone]

I’m a professional photographer and plan to study up for my commercial drone pilot license next week. My preliminary investigations reveal that nighttime drone use is prohibited with a commercial license. How do you deal with this issue?

Where did you get that info from?
If you are flying under Part 107 (for payment/furtherance of a business) then you will need a wavier
If you are conducting a flight for hobby/rec then you don't need a wavier
You can do both, just because you have Part 107 status, doesn't mean every flight you do is under that status

 

[Recoveryone]

This is interesting. Thanks for the info. What was the city-wide one for specifically? I'm just trying to get a feel for what the FAA is willing to approve. Finally, what was the "proper format" so that we can follow your lead?

My 9-5 is as a Construction inspector (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) NPDES, covers Commercial sites, industrial sites, Restaurants, and Flood Control & Watersheds. I cover from the start of projects to the end to make sure they stay in compliance with either the General Construction Permit, Industrial Permit, Grease Programs, Erosion Control and maintenance of Watershed location. Drones are becoming a bigger tool to use to gain access to remote locations, cutting time to inspect sites and logging progress on projects. Getting a city wide authorization saves time for me having to submit an authorization on each and every project that I need to cover.

 

[Frostfrog]

Where did you get that info from?
If you are flying under Part 107 (for payment/furtherance of a business) then you will need a wavier
If you are conducting a flight for hobby/rec then you don't need a wavier
You can do both, just because you have Part 107 status, doesn't mean every flight you do is under that status

I can’t remember precisely where, but I do believe it was a federal site. Thank you for the info. Odd conundrum when a recreational users who can just go fly at night right out of the box doesn’t need to worry about it but after taking the time and making the effort necessary to study, learn and practice a professional with a commercial license must seek a waiver.

 

[Recoveryone]

The best way I try to explain to people about the Part 107 & hobbist are like my Driver License status. I have a commercial status (Class B) with several endorsements, Tank, Airbrakes, and few others. When I drive my personal vehicle, none of that applies, but if I get behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle all of my endorsement must match or exceed the type of vehicle that I will be driving. Part 107 kinda works in the same way, the key factor is that if you are flying for payment or furtherance of a business (including your own) you need to have Part 107 status. The one gray area still out there is Youtube and other social media platforms, some will say that its in furtherance of your business (if you receive payments from Youtube or even gain customers) advertisement. At some point, some smart lawyer will challenge this and we will see what the fallout will be as far as online content.