Is it possible to fake a drone shot with an action camera, a handheld 3-axis gimbal, and a telescopic audio boom pole?
We had a crack at seeing if we could get usable footage with that combination.
It’s a quick test, and we think that it is achievable to land a fake drone shot using four pieces of gear we already had in our kit.
We have used this gear / setup and technique already on a couple of reality TV shows.
The equipment we used to achieved fake drone shots:
Zhuyin Z1 3-axis handheld gimbal: From Shenzhen Linchaoda Electronic Co
EKEN H9 Action Camera: From Everbuying / Gearbest
Ambient QP Series Microphone Boom Pole: eBay steal at $50
3/8″ 16 Female to 1/4″ 20 Male thread adapter: Came with lights
Why wouldn’t you just go out and buy a drone I hear you ask? Sure we could, but we happen to have the gear already and I think most filmmakers would have at least 3 out of the 4 items needed to make a decent fake drone shot already sitting in their kits.
One word of warning when using the audio boom pole and gimbal combo, is to always be aware of overhead power lines. You can get the boom poles up to around 12 to 15+ feet off the ground. So be carful not to zap yourself trying to get a fake drone shot to work.