Best of a Backlot: A Veteran AD Tests Top Tech From Cine Gear Expo 2018 So You Don’t Have To

Drones

What’s a micro-budgeted feature without a drone shot these days, right? The problem with drones, beyond getting actual permits and licensed drone pilots (which we’ll assume you’re doing for the sake of this section) is that flying your DJI from your iPhone monitor makes for very hard to manage shots. And even with all the built-in tracking technology, making drone shots with moving cars or running actors often takes numerous attempts and is fraught with a steep learning curve.

I demo-ed Brother’s AiRScouter WD-300C head-mounted display. This $800 geeky headset—less cool, but way less expensive than the now discontinued Google Glass—sends a 720p HD image directly from the drone’s camera to a monitor positioned directly over one of the operator’s eyes. This allowed me to keep my focus on the drone and the shot without bobble-heading. The POV image felt huge, and having true line of sight makes for much smoother shot-making.

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