Challenges for an Aerial Cinematographer and Aerial Filming Services

Aerial footage can turn a regular video into an outstanding one. If you have watched videos containing aerial shots, you will have noticed how beautiful scenes can look when shot from an aircraft. However, aerial filming is not as easy as it sounds. The videos or pictures are shot from a helicopter, which contains cutting-edge equipment capable of shooting high-quality images, so the overall filming process is quite complex.

An aerial cinematographer faces plenty of challenges in delivering world-class footage. From managing a team to understanding client requirements, there is a lot that goes into shooting successful elevated videos. However, with the right service provider, it can be a hassle-free and cost-effective experience.

Let’s take a sneak peek into the challenges a birds-eye cinematographer faces while providing aerial filming services.

Understanding The Client’s Needs
The initial challenge is to understand what the client needs. Unlike regular filming, helicopter shots are more complex and sometimes there is no chance of a retake. So, the cinematographer has to get the right shot on the first attempt. It all depends on how well the client communicates their ideas with the cinematographer. Both the cinematographer and the client go through every aspect of the shots well before getting in the air. The best service providers conduct several interactive sessions to ensure all the details of filming are discussed, covered and approved. However, sometimes no matter how well the communication goes, there are still chances of communication gaps and that’s one of the biggest challenges for an elevated filming cinematographer.

Communication With The helicopter Pilot
Once the cinematographer has a clear idea about the project and the required elevated shots, the next task is to communicate the idea with the helicopter pilot. A helicopter film pilot is an aircraft pilot with special training dedicated to cinematography. Unlike regular flying, helicopter filming requires a wide range of abilities and skills. So, the communication between the aerial cinematographer and the helicopter film pilot is much more technical. The cinematographer will discuss the required shots, angles and the altitude required for filming. Any miscommunication in this area can cause mistakes in the filming and create huge losses in time and money. This is why helicopter filming services need to have a highly experienced and skilled cinematographer and helicopter film pilot.

Understanding The Equipment
Aerial shots require highly sophisticated cameras and other filming equipment, it requires a broad-spectrum set-up and a team sufficiently skilled to handle it all. A birds-eye filming expert must also keep across the latest technology developments and cinematography trends, in order to provide the best service to meet a client’s requirements. If the team includes photographers and camera technicians, a director is required to manage the crew and communicate the key features of the project to everyone and keep the filming on track, on time and on budget.

Weather Conditions
For filming projects that require high-altitude shooting, there are several other challenges as well. For instance, weather and overall conditions play a key role in ensuring safety for the crew and top-quality filming for the client. The pilot and the cinematographer must plan the flight in advance and make sure that the weather is favourable for filming the particular shots. Any miscalculation here can potentially result in major accidents and life-threatening scenarios. Therefore, this is one of the most important and challenging aspects of aerial filming.

How Do Helicopter Filming Services Work?
The most experienced service providers in the industry understand the challenges and client requirements very well. Therefore, they ensure that they have a highly talented group of people handling the project. With the guidance and management of a skilled cinematographer, the entire unit performs in a highly professional manner, ensuring smooth filming that aligns perfectly with the client’s needs. Experienced helicopter filming services maintain world-class video quality and overall cinematography to ensure production-ready results.

This is why the top service providers are capable of offering aerial filming services for a wide range of projects such as:

✔ TV commercials
✔ Live Sports Broadcasting
✔ Streaming Channels
✔ Movies
✔ Independent content creators

Clearly, the right service provider that has sufficient experience, the best equipment and a knowledgeable crew makes a huge difference when it comes to aerial filming. It smooths the entire filming process and saves time and money for both parties.

When it comes to professionals, Rotor Head is one of the best in the industry. We are approved CASA Helicopter Filming specialists and offer our clients world-class, affordable and experienced staff and services. So, if you have an aerial filming project in mind, contact us to find out how we can bring your project to life. We are a one stop shop for all your aerial filming needs, speak with your knowledgeable team and experience our outstanding service.