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Sharing drone footage with clients on set

The director wants to see the shot. The agency is not on location. The client signs off on the day — or not. These are the four ways drone crews get footage in front of the people who decide, and what each one costs you.

1. Filming the remote’s screen with a phone

Quick and free: someone holds a phone over the remote and sends the video on. But the picture is shaky, reflections and the DJI interface sit on top, colour and sharpness are gone, and nobody can tell which clip it was. It works for a rough idea, not for a decision.

2. HDMI from the remote to a client monitor

A monitor on set shows the live view in good quality while you fly. The catch: the client has to stand next to it. Nobody can look back at a take, compare two clips or decide later, and people who are not on location see nothing.

3. Pulling the card and uploading from a laptop

Full quality, but the drone has to land, the card has to come out, and someone needs a laptop, time and a connection that can carry large files. In practice this happens at lunch or in the evening — long after the moment when a reshoot would still have been easy.

4. Uploading proxies from the remote while you fly

This is what ezRushes does. DJI already writes a light proxy of every clip on the smart controller. An app on the remote uploads it in the background over a Wi-Fi hotspot, into a PIN-protected review portal with your branding. The client opens a link anywhere, marks clips Select, Maybe or No and comments per clip — while the next take is being shot. Originals stay on the drone for post.

At a glance

When which way makes sense

• Client on set, decisions in the moment: an HDMI monitor is great — and ezRushes can show a small “Preview rushes” QR code in its corner, so people can take the takes with them.
• Client, director or agency elsewhere: uploading from the remote is the only way they see real clips while you are still flying.
• Final delivery: always the originals from the card — proxies are for review, not for the edit.

Crews who switched say it best: “Filming the remote's screen with a phone so the director can see the shot — that's finally over.” — Apostolos Pasvouris, Cinehawks.