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Chapter 11 - Chapter 11 The Future of Drone Aerial Photography

The famous Hawaiian Islands, a chain of 132 islands, form the only island state in the U.S., with its capital, Honolulu, located on Oahu.

However, the set for "The Shallows" isn't on Oahu, but on Kauai, which is also the chosen filming location for "Jurassic Park."

While "Jurassic Park" is still in preparation, "The Shallows" has already begun filming.

The entire story of "The Shallows" is quite simple: a girl goes surfing on a secluded beach, encounters a shark, and then fights for survival.

For Gilbert, how well the shark escape is filmed will be key to the movie's success.

Fortunately, with the original "The Shallows" as a reference, Gilbert has a good idea of how to achieve the desired effect.

"Hey, Gilbert, come play! It's so much fun here!" Gwyneth Paltrow, in a sexy bikini, was playing in the ocean.

It's July on a Hawaiian beach, and the water is crystal clear and blue. In the distance, seagulls float about, their calls echoing.

The waves gently caress the rocky shores, creating foamy splashes.

Sun, shark-infested beach, coconut trees, a beautiful woman, and a bikini—all the elements are in place.

But Gilbert isn't there to relax. He waves his hand and says, "Let's take a break. Aren't you tired after so many takes?"

"Not at all! I want to surf more!" With that, Gwyneth Paltrow paddled her surfboard back into the ocean.

"Watch out, there are sharks in the water! Be careful!" Gilbert shouted.

"I'm playing someone escaping a shark's mouth, woo-hoo!" Gwyneth Paltrow was clearly having a blast.

Well, for others, "The Shallows" was work, but for Gwyneth Paltrow, it was a vacation.

Although he had experience directing online movies in his previous life, it's hard to say how much of that experience would be useful in a Hollywood crew in the 1990s.

Because of this, Gilbert adopted a gradual approach, starting with simple scenes and slowly increasing the difficulty.

Also, since the movie's budget was relatively small, the crew size wasn't much larger than the online movie crews he'd led in his past life, which reassured Gilbert.

When shooting the first take, Gilbert was a bit nervous and made a slight mistake.

But thankfully, he quickly adjusted and got into the zone.

No one on the crew made fun of him; after all, it's understandable for a 21-year-old director leading a film crew to be a little flustered.

In fact, Gilbert's quick recovery and display of professionalism later surprised many.

Dull Randolph, the director of photography, chatted with Gilbert privately and said, "I truly didn't expect you, being ten years younger than me, to get into work mode so quickly. It's really impressive."

Gilbert humbly replied, "It's all thanks to everyone's cooperation and support that I was able to find my rhythm smoothly."

Dull Randolph looked at Gilbert seriously and said, "For us, this is just a job, Gilbert. But for you, it means everything."

Gilbert nodded, indicating he understood.

After a week of getting used to each other, the crew found its rhythm, and filming became smoother than the initial awkwardness.

"Are you ready?"

"Director, we're ready."

"Okay, launch the remote-controlled drone and let's get a shot. I want a full panoramic view of the beach," Gilbert instructed.

"Got it," the drone operator gave an "OK" gesture and quickly flew the drone into the air.

The front of the drone was equipped with a camera that could rotate 360 degrees. This camera was manufactured by Sony, and its footage was transmitted via signal to a monitor.

Watching the footage appear on the monitor, everyone gathered around was amazed.

This was the first time they had ever seen a drone used in film production.

Gwyneth Paltrow excitedly patted Gilbert on the back and said, "Gilbert, I want to play with this!"

"This expensive equipment isn't for you to play with. We need to finish shooting quickly; we have to return it," Gilbert firmly refused.

Dull Randolph had been a cinematographer for seven or eight years, and this was his first time seeing such a filming technique.

He curiously asked Gilbert, "Director, how did you come up with the idea of using a drone to shoot this scene?"

"This isn't my original idea," Gilbert explained. "As early as two years ago, a Belgian named Privina achieved filmmaking with drones. Currently, his company has high technical and practical standards for drone filming, but his company hasn't expanded to the U.S., so we had to modify one ourselves."

Dull Randolph praised, "Director, even so, you're a genius! Who else would think of using this method to shoot a movie?"

"Exactly!" Gwyneth Paltrow chimed in. "I thought you went to Honolulu to find a drone to kill sharks with, not for aerial photography!"

Just this one drone shot made many in the crew drop their underestimation of Gilbert. This young man truly had some skills.

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Initially, drone technology was primarily used in the military and developed rapidly.

With the popularization of the civilian market, civilian drones have become increasingly powerful, but specialized aerial photography drones are still rare.

This drone was something Gilbert found in Honolulu with his team. He also had this Sony camera airlifted from Los Angeles, then installed and modified it.

Of course, because buying it outright would be expensive, this drone was actually modified with the consent of the model aircraft shop owner.

Likewise, the model aircraft shop owner also came to the set, witnessed the entire process of the crew using the drone for filming, and was left utterly dumbfounded.

He had never imagined that drones could be used in such a way.

Drone photography, which became commonplace in the 21st century, was a novelty in the early 1990s.

While drone technology and aerial photography in the 90s were quite different from what they would be two or three decades later, they were still enough to drop the jaws of these "country bumpkins" of the time.

When the drone returned and landed safely, Gilbert smiled and said to the model aircraft shop owner, "See? I didn't lie to you. The prospects for drone aerial photography are really good. You should get into it."

The model aircraft shop owner dazedly retrieved his drone, watched the crew members remove the Sony camera, and then asked, "How much is this camera?"

"It shouldn't be expensive, right?" Gilbert looked at Dull Randolph.

Randolph replied, "Not expensive, but they don't have it in Hawaii. You'll have to go to Los Angeles to buy one."

The model aircraft shop owner excitedly took his drone back and began to ponder how to use drone aerial photography to make a fortune.

What Gilbert did might even lay the groundwork for future drone companies.

As the day's shooting ended and they returned to the hotel, Gilbert and Dull Randolph continued to share a car, exchanging their thoughts.

"Technically speaking, drone aerial photography fills the gap in low-to-mid altitude filming. Helicopters are effective above 500 meters, while ground equipment like jibs, dollies, and Steadicams only go up to about 20 meters. But drones can perfectly fill that space between 20 and 500 meters. And with the continuous revolution in photography technology, drone filming will eventually replace helicopter filming and become the new aerial photography mode."

Gilbert described the bright future of drone aerial photography to Dull Randolph.

Dull Randolph agreed, "I feel, Director, that you're leading a technological revolution in cinematography. You'll be remembered in film history."

Gilbert, however, waved his hand, "This method isn't my original idea. Rather than making history, I'm more focused on making sure this film is shot well."

"After this experience, I don't know why, but I believe you'll succeed," Dull Randolph said, now confident in Gilbert.

"Thanks for the good words. I'll still need your help, Dull."

"Of course! I'm a professional cinematographer, after all..." Dull Randolph said confidently.

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