Drone Cinematography

This certificate is focused on students who are interested in pursuing a career in aerial cinematography. Drone cinematography is a thriving industry, with many trained pilots. Drone filmmaking is a lucrative field that’s perfect for those who want to work in filmmaking and content creation. Aerial videos captured by drones have become a standard element of modern film, television productions, corporate videos, weddings videos, real estate marketing, news, commercial productions, and more. Drone cinematographers have a chance to earn hundreds to thousands of dollars a year capturing aerial footage.

Prerequisite skills: None

Enrollment limitations: None

SLOs:  1. Develop specialized filming skills as a drone camera imaging operator for multiple career applications in cinematography.

2. Gain experience with drone operations, maneuverability, safety rules, FAA regulations, and actual flight operations.

Rationale: Drone cinematography has grown into a thriving industry, with many trained pilots who offer the service. Drone filmmaking is a lucrative field that’s perfect for those who want to work in filmmaking and content creation. Aerial videos captured by drones have become a standard element of modern film, television productions, corporate videos, weddings videos, real estate marketing, news, commercial productions, and more. Drone cinematographers have a chance to land high-income jobs capturing aerial footage. Completion of this certificate will allow students to move directly into the workforce with the industry-standard skills and portfolio work they need to attain employment or become their own job creators.

2022-2023 / 6-8

2023-2024 / 10-12

2024-2025 / 14-16

This program will introduce and develop student skills in aerial cinematography, equipment and camera setup, composition of aerial shots and maneuvers, video shooting practices, story boarding and shot list overview, live scenario video filming, on location, with a drone, editing and packaging your aerial shoot, safe flying practices, FAA rules, airspace and privacy concerns, and prepare student to become a commercially licensed drone pilot.

Program is based on advisory board recommendations. This certificate will require students to take an introductory course in Electronic Media, along with an introductory course in Single-Camera Production, and an introductory course in Video Editing. These foundational courses lay the groundwork for a student to have success in Drone Cinematography teaching them the basic production and post-production skills they will need to enter the workforce. The Drone Test Prep class prepares students to take the FAA licensing exam to become to become a commercially licensed drone operator. (test is written only, no drone flying test required) The Drone Pilot Training class teaches the ins-and-outs of legally flying a drone. The course covers FAA rules and regulations, settings and features of drones, and supervised hands-on flight instruction with a licensed drone pilot. The capstone class is Drone Cinematography where we teach flight techniques designed for the practice of cinema-graphic filming, production, and post-production.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
DM 100	Introduction to Electronic Media: TV, Radio, Film, and the Internet	3	Y1/S1
DM 112	Introduction to Video Editing and Postproduction	3	Y1/S1 or S2
DM 115A	Single-Camera Production and Editing	3	Y1/S1 or S2
DM 170	Drone Pilot License Test Prep	.5	Y1/S1 or S2
DM 171	Drone Pilot Training	1.5	Y1/S1 or S2
DM 175	Drone Cinematography & Editing	3	Y1/S1 or S2

Digital Media

Cypress College- UAV / UAS Associate in Science Degree, Fullerton College- Unmanned Aerial System Piloting Certificate, Orange Coast College- Unmanned Aircraft Systems Certificate of Specialization

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