Following Tesla’s release of the viral “Flying Through Giga Berlin” video last month, the videographer shared some of his thoughts and processes from inside the Grünheide, Germany factory, using a first-person view (FPV) drone from DJI.
Drone videographer Ferdinand Wolf talked to TechRadar last week about setting up for and performing the video’s shots, describing a sort of Super Mario-like “choreography” with the facility’s moving machines.
Wolf described how some of the video’s more intricate shots with Tesla’s machinery had to be scoped out beforehand to make them work, with just one scouting day available.
“On location, we then planned the shots rather run-and-gun style, which was only possible because of the amazing support of all the Tesla Gigafactory employees. Everybody there was super supportive and tried to help us as much as possible to get our shots,” said Wolf.
Inside Giga Berlin, Wolf used a small custom built ‘Cinewhoop’ drone with 2.5 inch protected propellers. The setup consisted of a DJI/Caddx Vista Digital FPV System, ExpressLRS Link for Radio Control, Radiomaster TX16s Remote Controller, BetaFPV Flight Controller (running Betaflight 4.2 software) and lastly, DJI FPV Goggles V2, which offers the pilot a first-person point of view when flying.
The whole setup weighs under 250 grams, including a stripped-down GoPro for filming.
“Because some of those shots have never been done before, like flying through the Giga Press and Stamping Machine, we had to understand how the machines work and where we can fly without risking the machines and drones,” added the drone pilot.
On working with the moving machines, Wolf said, “Especially when you work on longer shots that involve people or machines doing different things that end up in one choreography.”
Wolf later added, “Flying the drone often felt like playing a Super Mario game where you have to time your jumps and runs to dodge the obstacles which in this case were the robot arms and various machines.”
The drone pilot was particularly proud of his ability to fly right through the Gigapress stamping machine, as it’s never been done before, saying the “timing was absolutely critical” as there was no room for error, as a mistake would have stopped production and damaged the huge machine. Overall, no drones or Teslas were harmed in the making of the video.
Drones have played a major role in helping Tesla’s audience keep up with construction affairs and happenings at its factories, though Wolf’s video was the furthest inside the operational factory seen yet. The video below so far has racked up over 2.5 million views:
