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- Opening montage was captured with two awesome
low budget filmmaker tools,
a drone and a 360 action camera.
So today I wanted to share my opinion
on which tool you should get next.
One of the most commonly asked questions
I've recently been getting is,
Jake, I've got an action camera,
I wanna get a 360 camera or should I get a drone?
So today I wanted to run you through some of my thoughts
and feelings towards which tool would best equip you
as a low budget filmmaker,
or someone who wants to make a travel film
or just improve your vacation content.
- Are you out of breath?
(both laugh)
We are hiking today.
We are in Sicily, which is?
- The Southern most Island in the Mediterranean.
- The biggest Island in the Mediterranean but close.
- Close.
- We are close and we're in the South Eastern part of it.
- And it is such a beautiful day that we thought,
why the heck would we sit down inside
and put on dumb lights and have these fluro lights
in the background and be like, yo, today i'm (laughs).
"In my studio", this is my studio.
- We're outside, we're living it.
Let's do it.
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Cutting to the chase and letting you know
how I came to both of these technologies.
I purchased a DJI Phantom 4 back in 2016.
So that was obviously my progression
as a low budget filmmaker.
Now that's because circumstantially at the time
you couldn't get a 360 camera that was affordable,
the technology just wasn't where it is at today.
Back then you could rig up six GoPros
and render them together in some kind of software.
It was a whole crazy workflow that I just wasn't really
that interested in.
So I got a drone.
But today the technology is far more user-friendly,
the user experience has come miles, it's come so far.
The technology has improved year on year
and it's at the point where it's so easy
to create awesome 360 content.
So I think one of the questions you should ask yourself
is what perspective are you trying to capture?
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Alright. So the first kind of talking point
that I should raise is price point.
Now this is something that I'm going to rule out
because I feel like both of these tools
come in at roughly the same price.
Like I did a quick Google search
before I came out on this hike.
And I saw you can get a DJI Mavic mini for about 480,
that's like a Fly More Combo, which gives you batteries,
like two extra batteries, propellers
the whole kit-n-caboodle.
It gives you everything, everything that you need
to have a pretty decent tool to come out
and capture awesome content.
And then an action camera,
I saw the one that I've been shooting on,
a 360 camera sorry.
It's about 480 and that's also an action camera.
So if you were to get like a GoPro max
or Insta360 ONE R,
these cameras are roughly the same price point.
Plus if you were pretty thrifty, you could also go
onto something like Craigslist or Gumtree
if you're Australian and find these tools secondhand
which would drastically reduce the cost of these products.
One of the downsides to having a drone,
is the fact that it does require some form of app
or I think it's RTI, some kind of remote connection
between the controller and the camera.
So if you are looking to capture a location that
doesn't have great internet or wifi or you're going remote,
a 360 camera is probably a better option or just prepare
yourself and make sure that you've got the app
and all the tech set up before you go to this places.
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Using a 360 camera as a regular action camera
has its purpose, but it certainly, it's not the main reason
why I think we as creators of filmmakers gravitate
towards this tool.
The main reason I believe is to emulate that big
bold establishing location shot,
like an opener to a travel film,
a shot which kind of gives you a view,
a perspective as to where you are.
And the best way that you can do that,
is to just increase the distance of the camera
to the subject or the destination.
So right now I have a 90 centimeters selfie stick,
and the perspective changes drastically.
Now the longer the selfie stick, the cooler the perspective.
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So back in 2016 when I first picked up my drone,
it was pretty easy to fly that thing in most places,
most open places five kilometers away from a airport,
all the regular rules that still apply today.
However, since 2016 drones have become more and more
affordable and popular that you pretty much can't go
to a tourist destination without seeing
someone with a drone.
And I think it's put a really negative spin
on just average consumers
or just people flying drones in general.
It's put this like, it's sort of like really ruined it
for people that did play by the rules.
Because I've been to so many beautiful tourist destinations
where knob jockeys literally get their drone out
and start flying it so close to people sitting in cafe,
like especially in Italy, that it just ruins it.
So if you are looking at getting a drone,
I will say, please abide by the rules and regulations.
I'm no saint, when I first got my drone,
I did not really thoroughly understand
what was acceptable like drone etiquette.
However, as more and more people come into the drone space
and they do start to come to beautiful
national parks like this,
the rules are just being broken, left, right and center.
I'm sure a lot of you guys have thought about that
or you've been to a beautiful location
a national park where someone is like annoying you
because they're just fricking flying their drone
without any thought or consideration of others.
So maybe that is an indicator that you're like,
I don't want to be that guy.
I'm going to take a 360 camera
and capture those wide angle shots with a 360 camera.
However, on the flip side, let's have a look at this place,
from the sky.
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Lets get Anna's take on what she thinks,
because I'm going to save my opinion
for the end of this video.
But she also has both, she's got a drone and a 360 camera.
So which one would you get next?
- Okay. So back when I was starting my creator journey
I upgraded first to a drone, so that was my decision.
But looking back, if I were to be an athlete
or someone who's really into mountain biking
or doing these intense sports,
I would definitely go with the 360 first,
because these sports don't really allow you to stop
and drone around.
So I think it comes to that as well,
as do you have the time to take away
from whatever activity you're doing to get the drone
out and get that drone content?
Or do you need to be immersed in the activity
you want to film the whole time?
And then I definitely recommend a 360 in that case.
So it's a give and take like everything.
But personally, I guess, drone for my profile,
you know, I'm not an athlete.
- Yeah. I think that's a really good point.
For people that do have the time to learn the skill
of being a drone pilot,
it does take a little bit of skill
to learn how to use this tool
in comparison to just say a 360 camera.
The 360 camera is an on-off button
and you wave a wand around and wella, the magic happens.
But with the drone, it does require that level of education
to know how to fly, to know how to get
those nice cinematic smooth shots.
So there's a skill involved in piloting
which could be something you're interested in learning in,
or if you don't have the time go with the 360 camera.
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So when it comes to photography with these tools,
Anna, what do you prefer?
Do you prefer to take photos with drones
or do you prefer to take 360 photos?
- A full disclaimer.
I don't think I've ever taken a photo with the 360 camera.
So definitely drone for me
because I love that very perspective.
I love how high it can get in how much, you know
how immersive it is in that sense
that you're getting such a different view of the landscape.
So for me, it's drones.
Yeah
- I would say that too.
And it's something that I haven't really touched
on much in this video and that is photography.
This video have mostly been talking about
using these tools for filmmaking or for capturing videos
but photography is a huge area that I love
and prefer to use a drone with.
I like the accuracy of having the ability
to frame up a shot, capturing top down,
not to say that you can't get incredible photos with.
- You can like the tiny earth perspective is so cool
but you know, it has a limit to it,
because it is sort of gimmicky in that sense.
- Yeah. Unique.
Let's not use the word gimmicky.
I think it's unique.
I think it's cool.
I think it's one of those things that it's just
personal preference comes down to what you prefer.
Alright. So taking all things into consideration,
like the legislation, that's great,
got a little bit more challenging with drones,
and the fact that maybe a 360 camera can get
into some national parks.
I still think the next tool that you should get
and what I would recommend getting
if you are looking at comparing either drone or a 360 camera
and you're like, both of these are cool.
My recommendation would be to get a drone
for the following reasons.
One, the perspectives you can get far more
incredible perspectives then in comparison to a 360 camera.
Like just the width,
like what I showed you here in this beautiful location
you can not capture that same bold, incredible landscape
without having a drone,
but do keep it in mind that when you are purchasing
something like a drone,
take those first couple of flights really easy.
Learn how to use the tool
and sort of familiarize yourself with the regulations.
There's a couple apps that I'll link in
the description of this video.
Basically you just log into the app,
you check the zoning and you see if it's okay to fly.
But other than that, that's my recommendation
is move into a really easy consumer affordable drone.
And then if you want to grow your toolkit even further
you could look at 360 content.
I hope you have enjoyed today's video
and this beautiful location here in Sicily.
If you have enjoyed the video,
punch the thumbs up button, share the love, share the stoke
and we'll see you guys in the next upload.
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