Drones With Cameras: A Billion-Dollar Business?

from CNBC.com

Drones are controversial—and they haven’t even been regulated yet—but for one former Marine, they’re already bringing in some big bucks.
A few years ago, on a whim, Patrick Smith attached a GoPro camera to a Styrofoam airplane. When he later reviewed the footage, he realized the vast potential for these flying machines.

“I was blown away! I was like, ‘This is aerial photography without having to hire or pay for a real airplane,'” said Smith, the founder and CEO of Aerial Media Pros, which makes remote-controlled drones that can carry a wide array of cameras.

It took him a little while to get it right. At first, his footage was shaky, but after he figured out a way to steady the shot by creating a mount capable of stabilizing the camera, keeping it level regardless of how the drone moved, his business was cleared for takeoff.

Staying true to his roots, Smith has made sure to recruit veterans. Of the 12 people that he currently employs, two are former Marines.

Smith sells his rigs for anywhere from $700 on the low end to $20,000 to $30,000. That may seem expensive at first glance, but when you consider production companies were paying $5,000 to $10,000 an hour to rent planes to film the same type of footage he was able to capture with his drones, it makes sense.

Major production companies are using his high-end drones that can safely carry cinema-quality cameras. They have been used to shoot feature-length films, including “Tracers” starring Taylor Lautner, and “Ride,” starring Helen Hunt and Luke Wilson, both of which are expected to come out later this year.

Tonaci Tran, an aerial cinematographer who has worked on dozens of independent films, says he trusts these drones to carry his $30,000 cameras through the air, and the technology has helped his business.

“This has allowed us to provide services that would normally require a big helicopter,” Tran said. “At a lower price point and lower altitude, we can provide compelling shots that a lot of directors and agencies like.”

It’s not just Hollywood—large Fortune 500 corporations are using Smith’s equipment as well. Smith says Google plans to use his drones to shoot aerial video of the Seven Wonders of the World so it can update Google Maps. Also Elon Musk’s Space X used one of his drones to capture footage of its Grasshopper rocket taking off.

He’s also sold drones to Deere. The farming-equipment maker has been using Smith’s equipment to test drone use for crop regulation. Smith says farmers already have benefited significantly from his drones.

“They can see where the crop is getting water, where it needs to have attention put into it and it can help them nourish the crop a lot better… they literally say it saves them thousands of dollars.”

The drones are used in a variety of other professions: Hunters use the equipment to check their traps. Police use them for search and rescue. Real estate agents use them to give potential buyers a 360-view of a listing.

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