The Work Before the Work
When I started CineDrones back in 2013, nobody was handing out studio contracts to a guy with a drone and a dream. Aerial cinematography wasn’t yet a normal line item on a below-the-line budget, and most producers I talked to didn’t have a mental slot for what I was offering. My first year wasn’t spent pitching studios. It was spent doing every small, unglamorous job I could find - real estate flyovers, local event coverage, anything that let me log flight hours, build a reel, and prove I could show up on time and deliver clean footage without drama.
Reliability Opened More Doors Than Talent Did
I’d like to say my first studio client hired me because my shots were the best they’d seen. The truth is closer to this: a location manager I’d worked with on a small commercial vouched for me to a line producer who needed someone reliable on short notice. Studios and productions run on trust built through other people’s experiences with you, not cold pitches. Every job I did well became a reference I didn’t have to ask for. That’s still true today - most of our biggest clients came through someone who’d worked with us before, not a cold email.
Credentials Got Me in the Room
Reliability got me the referral, but Part 107 certification, proper insurance, and a real aviation liability policy got me taken seriously once I was in the room. Productions can’t afford to gamble on a pilot flying under a hobbyist exemption or without adequate coverage - the legal and safety exposure is too high. Having that paperwork squared away before I ever asked for a meeting meant a producer’s first question, whether I was actually licensed and insured to do this, was already answered. That single detail eliminated more competition than any demo reel did.
The First Real Studio Job Almost Didn’t Happen
My first true studio gig came from a referral for a project that had already gone sideways with another vendor. They needed someone who could step in fast, understand union protocols on set, and not need much hand-holding. I said yes before I’d fully worked out how. That job was smaller than it sounds glamorous to say now, but it led directly to the next one, and the one after that. Looking back, the lesson wasn’t wait until you feel ready. It was say yes to the job that’s slightly above where you are, and figure out the rest on the way there.
What I’d Tell Someone Starting Today
If I were starting CineDrones now, I’d spend less time worrying about gear and more time worrying about who actually sees my work. Build relationships with location managers, ADs, and other vendors before you need them. Get licensed and insured before you pitch anyone, not after. And take the smaller jobs seriously - the wedding, the listing, the local news segment - because the person who hires you for the big job is very often someone who saw you do the small one right.
Work With Me
I still talk with people trying to figure out this exact stage of the business - how to land that first real client, what licensing and insurance actually cost, how to price a shoot without underselling yourself. If you want to talk through where you’re stuck, get in touch with CineDrones to book a 30-minute strategy call with me for $99, or a full hour for $189. Get in touch with CineDrones.
