· Dre Castillo
When you need a licensed drone pilot, and what Part 107 means for your shoot
Drones are cheap and easy to fly, so it’s tempting to have someone on the team put one up. For anything done for a business, though, the flight falls under the FAA’s Part 107 rules, and the pilot needs a Remote Pilot Certificate. I’m certified under Part 107. Here’s what that means for your shoot.
When Part 107 applies
If the footage is for a business — marketing, a property listing, an event, a client — the flight isn’t recreational, whether or not anyone is paid for it. That covers almost every drone shot anyone would hire a videographer for.
What the certificate covers
The test and the rules behind it are about flying safely around other aircraft and people:
- Reading the airspace, and getting authorization before flying in controlled airspace near airports.
- Altitude: generally no higher than 400 feet above the ground.
- Keeping the drone within visual line of sight.
- Rules for flying over people and moving vehicles.
- Weather, night flights and pre-flight checks.
- Remote ID: the drone broadcasts an identification signal in flight.
- Staying current, with recurrent training every 24 months.
Why it matters in South Florida and Tampa Bay
Airports are everywhere here. Miami International, Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale Executive, Tampa International and St. Petersburg’s Albert Whitted all put controlled airspace over places people want to film. Much of it can be approved through the FAA’s LAANC system, often within minutes, but some needs a longer application and some is off-limits. I check the address when we book, not the morning of the shoot.
When a drone is worth it
- Property and venues: the building, the grounds and what’s around them, in one shot.
- Events and festivals: the scale of the crowd, which you can’t get from the ground.
- Brand and travel videos: an opening shot that sets the place.
- Land and agriculture: the whole property at once. On a two-day shoot for Bourbon Beef, a Kentucky ranch, I flew the drone alongside three cameras on the ground.
When it isn’t
Indoors, in tight streets, over crowds, and anywhere the airspace says no. A gimbal on the ground often gets a better moving shot with far less setup.
Planning an aerial shoot
Send the address, the date and what the shot is for. I’ll check the airspace, plan the moves before takeoff, and fly them short and smooth, so they cut cleanly into the rest of the video. The clips on my drone page — Reno, the Oregon coast, San Francisco, Malibu, St. Thomas and Aruba — were flown that way.