Back in January of this year, our team took part in the production of a BIG music video for BTS (a.k.a. the Bangtan Boys), a seven-member group out of South Korea that has taken the world by storm since they first formed in 2010.
This music video, shot at various locations throughout Southern California, sure surprised the heck out of our Chief Pilot Alex Kavanagh, as it more resembled Scotland or Ireland in autumn with the dramatic rolling green hills. A fantastic memory and scene.
You know you’re working on a BIG one when you have two full scout days prior to shooting!
Location scouting is an essential part of production and really helps us drone pilots assess the flying area, check for hazards, carry out test flights, and even give the director sample shots so he can get a better understanding of the perspective leading up to the shoot day.
This was our first time shooting at this beautiful location and I’m sure it won’t be our last.
In regards to permitting and airspace waivers at these two locations, Loc A was Class-G airspace and located on a private preserve with the permits being taken care of by the locations manager and by the production company. Loc B was on private property and again in Class-G airspace with no waivers needed to fly. A perfect scenario!
Our two shots in this music video are at :52 seconds and :59 seconds, which you can easily tell are all drone as opposed to helicopter. There were plans for more drone shots as per the original storyboard, but as can happen with any production, circumstances out of our control became an issue and the drone would have to be repurposed. It pays to be flexible and encouraging when working in time-crunch scenarios.
For all of you gearheads out there wondering what #dronegear we used on this shoot, it was the DJI inspire 2 X7 using the 24mm and 35mm lens, paired with the Tiffen NATural ND filter line.
We’re incredibly grateful to have worked on such a massive music video for BTS and thank the production company for having us on this one. With over 144 million views it’s great to see it doing so well!