Drone Photography and Aerial Videography

Almost everything looks better from 120 metres above

For any drone photography and videography in London or around the UK

Film your subject from a different angle

Newsworthy Vision is now CAA approved for commercial drone operations in London and the UK. As a result, we’re keen to bring our ground level videography expertise to the sky and offer aerial photography and videography services.

Utilising either of our amazing drones, we can conduct aerial video and photography operations anywhere, day or night.

Commercial Drone Operation Costs

Includes remote pilot, drone equipment and insurance

Starting from £650

Covers a 10 hour day, excludes VAT, travel and other administrative costs for approvals.

  • We need a deposit of 25% of the quoted amount before booking
  • Availability is dependent on local weather conditions. You will need flexibility with dates
  • Flights in and around London need special permission which can take up to 28 days to approve

Is it difficult to fly a drone in London?

Yes, it is, but aerial drone videography is not impossible in this city.

We have permission for commercial drone services, allowing us to work in urban, residential, or recreational areas. Included is insurance with public liability cover, covering the project, drone pilot and team. As a result, we can fly safely and fully covered for any eventuality.

For instance, London has several major restriction zones, covering a majority of the city and surrounding areas. The first covers Hyde Park and extends to Regents Park in the North, Kensington in the West and Stockwell to the South. The second is over the City of London area from Covent Garden to Tower Bridge. Meaning, quite a lot of central London is heavily restricted.

Taking aerial footage for a video production within them does take a long time to approve. Twenty-eight days is the rough approval time suggested.

As a result, if you wanted to get aerial footage over the river Thames, you would need permission from the following:

  • NATS – The air traffic control network for the UK
  • Metropolitan Police – Due to the restricted zones within London
  • London Port Authority – For any traffic travelling in or around the river (Depending on operations)
  • Local council authority – For take-off and landing locations near the river

Can’t we just wing it? (Pardon the pun)

No. There is no getting around these approvals, and the penalties are severe if you don’t. More importantly, permission is not guaranteed, so the sooner you make a plan, the better your chance of success.

Good news though, the process is now easier than ever. We can get started on these permissions if you know where and when you want to film.

The DJI Mini 2 4K capable aerial photography drone
Our first drone, the DJI Mini 2. A versatile, 4K aerial video champion.
Flying the Autel EVO II in Central London and Canary Wharf. Two of the most heavily restricted areas to fly in the UK

Expanding the drone fleet

As we were warned, once you start getting into drone videography, you’ll want more capable equipment very quickly.

As a result, we acquired an Autel EVO II drone, which allows for the following improvements:

  • Fully autonomous flight, perfect for 3D mapping and aerial surveying
  • Full HD live broadcasting to professional standards
  • Up to forty minutes of flight time
  • Wind resistance up to gale strength winds (Beaufort scale 8, 62km/h, 39mph or 34kts)
  • Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance
  • Recording video up to 8k in 25/30fps (Up to 4K in 50/60fps, and 2.7K in 120fps)
  • Object tracking and other intelligent automated flight modes
  • Full time-lapse and hyper-lapse recording capability
  • Lastly, full HDR photography and LOG video recording at 120Mbps

We’re really excited to use this drone on future projects, as it feels rock-solid in the air in the testing we’ve done so far.

Our newest aerial videography champion, the Autel EVO II 6K drone
The newest addition to the UAS fleet, the 8K video-capable Autel EVO II drone
The Autel EVO II 8K UAS in flight

Helicopters are amazing, but expensive!

We love working on rotary-wing (helicopter) operations. In fact, our director was a fully qualified aerial camera operator and aircrewman back in Australia.

But to be blunt, not every project can call in the expensive resources of a helicopter. For those projects, our aerial photography and videography services are perfect.

We can feed live pictures down to a monitoring station on the ground as we fly, allowing you to see everything that is being recorded, as it is being recorded.

Nick Smith operating as a rotary wing aerial videographer in Australia
Company director Nick Smith (R) with Captain Robert Ward, a former senior pilot from the Nine Network Australia

We’re an aerial videography company with decades of video experience

Get in touch if you’re looking for a way to get aerials of your subject or drone footage of an event. If you have any questions at all about our drone photography and videography in London, don’t hesitate to get in contact.

Airdata UAV|Drone Safety Verified Badge