Take Me (and My Drone) to Church

Drones are increasingly being used by wedding videographers to capture sweeping establishing shots, zooming high above venues to film truly incredible aerial imagery that was impossible to do before.

With the announcement of the new Phantom 3 drone, DJI is making a more ambitious pitch, claiming you can not only use the Phantom for sweeping outdoor aerials but for innovative indoor footage in churches. That’s because the Phantom 3 uses a system of three ground-facing sensors that help it establish position and navigate around obstacles without the aid of GPS. This “Visual Positioning System” combined with a new motor, give the Phantom 3 greater indoor maneuverability.

Here’s a video DJI produced to give you a flavor of their vision.

Futuristic? Yes. But it’s not without its challenges.

For one, drones aren’t quiet — something that Jesse Rosten hilariously lampoons in his re-edit of DJI’s promo video.  The whirl of their motors would likely be distracting for guests. Speaking of which, the drone itself would distract guests, pulling their attention away from the bride and groom as it hovered and zoomed its way throughout the ceremony.

Then there are the obvious risks. Drones can lose contact with their controllers and flyaway (there’s even a “support page” on Facebook to console drone owners about this). Outdoors, that’s a manageable risk. Indoors, a flyaway could get messy.

Still, it’s an intriguing concept–a glimpse of what the future may hold. The Phantom 3 is available for pre-order now in both a 4K and HD version.

Tell us — would you fly your drone for an indoor ceremony? Is this the future?