Microdrones Will Transform Low-Cost Videography
May 20 2008 / by Alvis Brigis
Category: Entertainment Year: General Rating: 3 Hot
Back when I lived in LA and worked on reality TV shows I would often ponder the future of low-cost video production (which is what enabled both the genre and the explosion of online video content) and imagine a variety of camera placements that would soon be enabled by new technologies. I was particularly excited about the potential for aerial drone cams that could follow characters in new ways, allow for low cost establishing shots and get to previously unreachable positions. And so I was psyched to come across this demo video of a hovering Microdrone camera that allows for all of the aforementioned:
Of course, it’s been around for about a year (yet another awesome
technology that I’ve missed at inception) and is already being used
for surveillance, exploration, television and more. It currently
runs about $40,000 U.S. but as it drops in cost I expect that
reality TV producers, documentarians, news producers and low-budget
movie producers across the globe will employ it to shoot previously
unthinkable footage. (cont.)
I can just imagine the tracking shots, shots of people in moving vehicles and on skateboards, shots of people climbing, etc. that will soon become feasible for videographers of all sorts. A moderately cheaper Microdrone will transform the way we capture local sporting events, gatherings, nature shots, and more.
Longer-term, when the prices drop more significantly, battery life increases, and size decreases, these cameras will enable more pervasive coverage of borders, war situations, entire swathes of territory, and so forth.
Eventually, it’s possible that we’ll each have the option to enlist a small swarm or cloud of micro-Microdrones at all times to lifelog and stream from a variety of angles.
Bring on the panopticon…
(via Impact Lab)
Comment Thread (1 Response)
-
Alvis:
Thanks for the video. The number of possible applications is both exciting and a little frightening. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the cost of the technology comes down and if the company can create new powers sources to keep the device afloat for a longer period of time.
Posted by: juldrich May 20, 2008
Vote for this comment - Recommend