Yesterday Scott Vivian of Drone it Texas posed 8 questions you need to ask before hiring a drone company to film your billboards.  Today Vivian talks about drone filming costs and challenges.

What does it cost to hire a drone company to video boards.

Cost for a good video shoot including backend postproduction and editing can cost between $350 to $700 per face. A billboard company may want to consider an annual package of 40 to 50 faces to bring the price per face down. The drone footage can be sold into the buy as an up-sell to the advertiser. There are also proof of performance (POP) packages for digital billboards done once a week showing nice beauty shots. These can be given back to the agency or advertiser versus the “fish eye” camera POPs. Weekly, digital billboard POPs are provided in a raw, unedited format with pricing starting at $100 per advertiser/per face.

What are some problems which can complicate the process of filming a billboard.

• Weather is always a factor. You may want a drone done on a certain day – but the weather may dictate a no-go that day. High winds or inclement weather can prevent a drone from flying
• If a billboard is near a power line, this could cause interference with the GPS of the drone and could prohibit it from flying.
• No-fly zones, temporary flight restrictions (TFR) – the FAA issues these and pilots have to comply or risk losing their certificate and incurring a fine. Note – the billboard company can also incur a fine.
• Safety – there a several facets to this: (1) It must be safe to fly the area. For example, drones are not allowed to fly directly over people The pilot must have a safe/clear area to take off and land (2) There must be a safe flight path clear of obstacles (3) The pilot’s personal safety cannot be at risk
• Sometimes the final video really shows how bad of an area the billboard is in – so it is always best to give the pilot a few locations to choose from for more opportunities for better footage.
• Longitude and Latitude coordinates are always preferred and need to be provided along with a take down date of the copy.
• Turnaround time for the final product (photo/video) can take up to a week.

Tell us about the Outfront media video shoot for Devils River Whiskey.

This was our very first billboard shoot. We chose two locations to have a better shot of getting good footage. One location was near an empty field and had a nice open area to film in. Safety is everything and the wind was perfect that day. Unfortunately, the sun did not want to cooperate – so it was a little grey. We added some fun rockabilly music to the video to give it a personality all its own. This was a pro bono job just to get experience under our belt.  You can see the finished product here.

To learn more about drones and billboards contact Scott Vivian Drone it Texas / Drone It Network 469-569-4160 svivian@DroneItTexas.com

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