Fireworks query

[Mavic Rick]

I've not seen these questions on the board, so I'll go ahead and ask:
1) Generally speaking, what exposure works best for recording fireworks? I'd like to shoot 4K 24fps. I'm guessing wide open at 1/30 second w/800 ISO.
2) What exposure works best for still images? Would using a ND filter be advised to get longer shutter speeds (for fuller firework bursts)?

Two more questions: What about incorporating precision flight or dual stability to help reduce camera shake/vibration? Good idea? Bad idea?

Finally, what altitude do most fireworks go off at? I'd like to be above any smoke from the fireworks' ignition.

Thanks!

 

[Atomic08]

I have done a few videos from my Typhoon H and EVO
Read Here:
July 4th 2019 local Fireworks with my EVO

 

[Mavic Rick]

I have done a few videos from my Typhoon H and EVO
Read Here:
July 4th 2019 local Fireworks with my EVO

Great info! Thanks for sharing. Do you recall your altitude? Was it anywhere near 400 feet?

 

[Atomic08]

I think I was at 400 ft
I had relations with the fireworks people that shot off the displays
and asked him how high the fireworks go off and did my altitude off that info
I also watched the wind direction so I was fling with the wind at my back, as not to have the smoke blow into the video
Some where I posted all my info about permits, insurance, police protection and reserved area for Take off and landing
plus my editing procedures.
I Can't find it now, I'll check when I get home

 

[herein2021]

I've not seen these questions on the board, so I'll go ahead and ask:
1) Generally speaking, what exposure works best for recording fireworks? I'd like to shoot 4K 24fps. I'm guessing wide open at 1/30 second w/800 ISO.
2) What exposure works best for still images? Would using a ND filter be advised to get longer shutter speeds (for fuller firework bursts)?

Two more questions: What about incorporating precision flight or dual stability to help reduce camera shake/vibration? Good idea? Bad idea?

Finally, what altitude do most fireworks go off at? I'd like to be above any smoke from the fireworks' ignition.

Thanks!

I typically shoot fireworks videos at 4K30FPS 1/30s ISO800 or ISO400 depending on how close you are and a 3600K WB. For the altitude I start at 300' then drop lower until the fireworks really fill the frame. If you have the 6K I would shoot in 6K so that you can losslessly crop in closer without actually bringing in the drone any closer.

I also keep track of the direction the fireworks tubes are pointed with the goal being to have the tubes pointed somewhat right at the drone for the best effect. To get the altitude affect I also drop even lower around 100' or so to show the fireworks flying past the drone. So my typical shot list is start high around 300' to ensure the drone is under good control and to get some high aerial shots; drop to 200' and at a slight angle once the trajectories of the fireworks are figured out and their altitude, then drop to 100' but steer well to the side of the show to add some depth to the scene by having the fireworks fly higher than the drone. For the grand finale I typically have figured out the optimal location to put the drone, and the best altitude so as soon as I get about 30s from each elevation I then position the drone in the best spot and wait for the finale. Any more than about 30s at each altitude and the show starts looking repetitive to me.

Another thing to keep in mind is fireworks shows typically last 10min at most so you really need to plan your locations, flight paths, and check your signal strength well before the show starts. You also need to be in the air with the exposure and camera settings set before the first fireworks launches.

Last but not least you need to ensure you keep the drone away from the crowds and plan a flight path to and from the location that does not fly over people.

 

[Atomic08]

herein2021​

Nice advice!
Do you have any video examples for us to view??
Our July 4th and Labor day shows last about 30 min here

 

[Mavic Rick]

I typically shoot fireworks videos at 4K30FPS 1/30s ISO800 or ISO400 depending on how close you are and a 3600K WB. For the altitude I start at 300' then drop lower until the fireworks really fill the frame. If you have the 6K I would shoot in 6K so that you can losslessly crop in closer without actually bringing in the drone any closer.

I also keep track of the direction the fireworks tubes are pointed with the goal being to have the tubes pointed somewhat right at the drone for the best effect. To get the altitude affect I also drop even lower around 100' or so to show the fireworks flying past the drone. So my typical shot list is start high around 300' to ensure the drone is under good control and to get some high aerial shots; drop to 200' and at a slight angle once the trajectories of the fireworks are figured out and their altitude, then drop to 100' but steer well to the side of the show to add some depth to the scene by having the fireworks fly higher than the drone. For the grand finale I typically have figured out the optimal location to put the drone, and the best altitude so as soon as I get a about 30s from each elevation I then position the drone in the best spot and wait for the finale. Anymore than about 30s at each altitude and the show starts looking repetitive to me.

Another thing to keep in mind is fireworks shows typically last 10min at most so you really need to plan your locations, flight paths, and check your signal strength well below the show starts. You also need to be in the air with the exposure and camera settings set before the first fireworks launches.

Last but not least you need to ensure you keep the drone away from the crowds and plan a flight path to and from the location that does not fly over people.

Tremendous information! Thanks so much.

 

[herein2021]

herein2021​

Nice advice!
Do you have any video examples for us to view??
Our July 4th and Labor day shows last about 30 min here

Funny enough I do not; I have shot about 3 fireworks shows over the years for the local county government. But the footage that I shot I never did anything with, I just sent the raw clips as b roll footage for the client to use in their projects. I typically do not bother editing footage from a paid client unless I am shooting the whole project and have enough content to put together the complete video.

This year I was planning on putting together a personal fireworks video with the EVO II 6K just to test its capabilities and since the county that typically hires me wasn't putting on a show this year, but due to the pandemic everything was greatly downsized so I decided not to bother.

That's interesting about Labor Day, I have never heard of fireworks shows on Labor Day. Here in FL the only big ones are 4th of July and there's a few smaller ones for New Years Eve and the 'big' ones here are 15min at best.

 

[tvwxman]

I would be tempted to stick with 4K video, not 6K. These are harsh conditions and 6K settings reduce your video bit depth to 8 bit vs 10 bit. You'll get 10 bit video by shooting in the log profile and keeping your frame rate at or below 30fps. With the darker background and very bright fireworks, you'll need all the dynamic range you can get which the log profile affords. In addition, 8 bit video 'only' provides a palette 16.7 million colors vs over 1 billion at 10 bit. This will reduce your chances of seeing false contouring (banding), and other artifacts particularly in the sky during twilight. This comes into play even more when color grading your footage in post.

 

[herein2021]

I would be tempted to stick with 4K video, not 6K. These are harsh conditions and 6K settings reduce your video bit depth to 8 bit vs 10 bit. You'll get 10 bit video by shooting in the log profile and keeping your frame rate at or below 30fps. With the darker background and very bright fireworks, you'll need all the dynamic range you can get which the log profile affords. In addition, 8 bit video 'only' provides a palette 16.7 million colors vs over 1 billion at 10 bit. This will reduce your chances of see false contouring (banding), and other artifacts particularly in the sky during twilight. This comes into play even more when color grading your footage in post.

That is an interesting consideration....8bit vs 10bit for fireworks shows. I do think that although on paper there would seem to be a big difference I think it would take a side by side comparison to determine if there really is a difference. Until this year all of my work was done with 8bit only since none of the previous DJI models offered 10 bit and I had no problems delivering commercially viable footage for clients. Also, some of the most amazing fireworks shows filmed with drones such as the earlier days (i.e. the famous Australian fireworks show which was one of the first drone fireworks show videos) were all filmed in 8bit since 10bit was not available at the time.

10bit on paper makes a big difference, but in reality its real power isn't readily apparent in most scenarios unless you need to drastically push and pull the color grade in post or you have fine gradients with very slight variations in the gradient such as sunset footage. IMO DR would not be a consideration in this scenario since you can only expose for the burst of the fireworks above all else since everything else will be far under exposed exceeding the DR of any camera.

For this particular scenario, IF you wanted to be able to punch in and appear much closer to the fireworks than the drone actually was, I think 6K 8bit could be the better choice than 4K 10bit. I mainly base that on the fact that nearly every fireworks show since around 2016 that was shot with drones was shot with 8bit and viewers found the resulting footage worth watching.

For me personally, I would just fly the drone closer after calculating the trajectories of the fireworks, the EVO II 6K also helps with that because it is a 35mm FF equivalent lens vs the typical DJI lens which is closer to 24mm or 16mm FF equivalent so with the EVO II 6K you can appear to be closer while actually being farther away in camera. Also, the one thing punching in won't give you is the immersive effect as the embers fall all around the drone. You have to truly be in the middle of the action to get that.

 

[herein2021]

herein2021​

Nice advice!
Do you have any video examples for us to view??
Our July 4th and Labor day shows last about 30 min here

I finally have my own footage to show for a fireworks display with the EVO II 6K. This was not a commissioned project so I just shot it and edited it as a personal project. For this one, I did everything I listed above; I did a test flight about 2hrs before the start of the fireworks show to test the camera, RC signal strength, flight path etc. I also set the camera settings which are below prior to the actual show. I tested the WB at both Daylight and 3600K and Daylight WB looked too yellowish to me so I went with my usual 3600K.

A heavy fog rolled in right before the start of the show so that made everything more complicated, the fog added an end of world look to the footage so I added to that look for the final color grade.

Camera Settings
Framerate: 30FPS
Shutter: 1/30s
Aperture: F2.8
WB: 3600K
Profile: LOG
Resolution: 4K
Bit Depth: 10bit

Edited and color graded in Davinci Resolve

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[Mavic Rick]

I finally have my own footage to show for a fireworks display with the EVO II 6K. This was not a commissioned project so I just shot it and edited it as a personal project. For this one, I did everything I listed above; I did a test flight about 2hrs before the start of the fireworks show to test the camera, RC signal strength, flight path etc. I also set the camera settings which are below prior to the actual show. I tested the WB at both Daylight and 3600K and Daylight WB looked too yellowish to me so I went with my usual 3600K.

A heavy fog rolled in right before the start of the show so that made everything more complicated, the fog added an end of world look to the footage so I added to that look for the final color grade.

Camera Settings
Framerate: 30FPS
Shutter: 1/30s
Aperture: F2.8
WB: 3600K
Profile: LOG
Resolution: 4K
Bit Depth: 10bit

Edited and color graded in Davinci Resolve

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Great info, great share, thanks!