Having an Aerial View May be for the Better

More and more, events are utilizing drones to enhance experiences. A drone is a small machine that has the capability of flying in the air. Sometimes, they can have a camera attached to them or have the ability of carrying small objects -- if the drone is advanced enough, it can do both. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, can be controlled used a remote or point-to-point GPS. To see an example of the type of high-quality footage a drone can produce, watch the video below of video captured in 2016 by a YouTuber named "DroneOne Media".

According to Chris Stoddard, drones can be used to enhance the photography capabilities at events such as weddings, concerts/festivals, parties and sporting events. Having an aerial view of these events can be something both memorable and different for consumers. For weddings, the bride and groom can use the footage as a creative thank you that can be sent to their guests. The wedding planner could also use the footage to advertise their skills to prospective clients to stand out from other coordinators. For concerts/festivals, parties and sporting events, coordinators could use similarly use the footage to advertise the appeal of their event. Having an aerial view provides a unique way to show the size of those in attendance to the event as well as the amount of fun they all are having in reaction to the main attraction all at once. When looking to hiring a drone photographer, you can expect for them to want to scout the location, have a pre-flight check list, and want to know the purpose of your video.

A company named Touch Associates, who consider themselves the architects of audience engagement, expressed on their blog that they look forward to expanding the ways they could utilize drones. According to Paige Layng they foresee "data capture, site visits, performances, virtual attendees and perhaps even delivering items to attendees or microphones to speakers." The use of drones in this way would be very important to the events industry for a number of reasons. Because these machines do not necessarily need a person operating it in real-time, multiple drones could be flying at the same moment capturing different aspects of the event. For example, there could be one drone taking pictures, another checking in attendees, and another delivering items across the event enabling the ultimate multitasking opportunity. 

Drones are very relevant in the upcoming era of technology. While big companies such as Amazon and Google are testing new ways to utilize them, they are not hard for common people to manipulate to their advantage. Drones can be used to not only show an event from a unique point of view, but also facilitate activities during an event. This could create more revenue for the company indirectly while also cutting down on labor costs. I believe that drones will be used more and more during events in the upcoming years. Because of this, people are attending conferences and expositions to learn more about this technology. According to Marco Mancosu, some upcoming events include DRONEfest in Croatia, Unmanned World 2017 in Qatar, and Xponential 2017 in the United States. 

Maximilien Lefort & Brianna Williams 

References

• http://www.specialevents.com/blog/4-things-you-should-already-be-using-drones-special-events
• http://www.touchassociates.com/news/rise-drones-events/
• https://skytango.com/top-commercial-drone-events/