Aerial video production
An aerial unit that shows up with the paperwork done, takes direction, and hands over usable footage the same night. Half-day $850, full shoot day $1,800 — licensed, insured, and cleared for the airspace before your date is locked.
What the aerial unit delivers
Most of these replace a piece of equipment that costs more and takes longer to set up.
Establishers
The opening frame — skyline, ranch, plant, coastline. What used to need a helicopter and a half-day of insurance calls.
Reveals
Rise over a ridge or roofline to disclose the scene. One continuous move instead of a crane, a dolly, and a cut.
Crane and jib moves
Low-altitude push-ins and rises that would otherwise mean a technocrane, an operator, and a day of setup.
Tracking and action
Vehicles, horses, runners, boats. Matched speed, repeatable takes, no camera car in frame.
Top-down
The overhead frame nothing else gets — patterns, geometry, scale. A signature look for titles and transitions.
Night exteriors
A floodlight-equipped aircraft doubles as a moving key or fill — a light source that repositions between takes instead of a condor that doesn’t.
VFX plates & scouts
Clean, logged background plates for compositing, and pre-production location aerials that save the director a driving day.
Productions, agencies, and anyone with a deadline
- Film and television — second unit aerials, establishers, and pickups, working to the DP’s shot list
- Commercial and agency — brand spots, product and location work, multi-day bookings
- Corporate and industrial — plant and facility films, recruiting video, investor and safety footage
- Documentary — flexible scheduling, small footprint, comfortable in remote locations
- Events and weddings — ceremony and venue aerials with an edited cut
- Music video — including FPV-style moves where the shot calls for it
The paperwork is the differentiator
- COI the same day. $2M liability with your production named as additional insured; higher limits on request. Tell us the requirement and we confirm before the date is locked.
- Airspace handled before call time. LAANC clearance for controlled airspace around Austin, San Antonio, Houston and DFW, filed in advance — not argued about on the day.
- Straight answers about what’s flyable. At bid time you get three lists: shots that are cleared, shots that need a waiver and lead time, and shots we won’t fly. Nobody discovers a problem at call time.
- Footage the same night. Camera original handed off on set or uploaded before we sleep. Graded selects within two business days when it’s in scope.
Published, like everything else we sell
Half day — $850
Up to 4 hours on location. Location scouting, corporate B-roll, single-setup work. Camera original delivered same night.
Shoot day — $1,800
Up to 10 hours, pilot and aircraft as part of your crew, working to the shot list. Multi-day and weekly rates lower per day.
Event film — $900
Weddings and events: ceremony and venue aerials plus a short edited cut in horizontal and vertical.
Commercial and multi-day productions from $3,200 — send the shot list and we’ll quote it. Travel beyond 60 miles of Austin is billed per the pricing page.
Production questions
Can you provide a certificate of insurance for our production?
Yes — $2M liability with the production company named as additional insured, usually issued same day. Higher limits are available on request; tell us what your production requires and we’ll confirm before the shoot date is locked.
Can you fly over cast and crew?
Only under the correct FAA authorization. Flight over people requires either an aircraft that meets the Part 107 operations-over-people categories or a waiver for closed-set filming. We tell you plainly at bid time which shots are cleared, which need a waiver and lead time, and which we won’t fly. An operator who says yes to everything is telling you they don’t know the rules.
How fast do we get the footage?
Camera original files handed off on set or uploaded the same night. A graded selects reel follows within two business days when it’s part of the scope.
Do you work as part of an existing crew?
Yes. We take direction from the DP or director, work to the shot list, and stay out of the way between setups. Most of our production work is as the aerial unit inside somebody else’s crew.
Can you shoot at night?
Yes, and we carry the light. The aircraft is equipped with anti-collision lighting for legal night operation and a mounted floodlight, so a drone can work as a moving key or fill for night exteriors — a source that repositions between takes instead of a condor that takes an hour to move. Tell us at bid time so we can plan the power and the passes.
Send us the dates
Tell us the location and the shot list; you’ll get a firm quote and an airspace read the same day.
Check a shoot date