Take Your Business To New Heights With Drone Storytelling
Drones are changing the way we capture the world. And brands across industries, including travel, auto, food and beverage, and real estate, are increasingly seeing the value of using drone footage to enhance their video marketing strategy. We have rounded up some of the top ways Storyhunter freelancers are creatively using drone photography and videography to elevate their storytelling.
Wineries: Duckhorn Vineyards
Duckhorn Winery, part of the Duckhorn Portfolio, is a distinguished winery in Napa Valley, California, specializing in Merlot wines. Duckhorn wanted to create a brand video to promote its 2018 vintage. The company discovered and hired documentary DP Tri Nguyen through Storyhunter, who filmed scenic drone shots of the vineyard using DJI Mavic 2 Pro. “Drone video does a great job establishing the location of the story and sets the stage for the rest of the video,” Tri told us. “It adds a WOW factor.” He said the client was “thrilled” with the drone footage. “I was able to show off their gorgeous property and weave it into the story,” he added.
Auto: Mini USA
Aaron Fedor is a DP and one of the top drone operators in the Storyhunter network. He filmed this 30-second spot for Mini USA. So, how did aerial drone shots enhance the piece? “It gave the ability to show the cars from an overhead angle. It makes the car look more heroic from a bird’s eye point of view,” Aaron said. “Drones give a heroic soaring epic worldly perspective to any video and a unique angle, which is impossible to get in any other way.” Last year during the initial coronavirus lockdowns in New York, he filmed “NY Paused” for Voice of America, which won an award at the Airvuz NY Drone Festival 2020.
Hospitality: InterContinental Hotels
Oytun Orgul is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in Istanbul, Turkey, who created this promotional video for the InterContinental Hotel. “Rather than the hotel, we wanted the video to be more about Istanbul,” Oytun told us. “Our customer wanted us to emphasize the city. And as Istanbul is a metropolis situated on two continents, the best way to showcase it is to show it from the top.” Oytun’s team used a DJI Inspire 2 with an X5 camera to capture the impressive visuals. “Some brand videos require us to cover a large area. Filming the video only from land may not be enough to create a visually impressive film. InterContinental was one of those films,” he said. “We used a drone to film large architectural works, the Bosphorus and the city skyline, which added an enriched view to the story we wanted to create.”
Real Estate: Inmobiliaria Propiedades
Mexico-based filmmaker Josef Rios shot this video for Inmobiliaria Propiedades, a real estate company in San Juan Del Rio, Mexico, that hired him to showcase a land up for sale. Josef told us the company “wanted something fresh to captivate potential clients.” He used a DJI Phantom 3 SE drone to capture the range of activities people can enjoy on the acreage. The drone footage served to accentuate the scenery in a way that would not have been possible with on-the-ground shots. “The client absolutely loved the clip and especially the drone shots,” Josef said.
Educational Services: Duke University
Chris Allen was the DP and drone operator for this short film showcasing the Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement (ACE) program, a collaboration between Duke and Stanford University. Duke University, a Storyhunter client, wanted a video that offered a “glimpse into the ACE summer service experience.” Duke University students traveled to Cape Town to participate in two main projects: a sports camp for South African youth and a greenhouse construction project at a local pre-school. The locals in the videos were minors, so Chris had strict filming guidelines that did not allow them to show faces in full view. Chris and his team used a DJI Phantom 4 drone to capture the activities that offered not only a solution but also a “unique perspective,” Chris said.
The opening is a cinematic montage that incorporates aerial and on-the-ground shots. The drone footage sets the scene and gives context to the piece, and the other shots provide a sense of intimacy.
Ready to boost your video storytelling? Hire a Storyhunter freelancer or production company here.
By Shivan Sarna, Head of Stories
