Drones Bring to Life “Dead Inside” Music Video

Guest Post – Courtesy of DJI

Drones are becoming commonplace in the music video world, and typically capture aerial footage. But in filming the “Dead Inside” music video, a hit song from Muse’s Grammy-winning album Drones, producers turned to leading drone manufacturer DJI to achieve a different kind of creative vision. For their video, drones were featured on-screen carrying lights.
Muse used a custom-built DJI S1000 attached to a Ronin-M to create a flying lighting rig. The producers wanted precise lighting focused on the dancer in an otherwise dim environment. To get this effect, flashlights were attached to the gimbal, and the drone followed the action.
CineMilled took the lead in the development of this customized solution. The firm used two DJI S1000 octocopters with the new CineMilled Ronin-M adapter kits. While it wasn’t easy, Cinemilled got it done.

“We burned the midnight oil and had a few late nights. The result? Two S1000s flying Ronin-M shooting on Panasonic GH4 with huge flashlights attached to the gimbals….indoors.” The results were spectacular.

Muse is also typically known for experimenting with a variety of musical inspirations for their albums, but not this time around. Matt Bellamy, Muse’s front-man, states that when writing the Drones album, “Our intention was to go back to how we made music in the early stages of our career… when we were more like a standard three-piece rock band with guitar, bass and drums.”

The music video mirrored this mentality.  The band filmed on a simple set, yet portrayed a powerful message aided by the most innovative drone and stabilization technologies.

Image courtesy of @Cinemilled on Instagram

Drones won the Grammy for Best Rock Album of 2016. Immense talent, a strong vision, and integration of custom technology were key factors in making their dream a reality. Muse continues to set high standards – combining inventive storytelling with cutting-edge technology.