YouTuber Ronny: "My first viral videoooooooo!"
16.8.2016
Translation: machine translated
The other day on Lake Zurich: an intoxicated motorboat driver falls out of his vessel. His boat - now rudderless - is travelling in circles and threatens to become a danger. The lake police rescue him with aplomb. Drone pilot and Galaxus customer Ronny was on board.
Ronny, how did it all go down?
I was at the lake with friends on Saturday evening. Suddenly there was this motorboat travelling in circles. At first we thought it was a wakeboarder practising. It soon became obvious that something was wrong. A few minutes later, the lake police arrived.
How did you take the photos?
I always have my drone with me. I took off shortly after the police arrived. As a drone pilot, you always have to keep an eye on the battery, which lasts around 20 minutes on my drone - a DJI Phantom 4. The fact that I waited was a good decision. Because the police held their ground for about 10 minutes after arriving. I assume they had a strategy in mind. I still returned with my battery very, very low.
What did you think when you realised what was going on? And when the policeman jumped?
My first viral videoooooo! Yes!
Did the police contact you, are there any problems?
Not so far. I think it's great advertising for the police, the guys are super.
Did people watch you piloting the drones? Did people realise that you were filming there?
Yes, of course. "Never alone with a drone." I would recommend a drone to anyone who wants to be in contact with people. Between one and ten people are always with me. If I'm allowed to, I also take people into the film. Once I even got a round of applause for landing on a tower, that was cool!
The police report came out on Sunday, but the news portals only picked up the story on Monday. The power of images?
Definitely. I edited the video on Sunday evening and put it online. 20min.ch, watson.ch, the Tages-Anzeiger and Blick Online ran articles with my video. Even German TV stations have called. On YouTube alone, the video had 20,000 views within a very short time.
Nice success!
Well. On Sunday afternoon I wanted to film a low-level flight over water. Unfortunately, on the 133rd use of the DJI Phantom 4, it crashed and sank.
Ouch!
Yes, I thought the drone was a few metres above the water. I could see that it was very low, but realised too late how low it really was. Directly above the surface of the water, the altitude sensor was struggling and bang. I flew too low and it was my own fault.
Have you flown other drones before? The pictures look really great.
No, I've only been flying drones and running my video blog for two months. I taught myself how to use the editing programmes and the mixing process.
Really?
Sure. I'd previously only shot motorsport footage with a GoPro, which I never edited much. I was visiting a friend. I told him that I wanted to do something with gadgets. He then told me that I absolutely had to use YouTube. Then he showed me videos by Casey Neistat. That's when I was hooked. Casey has invented a new format, so to speak. The fast, jumping cuts are his trademark. That inspired me.
What do you need to become a YouTuber?
Not much, actually! My tip: keep it relatively simple to get started, a small compact camera and a smartphone are usually enough. I quickly realised that sound is very important. So I bought a second-hand Panasonic Lumix FZ300 and a Røde microphone. This also works with the sound. The drone provides the perspective from above for intermediate sequences, they are simply beautiful and a good stylistic element. I then quickly added two more GoPros, a Session and a 4 Black. I still have 2 GoPro Hero 1s from my motorsport days (really the first GoPro), which I use for shots that could go wrong, i.e. where the camera could be damaged.
And the software?
That's one of those things. I started with Wondershare Filmora. It's good software, but it has very limited functions. It's difficult to cut to a beat and time lapses are only possible up to a maximum of 10x speed. I then tried Adobe Premiere Elements and Magix Video and decided in favour of Adobe. Since then, I've been very satisfied and also much faster in editing than before.
What does fast mean?
The first 4 weeks were hard, I had 4-6 hours per film. Over time, I got better and faster. Adobe also played a part with its ease of use. I need about 3 hours for a cleanly edited film like the ghost boat. Depending on the length of the film and the number of cameras, I would calculate between 2-4 hours per clip.
And now, what happens without the drone?
I've already ordered a new one from galaxus.ch and have already picked it up.
Ronny, thanks for the interview
Here's the link to Ronny's vlog experiment on YouTube.
Products that Ronny uses
Aurel Stevens
Chief Editor
aurel.stevens@digitecgalaxus.chI'm the master tamer at the flea circus that is the editorial team, a nine-to-five writer and 24/7 dad. Technology, computers and hi-fi make me tick. On top of that, I’m a rain-or-shine cyclist and generally in a good mood.
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