50th Anniversary Film | Blackhawk Lake
A drone in the dark, over fireworks
Two things made this one interesting. The client wanted it fast, one shoot day and one edit day, and the centerpiece happened after dark. Night drone flight requires a waiver, and it should. Everything that makes daytime flying manageable gets harder. You can't see obstacles, your reference points disappear, and you're operating on instruments and preparation. Add fireworks, which are literally explosions in the airspace you're working in, and the planning has to be done well before anybody's in the air. Worth it though. Fireworks from ground level is a shot everybody has on their phone. Fireworks from a drone, with the lake and the crowd and the whole party underneath them, is a shot almost nobody has.
Who is
Blackhawk Lake
Blackhawk Lake Recreation Area sits in the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin, offering camping, boating, fishing, and trails. The 50th anniversary party marked five decades of the park.
Two days, start to finish
Blackhawk Lake got the whole thing turned around in two days, one shooting and one editing, so the film landed while the anniversary was still current. The night aerials gave them a signature shot the park can keep using well past the party.
