Drone Operator in New Orleans

Part 107 certificated. $5M aviation liability. Approved by every major studio. Local 600 and non-union crews available.

The French Quarter carries a layer of historic-district restriction on top of City film permitting, and it is the layer visiting operators miss most often. An operator who has worked New Orleans knows which blocks are genuinely workable and which will get the unit shut down.

A CineDrones operator arrives as a unit, not a hobbyist with a case. FAA Part 107 certificated pilot, dedicated camera operator on the gimbal where the shot calls for it, visual observer, and the authorizations filed before the call sheet locks. We have worked on sets since 2013, which mostly means we know when not to fly — when the AD is behind, when the light is about to go, when the shot is better served by staying out of the way.

Permits and authorizations in New Orleans

Film New Orleans handles City permitting and Louisiana Entertainment coordinates the state incentive. The French Quarter carries its own layer of historic-district restriction, and it is the layer visiting crews most often miss.

Crewing in New Orleans

Louisiana's incentive built and kept a professional crew base here, and Second Line Stages anchors it. The market is smaller than Atlanta's but the people are experienced and the rates are reasonable.

We shoot the French Quarter, the river, the bayou, and the Garden District — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in New Orleans and shooting somewhere else entirely, that is a normal week for us.

What a New Orleans booking includes

  • FAA Part 107 certificated pilot
  • Dedicated camera operator on the gimbal where the shot needs one
  • Visual observer and on-set safety brief
  • Airspace authorization filed before the shoot date
  • Certificate of insurance issued to the production
  • Media handed off on the day in the format post wants

Cinema-payload multirotors, FPV airframes, and the smaller aircraft that fit where the big ones cannot.

Selected credits

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 →

Drone Operator in New Orleans — questions we get

How far ahead should we book a drone operator in New Orleans?

For a straightforward day, a week is usually enough. For anything inside controlled airspace or needing a waiver, give us two to three weeks — the authorization is the long pole, not the crew. Short-notice calls are worth making anyway; we hold availability for exactly that.

Do you handle the FAA authorization and the film permit?

Yes, both. We file the airspace authorization and we work with your locations department on the permit side. What we will not do is show up and hope, which is the failure mode that costs productions a day.

What if the weather turns on the shoot day?

We give you a straight go or no-go rather than an optimistic maybe. Wind limits and visibility minimums are aircraft specifications, not preferences, and a unit that flies outside them is risking your production, not just our aircraft.

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