Drones aren’t just ideal for creating shots in larger, big-budget films. In TV productions, UAVs are being used for everything from car commercials to news programs to televised sports.

They are generally becoming a permanent addition to aerial filmmakers’ toolboxes, agility and low cost.

They are also safer than traditional methods for capturing the perfect aerial shot, enabling those tough and traditionally expensive shots to get easier.

TV producers can now create more distinctive footage because drones can go where manned aircraft can’t—dropping down into narrow spaces such as alley ways or canyons or even flying through doors and windows.

The great benefits of drone technology in filmmaking can be augmented even further with operational intelligence (OI). Pre- and post-production planning native to OI applications for UAVs, including incorporating weather forecasts, maps and topography of the local area and other data, can help directors and producers make sure filming goes off without a hitch.

Using drones on set can dramatically reduce delays. This is because other film equipment, like large camera cranes and dollies on tracks, usually takes up a lot of time moving and setting up.

More hours will be needed if helicopters are to be used for aerial shots. But if film crews used drones instead, setups won’t take as long and the production day could move faster.

Drone technology has provided versatile options for filmmakers to create intense, high-level action sequences. Consider the opening sequence in Skyfall.

Drones provide amateur and professional filmmakers alike with a wider variety of angles, shots, and images than any other type of camera before. They are lightweight and easy to operate, and filmmakers of all levels are therefore able to use a drone in their work.

Artists are limited only by the range and size of their drones, making it possible to capture images that a human camera operator would never be able to make.