Should Drone Footage Be Used For More Clicks?

Drones can quickly fly to almost any location and take positions at the most outlandish angles. That’s what makes drone shots so spectacular – and they get a lot of clicks on the web. But the example of a YouTuber also raises the question: Should there be limits?

Joey Helms is a YouTuber who wants to offer the best shots to his audience. As a cameraman and photographer, he also has high standards for himself and the videos he shows his almost 58,000 followers.

His channel contains numerous tips on film and photo equipment, tutorials, and footage from his travels. To capture the best images here, Helms uses traditional cameras and drones. One of his most viewed videos is drone footage of an erupting volcano in Iceland.

Drone Footage From The Middle Of The Eruption

No wonder! The drone footage is impressive. The drone first flies over the barren landscape, following the glowing red lava outlets of the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano in the Geldingadalir Valley. In the background, you can already see the volcano spewing hot, yellow fire. And then the drone flies right into the crater.

The video currently has more than two million views. Joey Helms has uploaded more drone footage of this volcanic eruption in Iceland, and there could probably have been many more. If only his drone hadn’t crashed into the volcano.

Because the temperatures and the constant eruptions made things difficult for the drone, it finally crashed.

Drone Footage For More Clicks

This example shows the possibilities that drones offer us. In this case, they show us an incomparable natural spectacle that we would otherwise never be able to see up close. Accordingly, Helms describes his recordings as an example of the “beauty of creation.” At the same time, these recordings bring him a lot of clicks.

This is precisely what tempts creative people on the Internet to deliver spectacular, ever more unusual drone shots for their audience. Should there be limits here?

From a legal point of view, of course, this already exists. For example, the drone regulation in the EU regulates what can be filmed with a drone and where and sometimes also in what form. Media houses such as the BBC also have ethical guidelines for drone footage by their editors.

But chasing more clicks through ever more incredible shots also brings problems.

Drones As A Danger To People And Nature

In Ulm, for example, there were several collisions between drones and the Ulm Minster. The devices flew too close and damaged the facade of the historic building.

In Bavaria, a drone chased several horses over a paddock, causing them to panic and injure themselves.

And at a wildlife sanctuary in California, a drone crash caused thousands of nesting arctic terns to flee their nests, leaving unhatched eggs in their wake — a disaster for the endangered birds.

The police are investigating these cases. Drone recordings, for example, must be approved in advance, and chasing animals or filming in nature reserves is also prohibited. But the technology makes it particularly easy for careless filmmakers to audition here, especially if there are many clicks.

When Nature Fights Back

But there is also the opposite side, for example, when drones are used as lifesavers or contribute to nature conservation. And sometimes, nature takes its revenge directly on the drones themselves.

For example, in the Netherlands, an eagle eventually got tired of an annoying drone – and destroyed it without further ado.

There was training behind it. As it turned out, the Dutch police had started a test program in which they trained eagles to catch drones in the air. However, the program was discontinued because it was too complex, and the police feared that the eagles could be injured.

Also Read: How Drones Are Used In Construction Projects