A drone show is the only outdoor spectacle you can reshape the night before and reuse the year after.
Lakefront drone shows have the best natural amphitheatre in the country and the worst wind margin. Show design here has to account for a launch site where conditions can move outside limits in the hour before the audience arrives, which means a real go/no-go framework rather than optimism.
Choreographed light shows for sports, corporate events, festivals and brand activations. The work is half animation and half aviation: the show is designed like motion graphics, then flown under an airspace plan with the safety case a public crowd requires. We consult on shows nationwide as well as fly them.
The Chicago Film Office handles City permitting, and lakefront and park locations carry their own approvals through the Park District. Aerial work downtown routinely requires coordination beyond the base film permit.
The flying window here is genuinely seasonal. Winter cold cuts battery endurance roughly in half and lake wind can shut a day down outright. Summer and early autumn are when the lakefront and the river actually cooperate.
We shoot the Loop, the lakefront, the river, and the neighborhoods — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in Chicago and shooting somewhere else entirely, that is a normal week for us.
Fleet sized to the design rather than a fixed package, because resolution in the sky is a function of aircraft count.
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 →
It depends entirely on what you want in the sky. Simple logos and text need far fewer aircraft than animated sequences. We size the fleet to the storyboard rather than selling a package and cutting the design to fit.
Longer than most clients expect. The airspace approval and the safety case are the schedule drivers, not the animation. Start the conversation months out for anything over a public crowd.
There is a defined go/no-go framework agreed before the event, with wind and visibility limits set in advance. Building the contingency into the contract is part of doing this properly.
DRONE LIGHT SHOWS — OTHER MARKETS: Albuquerque Atlanta Austin 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!