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How has the DJI Inspire 2 Revolutionised Cinematography?

How has the DJI Inspire 2 Revolutionised Cinematography?

Last updated on

20th July

DJI’s previous model, the DJI Inspire One, was much like any other drone on the market, albeit with slightly higher specifications. While this didn’t have too much impact on its use in aerial cinematography, DJI did secure a name for themselves, and everyone was eagerly awaiting their next release.

Their new product, the DJI Inspire 2 was certainly well worth the wait, with DJI seriously upping their game. Their focus on industrial grade aerial cinematography has revolutionised the use of drones in filming, meaning that filmmaking from the air will never be the same again.

Looking at the technical side

There are lots of technical specifications to get excited about on the DJI Inspire 2. It comes with a new top speed of 67 mph, rivalling anything similar on the market. This allows it to easily keep up with fast-paced action sequences. Following cars and motorbikes is also a simple job with the Inspire 2.

Equally, this model features new tracking software called Spotlight Pro, which opens a world of possibilities for air cinematography, while also solving a number of existing problems within the industry. By automatically tracking subjects, you will always get a steady shot with everything proportioned and framed as you want it.

The Spotlight Pro software even tracks subjects beyond the full 360 rotation range of the Inspire 2’s camera. It automatically rotates the drone to keep the subject centred so that your shot isn’t cut short. While doing this, the onboard computers readjust and reconfigure the drone’s flight path. This results in no flight interruptions while the drone is rotation – a truly inspiring feat of engineering.

Composition mode is another new and exciting feature. It allows the filmmaker to optically track a subject without having to have the subject centred within the frame. This allows longer shots to be taken that have more visual sense than a traditional tracking shot. It allows for far greater use of aesthetics, background and scenery in the film’s narrative.

Safety is integral and integrated

Obviously, with such a high tech piece of equipment, users need to ensure that they can fly it as safely as possible without worrying about causing damage. As such, the Inspire 2 drone comes with fully integrated obstacle avoidance software. Forward facing sensors allow for the detection of objects in front, and are guaranteed to stop a collision at anything up to 34 mph.

A number of other onboard sensors assist in the safety of the drone too; upward facing sensors help you with indoor flight, marking and avoiding ceilings, and a number of downward facing sensors are multipurpose, helping to achieve stable hovering and avoiding the ground, while also analysing the ground’s topography and deciding whether it is safe to land.

These sensors allow the controller and the drone itself to build a 3D map of the space you are filming in. This allows you to fly the drone, capture your shots and return safely back without any problems.

Great cinematography requires the right camera

It’s home to the most advanced image processing capabilities found on a drone in the market. You can use the DJI Inspire 2 to record 5.2K RAW video at 4.2 Gbps. Outstanding figures considering the size of the system and the flexibility you get with using a drone.

All footage can easily be condensed and scaled down into 4K ultra HD. This means it will be accessible to most people. The built-in CINESSD allows for extremely quick data transfer on set. Offering a significant improvement on data transferral than other cinematography drones have given in the past.

Broadcast mode also allows you to directly live stream your footage to the TV in either 1080i or 720p too, allowing you to scout out areas before filming, and generating smaller file sizes while gathering scenic information.

Watch: A DJI Short Film shot entirely on the Inspire 2

To fully demonstrate the filming capabilities of this new device, DJI hired the director of photography from Life of Pi and Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda, to shoot a short film using only the Inspire 2. Watch the video below.

The DJI Inspire 2 has enough technological capabilities to please any budding filmmaker. The Inspire 2 also offers larger studios a reasonably priced option for capturing stunning aerial shots. Given the previous filming drones on the market, the it represents a huge evolution in drone technologies and capabilities. DJI’s Inspire 2 represents a new revolution in cinematography.

Speak to the experts:

If you’re in the process of starting your commercial drone operations, speak to COPTRZ and our friendly team can point you in the right direction when it comes to training, hardware and software. Contact us or call 0330 111 7177.