Hands Up Who Got A Drone From Santa?

Exciting isn't it? The kind of exciting you haven't felt since you woke up to find that the big man in red had popped a bunch of matchbox cars in your stocking when you were seven.

This time, however, you won't just while away hours making tiny tyre tracks in your mum's living room carpet whilst mimicking screechy wheel-spin noises. You're older, wiser, your mate's cousin has one and you heard he's making a mint flying them. In fact you're pretty sure somebody told you he might even have a BBC credit? Yes, this gift is different.

This gift will change your life. So many people in the UK have pounced on this new opportunity, but this doesn't mean that making a success of it is easily done. I have been an RC enthusiast since the age of 9 (I'm 34 now) and still feel like I'm learning something new every day, whether it be the dynamics of flight, the capabilities of the machines or, most importantly, the safety aspects of flying these magnificent pieces of equipment. This is a serious profession and not to be taken as a bandwagon affair.

Running your own business is another task to master. Having come from a filming background it was relatively easy for me to move into this new field when it came to aerial filming. Not only had I acquired the skills to fly the machines but I also had an eye for the shot. However, it isn't the same as being a freelance camera operator where usually you're hired, you grab your kit and go. There are a plethora of rules that must be followed when operating a drone business and getting to grips with that is a whole different kettle of fish. In my experience, when working alongside Directors who are unfamiliar with drone technology and the regulations that must be adhered to by the operator, you will invariably be asked to bend the rules or encouraged to go against your better instincts in order to get the desired shot. Your livelihood and reputation as a good drone-operator depend not only upon producing amazing shots, but more importantly working in a way that is safe. This is something I learned early on and "Safety First" will unapologetically and forever be my mantra every day of my working life.

Most people associate drones with aerial filming and while exciting and diverse in its own right, this is a very tiny part of what these machines are capable of.

In the early days when I was starting out, a financial adviser at a business seminar I attended casually suggested (in a tone that gave me the impression that, in his opinion, this should be the most obvious direction my business would take) that I should use drones to go into the sheep-hunting game. Yes. The sheep-hunting game. In a nutshell, during heavy snowfall, thousands of sheep go missing every year costing British farmers millions. During the April 2013 blizzards UK farmers lost approximately £11 million in livestock. Drones can help to cut the loss by using infrared cameras to find the sheep using their thermal signature. A revelation! What an amazing way to earn your living. Saviour of the sheep. I remember a time in my teenage years when the thought of my future-self becoming synonymous with something sheep-related would have had me balking. Yet here I was, tingling at the idea of building a life around becoming a hero to the fluffy wee blighters. It could read on my passport... Neil Mowbray – Sheep Hunter!

To say, "He had me at Sheep-Hunter" would be misleading, however. I was a cameraman for over a decade before I saw a drone for the first time and it simply captivated me from the get-go. My background was in extreme sports. I got to travel the world filming top level snowboarders and filming from helicopters was part of it, but cost was prohibitive and I needed to capture those shots anywhere I wanted.

A colleague and friend of mine who had been a professional snowboarder had brought a drone on a shoot I was working on in Austria and when I saw what they could do, that was it. This was where I wanted my career to go. That was in 2011 and camera drones were virtually unheard of, it was two years before the original DJI Phantom was even released. At this time the gimbals were still servo driven. Then in 2013 Freefly Systems released the MoVI 3-axis brushless gimbal, the two technologies converged and took off!

It is safe to say I love my job. There is never a day when I wake up and do not want to go to work. I mean, flying giant spider-like helicopters with amazing cameras hanging underneath, certainly beats a day at the office! (Not to ignore all the many life hours I must spend in the office...)

Yes, being a drone operator has got to be one of the most satisfying ways to earn your pennies. Do take heed though: A drone is for life, not just for Christmas.

www.viewpointfilm.co.uk

(JP)