Drone videos are on the rise! Right now, a drone video is one of the most popular tools for videographers. This is the result of the appearance of high-quality, reasonably priced drone cameras. Furthermore, there is an obvious appeal to a drone video which makes people want more and more. With a drone, you can shoot incredibly unique shoots. This results in very powerful footage. If you want to shoot amazing drone videos, then you must learn how to edit drone footage.
In this article you will learn about some simple tips to boost the quality of your drone videos. Stick around and you will see some amazing techniques!
7 awesome techniques for drone video editing
Even though the visuals captured with drones are amazing to watch by themselves, a real drone video needs editing, lots of it. Knowing how to edit drone footageis essential, but if you want to make this part easier, then you need to get excellent footage. Additionally, you need to make sure that the images captured by your drone are all connected! Yes, telling a story is the number one priority. Here are seven simple techniques that I like to use when editing drone footage:
- Stutter Cut: Make sure that your drone can capture Ultra HD and 4K video. When you take this footage and add it to a standard high-definition timeline with 1920×1080 settings, you will get a lot of image space to work with. This extra space allows you to apply what professionals call a ‘stutter cut’. This mimics the sensation that you’re using multiple cameras. This technique is a great help when creating fast-paced edits.
- Know your flying modes:Some drones have an autopilot mode that you can manually configure. If you don’t know how to handle this, get help before you do something to regret. Imagine toying around with the autopilot mode without being able to easily switch back to manual mode, it’s a formula for disaster. Also, know if your unit flies in GPS. Knowing these flying modes can help you get smoother footage than if you fly manually. Nevertheless, the best is to know how to combine both manual and automatic modes.
- Speed Ramps: Once you’re in the air, it’s wise to capture as much footage as you can. But you need to control this since longer flight times can result in long video clips. Use speed and ramp effects to makes the best use of the footage and it keeps viewers plug in. This technique is great since it is similar to the way you’d apply slow and fast motion to non-drone footage. In simpler words, you can speed up the duration of long tracking shots and then slow the clip down when reaching something of interest.
- Use a gimbal and prop balancer:All drones come with gimbals, but most don’t come with prop balancers. If you’re looking for stable video footage, get both of these accessories.
- Hack your settings:Sometimes, the joystick can be overly sensitive. So, if you want a beautiful, slow, and smooth shot, you may need to consider tweaking your transmitter’s settings to make your joystick much less sensitive.
- Own the shot:Think about the shot that you want to take. Ideally, your flight path and video recording start well before your shot, and they are supposed to end well after. This is called flying through the shot. This makes sure that you have enough room on either end of the shot to edit. Your worst nightmare is not having room to edit.
- Avoid the natural elements: First things first, don’t shoot aerial videography into the sun. You need to avoid it since your propellers can cast shadows on your lens. Plus, if direct sunlight hits your lens, it can actually highlight dust accumulated during takeoff. Furthermore, you’ll want to pay attention to wind while flying. It is recommendable not to fly in wind greater than 15-20 knots since it will be tough to get smooth footage. Finally, flying during rain is not ideal. But, if you have an UAV system that’s been tested to perform in precipitation, you could try it.
And that’s it! Follow these 7 simple tricks and you will see the results. If you know how to edit drone footage, it shouldn’t be a problem to incorporate these tips. Plus, these will make your job so much easier in the end! To streamline your editing process and improve the overall quality of your drone videos, consider working with a skilled video editor who can utilize these techniques to realize the full potential of aerial footage.