The Federal Aviation Administration is planning on loosening the restrictions on using drones in movies and TV shows.
Several production companies have requested the ability to use unmanned aircrafts on movie sets in the U.S. airspace. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the FAA is expected to make an announcement today that would loosen regulatory restrictions on the use of drones in filming.
There’s a growing camp in Hollywood that say mounting cameras on drones can be a real asset for filmmakers with the promise of new creative options, cost savings and, perhaps, safer sets. But regulatory issues have been a hurdle. Currently, in order to conduct a commercial operation with an unmanned aircraft in U.S. airspace, users must have a certified aircraft, licensed pilot and FAA approval. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Drones will be a safer, cheaper, and innovative alternative to using helicopters to shooting scenes. During the filming of ‘The Twilight Zone‘, produced by Steven Spielberg, actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le(age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen died in an accident involving a helicopter being used on the set.
But, with this advancement in technology, it will cause job losses for helicopter and airplane pilots and production crews. However, it could mean an overall increase in jobs since production companies will no longer need to leave the country for drone camerawork. Currently, the United States is the only country where drones are regulated.
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