American Cinematographer - September 2021 - 22

EYES IN THE SKY
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into the story with these visuals. Working with directors and cinematographers who wish to
explore this is very exciting and satisfying. "
Exploring Options
Regarding the choice of drone size, Miranda notes that the camera's distance from the actor is
key in this determination. " You have to know what it is you're trying to do and plan your shot, " he
says. " Obviously, a helicopter can't come very close to an actor. You can get a bit closer with a big
drone, and you can get even closer with a small drone, which allows for a greater intimacy with
the actor. "
Phillips suggests that even if a production is employing a particular camera and lens combination,
a smaller drone with a built-in camera can generally produce a comparable image on a
budget - especially for establishing shots, because " you're usually at infinity focus either way.
But if you want a specialty shot that starts close on an actor and pulls back to a point far away, you
might use the A cam rigged on a larger drone for that depth-of-field change. "
Stephen Oh, chief executive officer of aerial-cinematography company XM2 Pursuit, has designed
large drones for numerous projects, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No
Tales, shot by Paul Cameron, ASC. Oh notes that filmmakers on such large-scale movies generally
prefer to achieve consistency between the drone work and the cameras on the ground by shooting
with " the same sensor and same glass " at all times. He adds that " with a larger drone, we also can
shoot on film and fly camera arrays. " The company has provided drone services for film-captured
productions No Time to Die (AC April '20) and the HBO series Westworld, and for camera arrays on
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (AC Feb. '20).
Oh and his team learn quite a bit by spending time on set. " We've collaborated with a lot of
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22 / SEPTEMBER 2021
great DPs, and they've all contributed to our work in their own ways, " he says. " When we're on
set, we watch and listen, and even if a cinematographer might not make a specific request, I might
hear them commenting about some aspect of the drone on set, and that helps me understand
how we can improve it. Sometimes an idea will just pop, or something will emerge from a chat
with someone - and we go with it. "
Bender notes that even with larger drones, what can be achieved " still comes down to the skill
of the operator. And with the biggest drones, there are multiple operators: someone flying and at
least one camera operator. Being a camera-dolly grip is already an art, and being a drone pilot is
like being a 3-dimensional dolly grip. Just because you are flying does not mean you leave your
camera/dolly skills on the ground - you just take them to new heights. "
A 5 " XM2 FPV ( " first-person view " ) racing
drone carries a GoPro.
PHOTO COURTESY OF XM2 PURSUIT.

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American Cinematographer - September 2021

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