On the list of "Top Things Filmmakers Want to Learn About Flying Drones," the following tips would probably be somewhere at the bottom. Drone safety is admittedly pretty boring, but anyone who's even remotely responsible will agree that it's absolutely necessary to protect others, yourself, and your drone when you're out zipping through the sky.

In this video, Matti Haapoja of TravelFeels takes us along as he captures some breathtaking aerial footage of Geiranger, a Western Norwegian village in the Sunnmøre region of Møre og Romsdal, all the while offering up some great advice on smart droning.

Again, you're not going to learn how to do a sweat corkscrew dolly zoom or anything, but you will learn several ways to shoot smarter and more efficient drone footage.

  • Check out the area before flying: Before you take off, make sure you know not only the layout of the area but where potential obstacles are as well. That way you'll be able to focus on flying to all of the spots you like rather than focusing on avoiding powerlines, trees, and other hazards.
  • Have a spotter: Having someone there to keep an eye on your drone as you fly is super helpful because, while you're focusing on framing and camera movement, you'll have an extra set of eyes to make sure your drone isn't getting too close to a potential crash.
  • Use ND filters: There are lots of reasons to use ND filters, but perhaps the biggest one is that they allow you to keep your shutter speed low enough to avoid capturing a lot of the "micro jitter" that you typically see in drone footage.
  • Plan your shots: Not only does this save you time, but it also frees you up to capture some fancy experimental shots with the leftover battery life. (But get your important shots done first!)
  • Save some battery life for landing: This might be one of the more important tips on the list. Give yourself plenty of battery to pilot your drone on its return. If you try to push it too much you might end up with a drone that dies in midflight and plummets to its doom.

What are some other tips for drone users? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: TravelFeels

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