If your show is union, your aerial unit has to be too. That is not a preference, it is a condition of hiring.
Chicago's long-running network series slate means steady union work, and productions here expect vendors who already know how the aerial unit sits inside a Local 600 camera department. We crew accordingly.
CineDrones supplies Local 600 crews for union productions and non-union crews where the show allows it. We know how the aerial unit fits into the camera department on a union call sheet, how the day is accounted for, and what production accounting needs from us. It is the least glamorous part of the job and the part that most often decides whether a vendor gets hired twice.
Chicago crews are experienced at working through weather that would stop a shoot elsewhere, and productions here budget for it. The city's stage space and long-running series slate mean a stable, professional crew base rather than a boom-and-bust one.
Chicago carries a long-running slate of network series alongside features and commercial work, anchored by Cinespace. Producers here are used to cold-weather logistics and expect an aerial unit that can work through conditions rather than wait them out.
We shoot the Loop, the lakefront, the river, and the neighborhoods — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in Chicago and shooting somewhere else entirely, that is a normal week for us.
LOCAL 600 DRONE OPERATORS — OTHER MARKETS: Albuquerque Atlanta Austin Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami New Orleans New York Salt Lake City