Despite that one time a falling camera drone almost landed on a downhill skier mid-race, drones are becoming a go-to tool for filmmakers and cinematographers. And as the technology continues to develop, so does the potential for creative projects harnessing the power of aerial cameras. Now, one movie has been completely shot with the use of drones, and, as well as that, has drones and UAV technology as its central theme.
In the Robot Skies is a film written by Tim Maughan and directed by architect Liam Young, and is set in a futuristic London where drones rule the skies and keep the population in order. On top of being exclusively shot with drones developed in Belgium, drones are the subject of a film that aims to explore them, “not just as a new instrument of visual story telling but also as the catalyst for a new collection of urban sub cultures.”
The synopsis reads:
In the way the New York subway car of the 80’s gave birth to a youth culture of wild style graffiti and hip hop the age of ubiquitous drones as smart city infrastructure will create a new network of surveillance activists and drone hackers. From the eyes of the drones we see two teenagers each held by police order within the digital confines of their own council estate tower block in London. A network of drones survey the council estates, as a roving flock off cctv cameras and our two characters are kept apart by this autonomous aerial infrastructure. We watch as they pass notes to each other via their own hacked and decorated drone, like kids in an old fashioned classroom, scribbling messages with biro on paper, balling it up and stowing it in their drones. In this near future city drones form both agents of state surveillance but also become co-opted as the aerial vehicles through which two teens fall in love.”
The London premiere is scheduled for October 8th, alongside a live performance by the film’s music composer and producer Forest Swords.
Malek Murison is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for tech trends and innovation. He handles product reviews, major releases and keeps an eye on the enthusiast market for DroneLife.
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