You might not see it now, but drones and other robotic tech will soon be a normal part of our everyday lives. According to Insider Intelligence, the drone services market size is expected to grow to $63.6 billion by 2025, and two of the industries where this growth will happen are media and telecommunications. Drones are starting to capture the interests of these markets because of how they are flexible and useful for companies in these industries.
Film Drones
When working behind the scenes on a film set, everyone knows that scenes are recorded on a camera that is being held by someone or attached to a robotic camera arm like the NINA camera robot. Now with the creation and popularity of camera drones, more drone shots could be incorporated into movies. While robot arms are effective when trying to film overhead shots, renting a camera robot arm is very expensive. The SoFlo Studio in Miami charges $3,000 to rent the camera for only 10 hours and has other requirements and fees to operate the camera.
Instead of paying a hefty price just to rent equipment, studios and indie filmmakers could look into using a drone for certain shots instead. Drones like the Mavic 3 Cine can record in 5.1k, has sensors to avoid crashing into objects, has a flight time of 46 minutes, and has a tele camera that can help the users zoom in on subjects. Another advantage drones have over camera robot arms is that they are smaller and can be used to film in areas with multiple obstacles like a forest or a narrow alleyway. The Mavic Cine 3 starts at $2,049 and can go up to $4,999 depending on what materials you want added to the product package. In the end, even though the drone can’t do everything a camera robot arm can, it can still achieve high aerial shots for a fraction of the price, and it will be a permanent addition to the user’s camera equipment, saving them money on renting equipment.
Drone Light Shows/ Advertising
Since 2019 drones have been utilized through drone light shows, where illuminated and choreographed groups of drones that arrange themselves into various aerial formations. The drones are controlled by a computer program that turns graphics into flight commands and communicates them to the drones. Each drone is used as a smaller piece to form one big image in the sky, almost like fireworks, but without noise and pyrotechnics.
Light shows have the potential to possibly replace fireworks in the future because they are more cost-effective and less disruptive. Instead of purchasing multiple fireworks for one night of the year, companies could rent out drones and use them for other events as well. I think drone light shows are more appealing than fireworks; they are new and exciting, plus I don’t have to cover my ears. But light shows can be used for more than just entertainment — they can be used for advertising purposes as well.
In a recently published article on our site, we talked about how the popular mobile game, Candy Crush, used LED light drones to advertise. This event took place in the skies above New York and required the use of 500 LED Drones. Seeing companies embrace this new version of advertising — like when State Farm used drones to celebrate the NBA 2022 Draft — could mean the beginning of the era of drone advertising. The more often this type of advertising is done, the more familiar consumers will become with the concept of having technology incorporated into their everyday lives.
Key Takeaways:
- The drone services market size is expected to grow to $63.6 billion by 2025.
- Camera drones are more travel and cost-friendly for creators than renting a camera robot arm.
- LED-equipped drones are the new rage for light shows in the night sky and can be used as a fun way to advertise.
