Drone Photography

Seminar: Prof. Mary "Missy" Cummings,
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University

Workshop: Andrew Scott,
USA Today's Unmanned Aerial Systems Division

Seminar: 5:00-6:30pm, October 27, 2017
Workshop: 10:00am-5:00pm, October 28, 2017

As with Virtual Reality, drone journalism offers opportunities in data collection and visual representation afforded by few other technologies that are within the grasp of a typical newsroom. Drones, or unmanned aerial systems, provide a perspective that is truly unique. It seems to be good for providing a sense of scale (moving from the ground to a significant vantage point above some event or phenomenon). Drones can provide access to regions that are otherwise impossible to film. The artful, informative deployment of drone photography and its role in journalism is the subject of this Transparency Series event.

On Friday, we will explore the various uses of drones as a means for reporting, as well as the legal/ethical concerns associated with the medium. On Saturday, we will get our hands dirty and take a field trip north of NYC and give students the chance to both pilot small drones as well as stage shots from the robotic, onboard camera. This is the first time we are offering this event in the series and our first field trip.

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The Brown Institute for Media Innovation

Established in 2012, the Institute is a collaboration between Columbia and Stanford Universities. Our mission is simple: Sponsor thinking, building and speculating on how stories are discovered and told in a networked, digitized world.

Illustrations by Ellen Weinstein