Back in the day, for aerial footage you had to hop on a plane or helicopter with a clunky camera and rig and do the best you can to keep the shot steady. Definitely a high-budget endeavor. Of course, that has all changed with drone technology. Yes, aerial photography and videography have been significantly democratized to the point that any video can have some form of overhead footage.
When to use drone footage in videos
Drone clips are staple of real estate videos for obvious reasons so we won’t go into that. As for other videos, aerial videography provides an extra level of production value. Again, these days it won’t break the budget to hire a drone operator to shoot a few minutes of b-roll, but the value it adds to the video is significant.
A marketing video promoting a new product or service can benefit from aerial shots to showcase your brand.
A recruiting or company culture video can benefit from shots of the company’s awesome campus, basketball courts, nearby amenities, beautiful weather and environment, etc. Here’s an example from a recruiting video we produced for Samsung:
A normally-boring training video can provide a different perspective to keep viewers engaged. Or it can provide additional clarification like in this video we produced for the City of Sunnyvale:
For customer testimonials, aerial b-roll is definitely an engaging tool.
And any commercials or other marketing videos will benefit from creative aerial shots to optimize the impact of your message.
How to get aerial footage
If you just need generic b-roll (e.g. aerial footage of California’s coast), then stock libraries should be adequate. Soon, you’ll able be leverage generative AI for customized aerial b-roll.
But if you need shots of your company’s building, talent, or other specific footage, then it’s best to hire a professional. You can look online like on Yelp or Fiverr, but these days anyone can fly drones and you may not necessarily end of with what you want. So be sure to check out their portfolio. The operator should also be FAA licensed, insured, and have solid equipment.
To ensure quality, you can look to hire a professional video company with drone services.
In conclusion, aerial videography is a cost-effective way to increase the production value of all your videos. For more information on how Picturelab can provide aerial video services for your marketing projects, contact us today at info@picturelab.com.