The Freefly CineStar 8 flying a Red Epic camera on the M VI digital three-axis stabilizer.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. The Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared the way for six companies to use unmanned aerial vehicles for shooting film and television projects. Pictorvision was one of the companies that received approval from the FAA for commercial drone applications, so BE Extra thought it would be good to find out what this means to film and television producers.
Tom Hallman, president of Pictorvision, answered some questions about rules for the operation of these UAVs.
BE Extra: The FAA granted what it calls regulatory exemptions on commercial unmanned aircraft flight to six aerial photo and video production companies. What exactly does that mean?
Pictorvision's Tom Hallman pilots an aircraft.
Hallman: For a number of years, the FAA enforced a de facto ban on the use of UAVs for commercial purposes. Concurrently the motion picture industry lobbied for permission to use unmanned aircraft for aerial cinematography. With the new ruling, which is subject to a number of rules designed for safe operation, the FAA has granted commercial UAV flight exemptions to six companies, including our own Pictorvision, for movie and TV production.
BE Extra: Can you describe those rules?
Hallman: Not surprisingly, many of the flight rules outlined by the FAA are similar to, or the same as, those for manned aerial flight. For instance, the Pilot in Command, the individual controlling the flight of the UAV, must be a licensed private pilot with a current third-class medical certificate, and have a certain minimum amount of flight experience flying UAVs. Additionally, the PIC must have experience and recent piloting time with the particular model of UAV being used for the shoot. We are required to have a certified Visual Observer who is in voice contact with the pilot during the flight, acting as a safety officer and second set of eyes for the PIC. And when doing filming from the UAV, we are required to have a dedicated camera operator to remotely control the camera and the steering of the gimbal.
There is also the requirement for a flight plan of operations to be filed with the local FAA authority three days prior to a UAV shoot, just like we do for manned aircraft filming. And the UAV flight has to be done over what's called a sterile set, where the public is not allowed and where only those production personnel, including actors, are allowed to be during the UAV operation. Maintenance records and inspections, just like we do for manned aircraft, are required for the UAVs.
BE Extra: And what are the differences in the rules between manned aerial photography operations and when a UAV is used?
Hallman: Well first of all, the PIC of a manned aircraft is of course riding in the aircraft, whereas the UAV pilot is operating that unmanned aircraft remotely. The rules of the exemptions require the UAV PIC to be within line-of-sight of the UAV, able to see it with human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses. He cannot be riding in a moving vehicle or device while flying the UAV. And there are other differences. The total weight of the UAV, including camera, lens, batteries and other peripheral equipment, cannot exceed 55 pounds. Plus, there's an altitude limit of 400 feet above ground level, and a speed limit of 57 miles per hour.
BE Extra: How will those last three limits affect the use of UAVs?
Hallman: As for camera payload, we're never going to be able to lift a big enough payload for long enough we're always going to be asked by the client to carry more for longer. But as the aircraft technology and battery technology become more mature, the payload we can lift and the time we can lift it will increase dramatically. We rarely need to go, or would want to go higher than 400 feet. We're dealing with relatively small lenses because of the weight limitations these unmanned aircraft can carry. It's not like the manned aircraft world, where we can have a giant 290mm lens on there. We're talking about 24 and 35mm prime lenses. So being much further away is not something you're going to want to do very often anyhow. And as to the speed issue, going that fast with an unmanned aircraft is tricky business. It's not something that you want to do regularly.
BE Extra: You mentioned that the UAV flights have to be done over a sterile, controlled set. Won't that be limiting?
Hallman: When filming at any exterior location now, even without a UAV, the production will block off the streets because they don't want civilians in their shots, or for safety when they do big stunts. They get permission from landowners, etc. Productions are used to doing all that work anyway. So we're just adding one more layer on top of it. It really shouldn't be all that much more complicated than what they need to do in the normal process of just making a film.
BE Extra: What are some of the advantages of a UAV over a manned helicopter?
This remote-controlled cinematography aircraft was shown in the Cineflex booth at NAB 2014.
Hallman: The biggest difference is really the form factor. It's the size and the weight. Unlike the 3,000-pound, full-sized aircraft, we're 55 pounds or lighter. So it's much easier to use when you get to smaller locations that you couldn't get to with a full-sized aircraft. And because the UAV is powered electrically, it's significantly lighter. It has way less rotor wash, so the blades don't pick up dust like you would with a manned aircraft. With UAVs you can get relatively close to objects and not disturb them or the environment, whereas with a manned aircraft, you're going to kick up a dust storm if you get within 50 yards. And again, if you're doing sound shooting, we can get a UAV much closer
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
21/10/2025
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, today announced the appointment of Austin Hinton as it...
21/10/2025
nternet connectivity startup Miri Technologies Inc. will use this week's NAB Show New York as the launch pad for its latest ground-breaking innovation, the ...
20/10/2025
Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57
Print This Story
A penalty...
20/10/2025
Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...
20/10/2025
How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...
20/10/2025
NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...
20/10/2025
Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...
20/10/2025
(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...
20/10/2025
In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...
20/10/2025
Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...
20/10/2025
In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...
20/10/2025
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...
20/10/2025
DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...
20/10/2025
LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...
20/10/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....
20/10/2025
A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
20/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...
20/10/2025
RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...
20/10/2025
NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...
19/10/2025
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026
Entertainment
19 October 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
The Freefly CineStar 8 flying a Red Epic camera on the M VI digital three-axis stabilizer. 
