Drone videography: it’s all the rage! Footage from drones has made its way into commercials, movies, sporting events, and even personal projects, but did you know that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has strict regulations for drone flight? Our videos just wouldn’t be the same without drone magic, and that’s why when you book drone videography from Unnamed Films, we send videographers who are certified, registered, and insured to get that perfect drone fly-over video in the safest way possible.

Shooting Drone Video By the Book

Rules for Drone Pilots

The FAA requires all “pilots” of “small unmanned aircraft” (AKA drones) to obtain a license, including studying for and passing a detailed test (which is as exciting as it sounds). Once you’ve passed, there are registration forms to fill out and fees to pay before you can become an official, cardholding, FAA-certified drone pilot.  In fact, Scott often uses “I’m licensed to pilot certain aircraft by the FAA and I have that license in my wallet right now” to trip people up in games of two truths and a lie.

Rules for Drone Flight

It’s not just the pilot who has to be FAA registered. Any drone with a camera heavier than a sweet potato must also be registered with the FAA. And once you and your drone all registered, you can’t just fly that baby anywhere – there are regulations you need to know as to which places are safe for recreational flight vs. commercial flight, and places where flying is totally banned. A drone pilot must do their research before liftoff, and sometimes that even includes requesting authorization from the FAA.  

Once you’ve found a permissible spot to fly your FAA-registered machine, there are a series of rules regarding drone flight. For example, a drone may not exceed a speed of 87 knots (100 mph), must have flight visibility for 3 statute miles (fancy pilot miles), and has to stay 500 feet below and 2,000 feet in horizontal distance away from clouds. No touching allowed!  With all of those parameters, flying a drone for your wedding takes a lot more work and forethought than simply yeeting a wingéd camera into the sky...

Drone Insurance

If you thought rules and regulations were fun, just wait until you hear about our liability policy! Drone insurance is not required by law, so some drone pilots opt to skip the registrations and insurance. At UNF, we feel it’s best to play it safe–literally. Drone safety is no joking matter. When interviewing your next videographer, consider asking them if they are registered with the FAA to fly a commercial drone and carry drone insurance, the answer may surprise you.

Anatomy of a Drone . . . And Potential Risk to Your Anatomy

So what happens if you don’t do all of that? What’s the big deal? Drones—though small and sometimes even cute—are dangerous. They can easily damage any of your favorite nouns–including people, places, and things. That includes small children, and even puppies!

Most drones have at least 4 rotors made of inflexible material that move around 9000 rotations per minute—that’s 6000 rotations per minute more than a car tire at 60mph, and 2000 rotations per minute faster than your average weed whacker (or “weed whip” if you’re one of those people). The point being: drone rotors move FAST. You definitely want to keep your fingers clear at all times.

Here’s another thing drone pilots need to be aware of: weather. If you’ve ever flown commercially, you know about turbulence and how a headwind can lengthen flights, or even ground planes. Unfortunately, drones are not impervious to weather. As a small aircraft, smaller drafts can cause drones to drift, which an well-trained drone pilot will be able to correct. An unfortunate gust of wind could drag a drone out of range, or even cause it to drop—and they drop a lot more like a ton of bricks than a ton of feathers.

TL: DR, You’ve gotta be CAREFUL with drones, especially the larger, commercial drones, such as those used to shoot high-quality video. To keep all of our favorite people, places, and things (namely: you) safe, we opt to get our pilots certified, registered, and insured to the max.

So Then. . . Why Drone Videography?

With the registration and insurance needs, the potential for fines, the dangerous machinery, and other odd hoops to jump through, why bother with drone videography at all?

Answer: because drone videography is AWESOME. Whether you’re selling a car, marketing a newly listed home, recording an epic climb up the face of a mountain, or even a sweet moment at the altar, a drone will make your video soar. “Shot on an iPhone” may be cool, but “shot by drone” is definitely way cooler (trust us).

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Reading this article, we guess you’re probably thinking you don’t want to fly a heavier-than-a-sweet-potato commercial drone any time soon. But that’s where we come in. With our team of highly qualified and insured drone pilots, you can have all the beauty and majesty of a well-executed drone shot, without any of the liability. No need to hang onto your hat and pray a gust of wind doesn’t come through–leave that to the professionals . . . Us! Message us to speak with an FAA Certified Drone Pilot today.