FPV & Drone

About this film production

FPV & Drone is a film production by SwainUK, a commercial and beauty cinematographer and photographer working between London and Dubai. The work here sits under fpv, and the frames on this page are the delivered selection rather than a highlight reel.

Motion is cut for where it will actually be watched. A campaign leaves with the long version and the vertical cuts made from the same grade, so nothing looks like an afterthought in a feed.

Where we shoot

We work between London and Dubai and travel for both, so where a shoot happens is usually a question of where the product and the people already are.

We take film productions across London, Dubai and wherever the brief needs, for brands running paid and organic campaigns. If you are looking at this page because you need something similar, the fastest route is to send the brief: it takes about two minutes and comes back with what we would build and what it takes, usually the same day.

Questions we get asked about film productions

How do you choose the model for a film production?

Casting starts from the product, not from a favourite face. For a film production that means looking at what the script needs. On a brand film that is presence and timing rather than a look, so we read people rather than scroll portfolios. We shortlist from agencies we already work with in London and Dubai, send options with the mood board attached so you can see them in context, and hold the final choice until the direction is agreed. If you have someone in mind already, that is easier and usually cheaper.

How is the mood board put together before the shoot?

Every project starts on a shared board before a camera comes out. References go up for lighting, colour, wardrobe and framing, we pull the palette straight out of the images so the grade has a target rather than a mood, and you comment on it in place instead of sending notes back in an email. It is built on our own tool, so you get a link, not an attachment, and it stays live while the project runs. By the time we shoot, nobody is guessing what the pictures are supposed to look like.

What does a film production like this actually need?

Motion is cut for where it will actually be watched. A campaign leaves with the long version and the vertical cuts made from the same grade, so nothing looks like an afterthought in a feed. In practice: a direction agreed on the board, a location or studio, the cast, and a shot list built from what the campaign has to deliver rather than from what looks good on the day. We bring the kit. A job this size is usually a single day, with the selection back to you inside the week and the finished delivery after that.

How long until I get the images and the film?

A first selection goes up on a private gallery, like this one, within a few days of the shoot. You mark your favourites in it, and those are the frames that get finished. Full delivery is usually one to two weeks depending on how much motion there is. If something is needed sooner for a launch date, say so at brief stage and it gets scheduled around that date rather than squeezed at the end.

Do you shoot stills and motion on the same day?

Yes, and it is nearly always the right call. The lighting is already built, the cast is already there and the direction is already agreed, so the second medium costs a fraction of what it costs as a separate booking. A campaign leaves with the stills, the long film and the vertical cuts made from the same grade, so nothing in the set looks like it came from a different shoot.

Where do you work?

We work between London and Dubai and travel for both. We work between London and Dubai and travel for both, so where a shoot happens is usually a question of where the product and the people already are. Work outside those two is quoted with travel shown separately on the line item, so you can see exactly what the shoot costs and what getting there costs.

Do you handle the edit and the animation as well?

Yes. Shooting and finishing sit in the same place here, which is why the cuts match: the grade, the type and the sound design are built by the people who were on the shoot. Aerial work is covered too, under a CAA A1/A3 certification for drone and FPV.

How do I get a quote?

Send the brief through the site. It is a short set of questions about what you are making, what it has to do and roughly what the budget is, and it comes back with a reference number so you can chase it by name. You can pick a slot for a call back at the end of it, which puts a 15 minute call straight in both diaries. Everything is read by a person, usually the same day.