Upscale Drones Will Give Hollywood's Television and Film Studios a Lift in Their Profits

     Raglan - Six figure price tag drones will help meet demand for motion picture and television studio's need for aerial camera platforms.  However, if drones can be used satisfactorily in television and film production, they can drastically reduce costs. 
     According to Los Angeles -based drone production firm Aerial MOB, helicopter rentals can go as high as $30,000 a day, while daily drone rental rates for motion picture making are as low as $10,000 to $15,000 per day to the production studio.  Until now, cinematographers have bolted specialized add-ons, like cinema-quality cameras, to off-the-shelf drones that cost a few thousand dollars each.  Two New Zealand drone manufacturers, Aeronavics and Shotover Camera Systems, want to change that.  Until recently, drone use in feature films and television was limited to productions shot outside the United States, but late last year Washington began granting exemptions to commercial drone users on a case-by-case basis.  Of nearly 700 exemptions issued by the Federal Aviation Administration at the start of July 2015, approximately half of them were for aerial photography (including transmitting live television).  Unmanned aerial vehicles have been used in films that include:  "Dr. Who", "Twilight", "007 Skyfall", "Furious 7", "Jurassic World", and other hits.  "A lot of people have been shooting with drones in the past few years but not really in the very high-end space, so that's where our business will operate, "says Shotover Camera Systems'  general manager Brad Hurndell.  See also, www.popularmechanics.com.                  

New Drone Legislation Would Give Six Months and/or Thousands of Dollars in Fines

     Sacramento - Senate Bill 168 looks likely to become law.  SB 168 will protect emergency responders from any liability for the destruction an an unauthorized drone during firefighting or medical support operations.  Private UAVs have disrupted firefighting operations several times this year, including during a wildfire last month on Interstate 15 in San Bernardino, California.  See full story...http://www.kfi640.com.