Robert McIntosh has posted up this fantastic video showing that you can get very impressive results even using a very small and cost effective drone. Rise & Shine was shot using a $120 ZMR 250 ARF Quadcopter CC3D Kit, a $5 Mobius ActionCam Pan and Tilt Mount, and a GoPro Hero4 black.
The GoPro Hero4 Black was set at 1440p 60fps Protune, sharpening on low, 5500k white balance, with the exposure compensation at -2. Robert is quick to point out that the video would have been impossible to do with a normal sized drone. Despite the relative simplicity of the set up, there is no doubt that a lot of the credit has to go to the piloting of the drone.
The above video shows the same shot before any post stabilisation was applied. Robert used a program called ReelSteady, which is a video stabilisation program built specifically for use in After Effects. ReelSteady includes presets for GoPro cameras and also allows you to load and save presets for all of your camera/lens combinations. You will have to spend $399 to purchase ReelSteady and I am sure it takes some time to get all the stabilisation settings just right, but it seems to do a remarkable job on Robert’s footage.
Robert has also posted up a nice video showing his Mini Cinema Copter set up. It is quite amazing to see what you can achieve with a DIY copter and the right sort of post stabilisation.
