Workshop at Deutsche Welle in Berlin in Drone Cinematography

On May 3rd and 4th, a small group of MultiDrone members and cinematographers from Deutsche Welle and the University of Bristol met in Berlin for a two-day workshop on drone cinematography. Led by Professor Dave Bull from the University of Bristol (part of MultiDrone), the group discussed two main topics:

➤What are the new opportunities in cinematography drones can offer?

➤Does it need a common drone cinematography language to take advantage of those opportunities?
 

How important such a common drone cinematography language is, especially when flying multiple drones at the same time, became obvious during the practical test sessions. While there are already certain names in use for certain drone maneuvers (just think of the “boomerang” or “asteroid” movements that come automatic with some drone models)), the communication among pilots and directors is still not standardised.

What makes the communication so different from using regular cameras, is the 3rd dimension, that becomes available. Drones are pretty much free to go in all directions, which allows for many more camera moves. So the core of the discussion was how to make sure that everyone on a drone teams understands what is meant by a certain command in order to avoid unwanted shots or even crashes.

This is particularly interesting for MultiDrone, as we are planning to deploy several drones at once. The risk of those drones getting in each others way, visually or physically, is much higher and could ruin the filming of an important event, or even risk the security of participants of audiences.

The MultiDrone Consortium is going to continue these discussions and will hold further workshops and test-flights in the coming months.