The Setup…
While filming qualifying for the 50th anniversary of the Baja 1000 in 2017 we were required to coordinate the use of multiple drone pilots to capture the racing event from different angles. The event coordinator wanted to have a total of 3 drones flying at all times with a 4th FPV drone that was equipped with a GoPro Session camera for certain “guest” appearances. The venue was small which made line of sight easier but made drone separation tight. The other pilots were flying FPV with no dedicated camera operators so they were constrained to fighting for a rear chase angle amongst themselves.
The Strategy….
After coordinating with the other drone pilots we decided to use different height levels to create separation between the drones. Watching the camera rehearsal of the other drone pilots revealed that the rear chase shot was redundant and 2 dimensional. We had the advantage of a dedicated drone pilot and drone camera operator which allowed us to vary our angles to forward chase and profile. We could achieve lower altitudes to get level with the trucks in the berms and jumps creating more dynamic shots. In coordinating with the other pilots we decided that one drone would get complete venue coverage while doing a large circular pattern at about 150ft. This is a great position for a single drone operator, it does not require obstacle avoidance and is a low risk operation. We then agreed to set one drone at about 50ft doing a standard rear chase. Our drone was set to be as low and close as possible, usually between 5-30ft off the ground and the truck. The FPV drone was tough to deal with as it had no lights, was very fast and close to the action. Since the FPV drone was only present for short durations and always in the rear chase angle we just adjusted to a forward quarter chase shot when it was present.
How Did We Do?
After flying for 6hrs basically non-stop we could walk away from the event not having a single accident between the drones. For our motorsports projects we use the DJI Inspire 2 drone with an X5S camera. This aircraft is extremely fast and agile and is our drone of choice for any motorsport project. If properly planned in advance, flying with multiple drones in a joint operation can be safely accomplished.
