CNN Aerial Footage of Alabama Storm Damage

This is what footage shot from a Parrot AR.Drone really looks like… !    It turns out that the footage that we published last week from Rupert Murdoch’s ‘The Daily‘, was indeed professional, as reader David Wray suspected.

When we contacted Perspective Aerials about their involvment in ‘The Daily’ footage, a spokesman told us ” we connected [them] with a local flyer in the Alabama area that flies RC helicopters. The craft used for this particular piece was a MicroDrone MD4-1000, which is owned by The Daily.”

CNN’s Aaron Brodie obviously didn’t have the same budget, and used a Parrot AR.Drone, a quadricopter that can be controlled using an iPad or an iPhone. He said he got the idea to experiment with the relatively new technology about a year ago, and finally got the chance to test it out recently above the ruins of Alberta, a neighbourhood in Tuscaloosa.

“It’s a bit challenging to fly, but when you get the hang of it you can get some nice aerial footage out of it,” Brodie says.

 Not satisfied with the quality of the video for broadcast purposes, Brodie rigged a GoPro HD camera to the drone, bringing the total cost of the outfit to about $550.

“This is really at the low end of what’s possible,” he says. “There’s much more sophisticated drone technology out there that is now available to really anybody, including us in the news media, and I think this is going to continue to provide a whole new perspective on things.”

Source: CNN