McGraw Aerospace Consulting To Be Recognized For Work In Filmmaking

At The 69th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards ceremony on April 8, a collaboration that provided a new direction in UAS filmmaking will be recognized with an Emmy.

North Carolina-based John McGraw Aerospace Consulting is slated to receive the 2017 Low Latency Remote Controlled Airborne Video Platforms (non-military) for Television, recognizes the role of unmanned aircraft in filmmaking.

The effort dates back to 2012, when McGraw, an Army Veteran, retired from the FAA. At about the same time, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and other private companies were exploring how drones could be used in filmmaking ... which at the time was not allowed by the FAA.

According to a report appearing on the AUVSI website, the MPAA put McGraw together with seven cinematography companies: PictorVision, Aerial MOB, Astraeus Aerial, Flying Cam, Vortex Aerial, Helivideo Productions and Snaproll Media, which were the first to receive Section 333 exemptions from the FAA to fly commercially.

The team faced many challenges along the way, but McGraw drew on his experience in analyzing and developing policy to formulate the beginning of a solution. “We created a safety system, including operations manuals, safety manuals for unmanned aircraft, using the safety system as a thesis for how the UAS would operate,” he said.

The group of collaborators, made up of PictorVision, Aerial MOB, Astraeus Aerial, Flying Cam, Vortex Aerial, Helivideo Productions and Snaproll Media, were among the first companies to receive Section 333 exemptions for commercial drone operations with the help of the MPAA and AUVSI. That paved the way for the use of drones in television and film, changing audience expectations for what they see on both large and small screens. Those efforts will be recognized on April 8.

(Image provided with AUVSI report)

FMI: Original report