Have you ever rappelled down the side of a 14-story building, in front of hundreds of people, friends and family, rappelling experts, and news cameras?! Probably not, right?
In 2022, we captured the Salvation Army’s event called “Down for the Challenge” where crazy participants went to the roof of the 14-story Omni Lakes Viking Hotel in Eagan only to rappel down the side of the building – more than 200 crazy fearless people signed up, raised money and then went down the building under the supervision of expert climbing personnel. This fundraising initiative was set to battle housing insecurity in Minnesota, to help those who are homeless or struggling with housing payments.
So what was my role in event? I was the drone pilot brought onto the project to capture photo and video of these crazy participants descending down the building. Easy right? Well, this shoot being in Eagan, near the Minneapolis International Airport, right in the flight path of planes taking off and landing, prior flight clearance was not only crucial, but necessary for legal purposes.
Before taking flight, I had to familiarize with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight regulations regarding drone usage in the airspace surrounding the hotel. The is a ‘no fly zone’ – so I had to work with the FAA to submit my flight logistics for permitting and detail my flight plan, in addition I had to share my shot list with the Salvation Army clients to ensure we were all on the same page. Because the team already had many photographers and video crew on hand, they never wanted me to get too close with my aerial coverage. Connecting with the Salvation Army team helped me to understand the schedule, key moments, and any specific areas that should be highlighted for their usage purposes. Coordination ensures that our aerial footage complements the overall event documentation seamlessly.
Respecting airspace rules not only keeps captured footage legal and the surrounding airplanes safe, but also ensures the safety of attendees on the roof and those rappelling down the building.
Below is the video the marketing team pieced together, which includes some of our aerial coverage.
In addition to capturing video content for the event for the recap video, I also captured plenty of still photos that could also be used by the marketing team purposes.
In the end, we were able to have a couple hours in the air capturing the event with cinematic video and photos – for this project we handed off all the raw footage to the Salvation Army team.
