Decode Discusses Drones

Decode has been flying drones for several years now, getting involved in productions ranging from commercials, feature films all the way through to corporate as well as servicing and maintenance.

We have drones that can fly from the smallest camera to a full size RED Dragon or ALEXA Mini camera.

There aren't two jobs the same and on the same basis our approach to every new job is never the same.

We seem to find that there are two type of jobs we get involved with. The first type are jobs which are heavily planned and require a lot of work beforehand. These jobs are usually feature films and commercials. They always require working with the director and the production team, going through storyboards and locations.

We take care of permits and licenses to be in place and we spend quite a lot of time working with the creative team, suggesting shots, visiting the locations and proposing, within a safe operation, creative angles and shots.

Usually on location there is little room for improvisation as all shots and camera moves have been pre-agreed and discussed based on an already locked storyboard.

The second type are jobs are a little less demanding in terms of what needs doing on the day of filming. These jobs still require a fair amount of work behind the scenes in getting the relevant permits and licenses but they have a looser concept and there is room to maneuver on the day. The creative team will listen to our suggestions, always ensuring regulations are met, but on the day our requirements might change slightly, always within safety regulations and operation.

One part of our job that is really important, regardless of the job is to recce the location or locations and inspect in-situ the logistics of what we are being asked to do.

Ideally we like to go through this process along with the creative team and head of departments so we can go through the job requirements on site.

Sometimes this can be difficult for the production company to arrange and in those cases we recce the locations ourselves at our own time.

We like to leave no room to surprises and more often than not there is a large amount of work that clients are not even aware of that we do towards the job.

We have a local park a few minutes down our premises and many times we test the client's shots ahead of filming to make sure that not only the admin side has been taken care of but also the operational side.

Some people might think it is an overkill, we call it "being prepared". There are elements like the weather and other factors that are beyond our control but at least on any aspect that we can control, we like to arrive to set prepared and ready to go.

Drones are a serious piece of equipment and they require highly skilled and experienced crew.

They also require a serious approach keeping in mind safety regulations and precautions at all times and this is one of our main concerns.

Using drones and aerial footage will drastically increase the production values of any project but you want to engage a company that is thorough and consistent in their approach to UAVs. Give us a call for peace of mind.

T: +44 (0) 2087359170

W: www.decodeuk.com

(JP/LM)