Aerial Shots of a Moving Vehicle

[revention]

So I'm working on my very first short film. So far I have every scene detailed storyboard wise and I have a good idea how I'm going to do everything but one shot, my aerial shot of two moving vehicles.

It is not a chase scene and both cares are in different shots. My options currently stand at renting a helicopter for an hour or so to do the shot which could be very costly but I am willing to do it if that is what it takes to get the shot.

Any other ideas or tricks I could use that would give it the feel of an aerial shot at a much reduced cost.

If not I am considering cutting out the shot all together. BTW the entire film is being shot with a Canon 7D and 5D Mark II.

 

[El Director]

What kind of location/setting? I've gotten aerial shots from buildings and clifftops before at no charge.

 

[Svart]

R/C helicopters are used for stuff like this now. So are camera blimps.

 

[clang]

Shooting from a building or bridge would be a whole lot cheaper and easier.

 

[randomname]

I would try to avoid spending as much money as you can. Frankly, your first couple of films should only be for you to learn storytelling, not to try to impress an audience with flashy shots (and odds are, a helicopter shot is just going to come off as cheesy and over the top, you have to earn shots like that).

 

[Spiritus Vult]

Shooting from a building or bridge would be a whole lot cheaper and easier.

I did exactly that for my last feature. I found the highest bridge/overpass that I knew about and shot from there, tweaking it in post to look like a satellite photo. However, I also went to local airport and found out it's only about $500/hr for a helicopter. Another friend pulled the tight then pull-out to space shot in After Effects. Not sure how he did it, but I know it's possible.

 

[revention]

I would try to avoid spending as much money as you can. Frankly, your first couple of films should only be for you to learn storytelling, not to try to impress an audience with flashy shots (and odds are, a helicopter shot is just going to come off as cheesy and over the top, you have to earn shots like that).

Thanks for the advice.

What kind of location/setting? I've gotten aerial shots from buildings and clifftops before at no charge.

That was my second thought. I'm going to see how I can get this all to work because the location is downtown Orlando and unfortunately there are not that many tall buildings in the city which would be suitable for a shot like that.