You’ve had the house renovated. A professional has staged your home to make it look like a modern stately mansion, and now it’s time to capture it on film. And the latest trend in home photography includes the use of drones to capture the perfect image for real estate promotional material.
“I’m surprised more people aren’t interested in this,” said Laura Weinstein, the owner of Brightside Films. “It’s really bubbling. You have no idea. It’s actually quite competitive now.”
A flood of businesses has popped up to provide video-from-drone services. The footage is being used for everything from insurance to construction to sales. It’s just now catching on in a big way.
“The uptake has gone from, ‘What is this?’ to ‘I can’t afford it’ to ‘This is interesting.’ Now they’re calling us,” said Weinstein. This weekend the company has two real estate shoots. One session is to get shots of downtown Oakville. The interior of the home being sold will be shot this winter when the renovations are done. But the outdoor drone shots are being done now. Drone-based aerial footage has become standard for a certain demographic.
“Older agents don’t think it’s necessary. But for an epic property that you want to show off, the younger generation is getting this done,” said Weinstein. “It’s really exciting for me as a lover of video. We’re doing shots that were never possible before. These are shots that you can’t get with a helicopter. You can fly in as close as you want. You can do ground-level video with a drone. This opens up all kinds of new possibilities.”
The standard right now is a “flyover and spin around” shot that shows off the whole home and how it sits on the property. More affordable drones have opened up the field to amateurs (or at least to those who want to spend $3,000 on the low-end models). But there is still experience needed in terms of the piloting of the drone and the filming.
The last few years have been a bit of a Wild West for drone operators. Filming could happen anywhere. That is changing. Transport Canada requires that drone operators notify them of flights in certain areas. Information about the type of drone and the location has to be provided. Approval can take up to 20 days.
“It seems all shots around downtown need to have a licence. That can be expensive. There can be fines if you don’t follow the regulations. The legal concerns are getting bigger and more complex. I can guarantee you, it’s going to be worse a year from now. It’s going to get strict,” said Weinstein.
Rural locations are still relatively easy to shoot.
For those keeping score, the next level of drone footage is already here: digital mapping. The drone flies around a property to film it. The footage is combined with GPS data. A program models the buildings in digital 3D. It’s expensive right now. “But that’s the next big thing,” said Weinstein.
