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Post analysis of a recent shoot

6/7/2017

7 Comments

 
In the last blog I discussed how I approached a shoot. Its now time to look at how it went, what I learnt and what I can share with you. 

So it went mostly ok. The big issue that has cropped up is I shot the drone footage in 30p (my personal preference) but my client who did the ground based video shots used 25p and it turns out trying to get them both into the same production is a pain in the ass. So tip 1: ask your client what frame rate they need to work in and use that. 

The next issue is I assumed I would be able to use Litchi, but in fact because it the section of the warehouse we shot in was very deep under roof, there was no GPS and Litchi went out the window. Tip 2: If you plan to use Litchi make sure you will have GPS

Luckily I shot with the P4 Pro and its very stable indoors even without GPS and therefore I could fly very comfortably. The client asked me to do some very low shots, like 2 feet off the floor and look up at this giant contraption as I flew past it - great idea except for the huge amount of dust that got blown up: Tip 3: If the floor is very dusty wet it down first

I then decided to use Tapfly to shoot some smooth Flyby shots. The problem is that you cannot disable obstacle sensing in Tapfly, so when I got near this giant object the obstacle sensors went nuts and the drone slowed down and I lost that smooth continuous momentum. Tip 4: When using Tapfly remember you can't disable obstacle avoidance and therefore obstacles will cause you to slow down or stop

Then I took the risk of flying through this giant metal hollowed out tube as the client wanted a fly-through shot. Flying through a metal object is a very bad idea as on the first occasion it went fine but the second time the compass went nuts and I started drifting and lost control but luckily got out without a crash. Tip 5: avoid flying through anything that can badly throw your compass especially when the money you are making from the job does not justify taking risks

Then the client walked with me as we did several shots and he kept looking at the drone and I kept saying look at the monitor: Tip 6: tell the client to look at the screen so he can be sure he is happy with the shot. And remind them during the shot. 

Well it was an interesting shoot and I wish I could show you the footage but its a very hush hush project and I am not allowed to. 

​I hope my tips help you out and please share or comment on this as much as you like
7 Comments
bob S
6/15/2017 10:51:22 pm

Lawrence - I like the directness of the way you laid out this post flight analysis. There are objective facts, then assessment, and planning tips for us students. Highlighting the Tips also makes the review easy.

bob

Reply
Bob Walker link
9/15/2017 07:33:59 am

Hi Lawrence,

I really appreciate sharing this experience with us. Do you ever use a large monitor for your clients viewing? I have found the best way yet but I have used a small 7" HD monitor with a 5.8ghz receiver but that setup does not work on DJI camera system. I have used youtube live watched on a 65" Smart TV but the picture has a 30-120 latency.

If you have a better system can you share that with us?

Reply
Justin Waldman
9/23/2017 09:40:37 am

A shift between frame rates on the timeline is not a problem in FinalCutPro X. Set it up at 60fps and 4K size, for instance, and then drop 25fps and 1080P in that timeline; it is assimilated and used without pause nor delay. Rendering is done in the background. No mess. No fuss.

Reply
Claudio Colangeli
10/4/2017 01:46:28 pm

Really useful tips.
Thanks for sharing this "on the field" experience.
Theese kind of difficulties seems easy to understand reasoning behind, with calm and time, but hard to spot in advance at the planning stage.
Known that someone has faced them and the way he solved the problems is a big help in foreseeing and avoiding troubles.

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Barry link
1/27/2018 04:59:42 am

Very helpful feedback - thanks!

I almost made the mistake of the wrong frame rate when working with a video production company. Moments before take off I was showing him how everything worked and happened to show him the various frame rate / quality options on the P4P and we realized we were not in sync. It's now added to my checklist!

Obstacle avoidance is great...until it gets in the way.

Keep the feedback coming - we can all learn from each other.

Reply
Erika Liveta link
2/13/2018 10:03:35 pm

Really very helpful tips. I really appreciate that you share your experience with us.

Reply
Avery link
3/25/2021 05:22:19 am

This wwas great to read

Reply



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    I am the founder of the online series of courses called Phantom Filmschool

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