Numerous companies are exhibiting cameras mounted on drones this weekend at Cine Gear Expo, amid news that use of these unmanned aircrafts for production in U.S. airspace might soon be legal.
Currently, in order to conduct a commercial operation (such as filmmaking) with an a drone, users need a certified aircraft, licensed pilot and FAA approval. But earlier this week, the FAA said it would consider a request by seven aerial production companies for a regulatory exemption to allow for the domestic use of these systems for filming.
“It’s amazing news,” Willis Chung of drone maker DJI said as Cine Gear got underway Friday afternoon at the Studios at Paramount. “[Expo attendees] are asking a lot of questions [about the technology.]”
The seven production companies that made the request to the FAA — some of which are at Cine Gear — include Aerial MOB, Astraeus Aerial, Flying-Cam, HeliVideo Productions, Pictorvision, Vortex, and Snaproll. A representative of one of these companies declined to comment on the topic while the request is under review.
Cine Gear is an annual camera equipment exhibition and event that attracts thousands who want to check out the latest production gear, catch up with colleagues and discuss the latest trends.
Among those trends is some growing interest in high dynamic range, which effectively means a wider range between the darkest and brightest colors that can be reproduced on a display. Prototypes of Dolby’s reference monitor with support for its HDR Dolby Vision format were being used at the Cine Gear exhibit stands of Arri and Codex.
“There’s interest from the studios and creative community to create better pixels, not just more pixels, and support high dynamic range,” said Arri’s president and CEO Glenn Kennel. “I think it’s the right way to go from a creative standpoint and also to make the content more impactful for the consumer.” At Cine Gear, Arri was showing live demonstrations of Arri Alexa camera footage displayed on the prototype Dolby monitor.
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Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com
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