A drone show is the only outdoor spectacle you can reshape the night before and reuse the year after.
Drone shows in and around New York are genuinely hard: dense population, three major airports, and airspace that leaves very few viable launch geometries. Most viable shows here sit on the water or in the outer boroughs, and identifying which sites can actually be flown is the first piece of work, before any choreography.
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.
Film permits come through the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, and aerial work sits on a separate track from a standard street permit. The City has been opening a narrow, structured pathway for permitted drone operations, which is exactly the kind of thing a producer needs a crew to already understand rather than research after the fact.
Winter shortens the day sharply and wind between buildings gets serious. Late spring and autumn give the cleanest air and the best skyline visibility, which is when most of the aerial work here gets scheduled.
We shoot the Manhattan skyline, the bridges, the boroughs, and the waterfront — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in New York 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 Chicago Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami New Orleans 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!