Smart travel marketers value captivating content - and drones generally offer a fresh perspective that engages uses while also showing a useful overview of a particular location.
However, it's not always easy to source drone footage or affordable to pay a vendor to capture this footage solely for one project.
A new startup marketplace called Airstoc is aiming to rectify this by offering stock footage specifically created by drones.
The website marketplace manages 3,500 clips which are for sale on a royalty basis, covering both the generic (such as the sunrise over a field) to the specific (such as boats loading timber in the Scottish Highlands).
Clips are priced according to resolution, with HD clips priced at £250, 4K clips at £350 and 5K at £500.
The website also connects clients with drone operators, allowing for specific projects to be tackled by local drone operators. This is ideal when a stock clip is not specific or unique enough for a project.
The drone operator connection will also take on outsize significance once government organizations, such as the FAA in America, release rules regulating commercial drone flights. Right now, there is a gold rush by drone operators to capture as much monetizable footage prior to being regulated and limited by government rules.
This follows other experimental approaches to using drone-created content in travel marketing. Two come to mind: the Poland by Drone project that documented 100 places in Poland over a period of 10 months, and the TravelbyDrone interface that indexes aerial drone travel content.
Here's a taste of the TavelByDrone project - thankfully no ancient temples were harmed in the making of this film!
