3D Robotics

MPAA lobbying FAA to use drones in filmmaking

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From Fast Company

New documents reveal that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is pressing the federal government to legalize Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) use in the film industry. In a lobbying disclosure report filed this week, the MPAA disclosed a lobbying campaign aimed at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve unarmed drone use in domestic airspace. The MPAA's lobbying efforts are aimed at reducing legal confusion about filmmakers using UAVs for aerial shots.

The Hill's Brendan Sasso reports that the MPAA wants UAVs in filmmakers' hands; according to an organization spokesperson, UAVs are cheaper, safer, and easier to use for aerial shots than cranes or helicopters. Drones are currently being quietly used for aerial shoots in Hollywood, causing fears that crane operators could lose lucrative filming gigs. Florida, meanwhile, is debating legislation that would ban UAV filmmaking. The use of drones in American airspace for filmmaking and surveillance is currently a legal gray area; the FAA plans to formally offer private drone licenses by 2015.

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Comments

  • 100% a scan eagle

  • IMHO The participation of these big guys with the big money in the unstable law situation will not improve legality for casual drone owners. MPAA have their own interests in this matter, and they do not lie in the fact that the drones would make common public technology. But this is a clear signal to a high level of demand for the technology in general .=)

  • No doubt, though the ScanEagle wouldn't work well for Hollywood it definitely gives off the Hollywood look of a drone.
  • think that is a scan eagle?

  • @R_Lefebyre the ScanEagle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Insitu_ScanEagle
  • Which plane is that in the picture?  Looks pretty cool.

  • Paul,

    I guarantee that the desire to create a monopoly is the root cause of the current hold up on airspace integration. Whether it's military industrial contractors or the crane operators union, everyone wants to maintain their plump profit margins and keep innovation at bay. 

    Until Bell telephone was broken up, almost no one actually owned a phone; they were leased from THE phone company. Panavision film cameras are not for sale they are only leased(to this day). It's hard to imagine these things in 2013 when Red and GoPro cameras seem to be everywhere, and at this moment some geek in a garage is building something smaller, better, and cheaper.

    Good luck wannabe monopolizers, I think your time has past.

  • @paul: Don't worry, I think that there is too much back stabbing in the film business for a monopoly to work :P

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