How to Document a Construction Development Project with Drone Video

In today’s world, investors want to see and be a part of progress. There is no better way to document a commercial or residential construction project than with Drone photography and videography. Whether it’s updates along the way or a full project time-lapse at the end, drone video is not only functional but very impressive. We recommend taking the following steps to ensure the success of your commercial real estate project.

Step One: Hire a Professional Drone Pilot

Always make sure the the drone operator you are working with is FAA certified and carries liability insurance. Drone pilots must be FAA certified to record commercially and in some cases may need to pull special permits in order to shoot.

Step Two: Come Up With a detailed Plan

Decide what you would like to accomplish with the end footage. Do you want to show investors progress on a project? Do you want to use the footage for later marketing materials or promotional videos? Make sure you know how the final footage will be used before getting started.

Step 3: Plan the Shoot

Coordinate with your pilot and give the direction of what you are looking to see in the final product. Consider the lighting and time of day for your video. Do you want a sunset shoot or sunrise? Colors are most vibrant these times of day. Make sure and check the upcoming weather for the location a few days ahead of time so you can coordinate with your pilot and reschedule if necessary.

Step 4: Day or Night of the Shoot

Make sure and arrive on time so as to respect the time of your photographer and not get charged any additional rates or penalties. Sometimes you might not need to be present for the shoot but make sure and establish this in the previous step of planning.

Step 5: Coordinate Video Editing and File Transfer

Let your videographer know if you would like them to edit the raw photos and video or if you are handling it yourself. This will make a difference in price. Editing is additional billing hours, so make sure and have a rough idea of the amount of post-production effort will be needed to avoid any costly surprises in the end. Make sure and also have a plan for handing off the files. Get an outline of the timeframe for the delivery before signing off on the pricing.

Most of the time files are transferred to the client via a cloud storage service like Dropbox, or Google Drive. Alternatively some projects are uploaded directly to social media sites like YouTube or Instagram as the final delivery. Be sure and plan for this in Step 3.

In Conclusion

‘Have a plan, and work your plan’, as they say. Sticking to the plan is the best way to keep your project on budget and on time. Adjustments can be made of course, but also make sure and always make adjustments to your expectations as well.