Sometimes the drone is not the camera. It is the lamp you could not otherwise get into position.
Georgia's production country is genuinely dark once you leave the perimeter, which is a gift for night exteriors and a problem for rigging. Aerial lighting covers ground that would otherwise need generators, cable runs and a condor that cannot get down the road.
Airborne lighting units standing in for a helicopter searchlight, moonlight over a wide exterior, a police spot, or a source that has to move with the shot. On night exteriors where a condor cannot reach or cannot get there in time, an aerial unit puts the light exactly where the DP wants it and moves it between setups in seconds.
Summer humidity puts haze into long-lens aerial frames and afternoon storms are close to daily from June onward. Autumn and spring are the reliable windows, and Georgia's mild winters keep exterior work going most of the year.
Georgia's tax credit turned this into one of the highest-volume production markets in the country. Trilith, Tyler Perry Studios, Blackhall and Assembly all run features and series concurrently, which means aerial crews here compete on availability as much as on reel. The units that stay busy are the ones a line producer can reach on short notice.
We shoot the downtown skyline, the studio campuses, and the Georgia countryside — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in Atlanta and shooting somewhere else entirely, that is a normal week for us.
Lighting units sized from a moving practical to a wide-exterior source, flown on airframes built for the weight.
Our aerial units have worked on Ozark, Jack Ryan, Bosch, Mayans M.C., SEAL Team, NCIS: New Orleans, Fear the Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Modern Family, 9-1-1, Goliath, The Resident, Raising Dion, Castle Rock, Doctor Sleep and Chef's Table, for Netflix, Amazon, Apple, HBO, Hulu, Showtime, Sony, CBS, AMC, MTV and Bravo. See the work →
Enough to serve as a motivated source over a wide exterior, though a condor still wins on raw sustained output. The advantage is position and speed: light exactly where the DP wants it, moved between setups in seconds.
Night operations are part of what we are approved for. Night is also when the airspace is quieter, which sometimes makes authorization easier rather than harder.
When access beats output — a location a lift cannot reach, a source that has to move with the shot, or a schedule where rigging time you do not have is the real constraint.
AERIAL LIGHTING — OTHER MARKETS: Albuquerque Austin Chicago Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami New Orleans New York Salt Lake City
Get ready to elevate your production to new heights with CineDrones! Operating in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Albuquerque, Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans, we bring the power of cutting-edge drone technology to every project. Whether you're capturing breathtaking aerial footage, thrilling FPV shots, or immersive drone-based virtual reality, our expert teams of FAA-certified pilots, aerial camera pros, and drone techs have you covered. Fully compliant with Part 107 regulations and protected by a $5M aviation liability policy, we guarantee precision, safety, and creativity. Plus, with Local 600 union and non-union crews available, we’re ready to deliver jaw-dropping results wherever you need them!