Video: YouTube user Skydio
The drone market is highly competitive, and players constantly innovate to develop new technology and features to capture more market share. This is often dominated by a few top players, particularly in the industrial or commercial drone sector. This competition is healthy and good for all players, as it drives creativity and innovation.
Image: PCMag
Skydio is generally considered popular among amateur drone enthusiasts and aerial photographers, but their latest technology release could be just the thing to change that. The company recently released a new feature known as KeyFrame.
Images: Screen shots from YouTube user Skydio
What is KeyFrame?
If you are not a seasoned filmmaker, you might not be familiar with this important concept. It is used in animation as well as cinematography to define the start and end of the footage. What it does is allow for a smooth transition between shots. The results are more professional and accurate. It is also a great feature to have if you are capturing backplates for arch-viz animations.
Skydio makes autonomous drones that use AI for great tracking and obstacle avoidance. This makes them popular in the consumer market. KeyFrame is available for free for Skydio 2 and Skydio 2+ drones and is easy to operate. It literally takes a few clicks to set up, and the results are impressive.
It goes back to Skydio’s goal of making the process of aerial cinematography more automated. You can play the footage backward and forwards without losing your spot and with smooth thanks to the KeyFrames feature. This gives you more time to focus on the footage and less to think about while capturing it. It works well, even in challenging locations.
Skydio CEO Adam Bry had this to say on launching this new feature. “One of the main things that set professional productions apart is the motion of the camera. With the help of cranes, jibs, and large production crews, Hollywood productions do really unique, interesting things. In the hands of an expert pilot, drone footage can be very cinematic. KeyFrame makes this capability accessible to a new wave of creators.”
The feature saves time and effort, freeing you up to do your work. It also makes it possible for less qualified drone pilots to create better quality shots. It gives you full control over the KeyFrames, which makes the work faster and easier with better results.
What is awesome is that this feature is free for these models. It is user-friendly and sure to be a popular application.
The downside is that Skydio still lacks a bit in the camera department. The features and resolution are not as good as most commercial or professional users in this market would want. They lack ProRes and the sensor could be a bit larger. The resolution on these models is 4K 60fps.
That being said, it is still a great feature. It will hopefully drive the market to improve and advance and hopefully elevate Skydio into new markets.
SOURCE: Skydio