It’s a fact that drone footage can make highlight videos for events much more interesting to watch and shareable than regular ground footage can.
It can show the venue, the crowd and the movement of the event from a much wider and higher view, and makes the footage much more attractive.
Aerial video can capture shots that ground cameras usually cannot, and when those shots are planned well, the final video looks and feels much more professional and complete.
It gives editors more good footage to work with too and helps the viewers better understand what the event actually looked like and how everyone felt.
For example this event was highlighted with the use of drone photography services for the delivery of the Super-yacht Utopia in Newport, Rhode Island.
This matters for event organizers because aerial highlighted videos are generally used after the event for marketing, social media, websites and future promotions.
Drone Footage vs Only Ground Footage
Ground footage is still essential for event videos but aerial footage is needed too. It’s the mix of the two that make the difference.
Ground footage is good for showing people close up, minor details, people’s reactions and close-up moments.
Aerial drone footage however fills in the wider view from a few meters to 500 ft above.
It can show where the event took place, how the space was used, how many people were there, traffic, fireworks, the home run hit and the overall vibe of the entire celebration.
Aerial Footage Shows the Full Setting
Aerial drone footage can capture clips of an event before the it starts, while it’s active and after it wraps up. They can show the entrance, parking, seating, booths, stage area, and crowd flow.
It makes the footage more interesting and helps viewers understand the setting much faster from one aerial shot than from several close-up clips.
Aerial footage is the most useful for events like fairs, sports events, corporate events, festivals and community gatherings on large properties or open grounds. The wider the view, the better the context compared to what standard footage usually misses.
It Makes Crowd Size and Activities Clearer
One of the hardest things to show from the ground is the overall scale of an event. The footage may look nice, but a drone can capture how busy the site was and how people moved through it. That helps to make the highlight-video look more accurate and more organized.
Aerial footage also helps when an event has several active areas at once like racing events or music festivals. Instead of showing one section at a time, the footage can show how everything worked together.
That kind of footage gives the final video more substance for the viewer to digest.
- Aerial shots show the size of the venue.
- They help show attendance and movement.
- They give viewers a clearer sense of the event layout.
- They can show how different parts of the event connected to each other.
- They help capture the overall atmosphere from a wider view.
How Aerial Drone Footage Helps the Final Edit
Drone footage is useful to video editors too because it gives them much more options to choose from versus only using simple ground footage.
It can be used at the start of the video, in between scenes, and at or near the end. That kind of control makes the video easier to structure and more interesting to follow.
As an example, this event made use of drone video services to capture an off-road event that was held at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford CT. If you watch the video below you’ll see how aerial footage optimized the entire presentation.
How Aerial Footage Creates Better Opening Shots
The first few seconds of a highlight video matter and is meant to keep the viewer engaged. Aerial footage can open the video with a clear view of the property, the setup, or the crowd arriving. That usually looks stronger than opening with a close-up shot that has no context.
For many event videos, the drone footage sets the scene right away. The viewer sees where the event is, how large it is, and what kind of atmosphere it had. That helps the rest of the video make more sense.
How Aerial Footage Helps With Scene Transitions
Event footage usually jumps back and forth and from one moment of the event to the next.
When you use aerial drone video, you can create segments that help connect those moments together. It can move the viewer from the entrance to the stage area, from the daytime crowd to the evening crowd, or from one part of the property to another – all within seconds.
Aerial footage also bridges wider parts of the event that would otherwise feel disconnected in the final edit. For example, it can take the viewer from vendor areas to seating sections, from parking and arrival scenes to the main event space, or from one side of the grounds to another without the feeling of abrupt change.
That makes the final edit look smoother and helps reduce the feeling that the video is made up of random clips.
A few well placed aerial shots will also improve pacing without making the video feel overproduced.
To summarize the benefits of aerial footage in event highlight videos:
- drone footage can open the video with a clear establishing aerial shot.
- it can connect different parts of the event with overview shots.
- it can help the video end on a clean wide aerial shot.
- it can help show the flow of people and activity across the venue.
- it can create smoother transitions between key moments.
- it can give viewers a better sense of the event’s overall setting and scale.
In the end, aerial transition shots help the reel look cleaner and more professionally put together. When those wider shots are used strategically, the finished video feels less choppy and more complete, and helps tie the whole event recap together.
Use a Professional to Capture Drone Coverage
Proper and professional drone footage depends on a lot of important elements including timing, planning and safe operation. A professional drone operator will not just put a drone in the air and and start recording whatever happens. The operator needs to know what shots are needed, what style is desired, the theme and overall feel of the event and when those shots should be captured.
Professionally Calculated Timing Matters
For example a drone photography professional is aware that some aerial shots work best before people arrive. Others shots work best during peak attendance. Some moments only happen once like crowd release, a stage opening, or a key movement on the grounds.
A professional drone operator with experience and background in video production, works in-depth with the production crew to plan around those moments and make sure the final product meets the production goals.
That means the footage is more likely to be useful in the final video and less time will be is wasted on shots that do not support the story.
Proper Safety and Site Awareness Matter
The opening event of Goethals Bridge in New Jersey was documented with drone photography and video services. In this case Photoflight created the project portfolio for Parsons Engineering.
Events can have tight spaces, people moving in many directions, nearby buildings, and changing weather and so forth.
It can be a very dynamic situation that calls for aerial safety laws to be considered.
A professional drone operator will create an extensive safety plan around the site and determine what works with the conditions instead of guessing on the spot.
This kind of planning leads to better footage and fewer problems during the event.
It will also help the organizers feel more confident about adding aerial coverage to the production plan.
Professional aerial drone services will:
- produce more usable footage through planned flights
- work around timing and site conditions more effectively
- help the final video look more polished
- capture important wide shots that support the story of the event
- improve the flow of the final highlight reel
- give editors more useful footage to work with
Drone Footage is Definitely Worth Considering for Your Next Event
Drone services help event highlight videos show the full setting, the scale and the movement of an event. And they help the editors build a cleaner video with better opening shots, better transitions, stronger wide views and much more professional looking.
If you are situated anywhere along the Eastern Coast and want your next event to contain aerial media, feel free to contact us to get started and experience the interesting future of marketing.