Drones have made aerial cinematography possible for low-budget filmmakers, but even though they can be budget-friendly for some, sometimes they are just too expensive for others. If you're in the "I'll never be able to afford a drone" category, pro skier Nicolas Viugnier has a solution for you. Using the $54 AER GoPro accessory, Viugnier managed to capture some amazing aerial shots of him doing his thing on the slopes simply by tossing the rig in the air. 

If Viugnier seems familiar to you, you might recognize him from an article we posted last year about his poor-man's bullet-time technique, which was just him swinging a GoPro around on a string. Genius and beautiful! For his latest video, though, Viugnier uses his "poor man's drone." He plopped his GoPro into the AER and used its aerodynamic design, as well as the momentum build from skiing down mountains to gracefully toss it into the air. And the shots are surprisingly steady and captured some great footage.

This rig obviously has its limitations (which is why Viugnier calls it a poor man's drone) and applications for it are probably reserved for extreme sports or personal use. However, what's stopping someone from giving their stunt performer something like this and having them toss it as they jump out of a window? Though you can't do much "drone" work with it, there are still plenty of creative possibilities.

Source: Nicolas Vuignier

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Cinematography & Cameras