Drone video and photography is an amazing way to up the production value of any shoot. With the enhances in Drone technology accessibility to those amazing aerial tools has reached the masses and its use in film and photography production has increased dramatically. It seems everyone wants to include drone footage or photos in their projects these days.
Gone are the limits set by hiring a helicopter and all the costs associated with that, while there will always be a market for helicopter shoots, many aerial projects can be done with a drone in our days.
So how easy is it to do a drone shoot in Dubai or the United Arab Emirates? Well for commercial jobs, its relatively easy but does require planning and a proper budget. I will explain the process of flying a a drone legally in the UAE for commercial jobs and what you need to know to start planning your shoot.
Like any commercial shoot in the Emirates, permits need to be obtained. What would qualify as a commercial shoot? Well, where ever money is involved that would be considered a commercial job, be it being paid as a drone pilot for the shoot or making money off the photos and videos later even if the shoot was for free.
Aerial & Drone Permits
What permits will you need, since you will be flying in regulated airspace, you will need to align with the Civil Aviation Authority responsible for the airspace you will be flying in and get clearance from them on the location, time and date of the flight. This permit can only be issued in association with the drone pilot who will be flying the drone for you as their name is linked to the permit that will be issued. Only registered drone pilots with a commercial registration can be linked to such an application. You can find more details about drone regulations and registration options on the General Civil Aviation Website for any shoots outside of Dubai and the Dubai Civil Aviation Website for shoots in Dubai.
You can check some resources around managed airspace and the levels of restrictions associated with those through specialist websites like AirMap or applications like My Drone Hub for IOS and for Android from the General Civil Aviation Authority. AirMap can also be obtained on iOS and Android.
Film Commission Permits
So now that we have the airspace portion covered we also need to involve the Film Commission responsible for the Emirate your shooting in that would be the Dubai Film Commission for Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission for Abu Dhabi and most of the other emirates. The film commission within the area of the shoot will also need to issue you permits for your commercial drone shoot.
In some locations, you will also need to get permits from the Ministry of Defense and a representative of the Ministry might need to be present with the pilot during the shoot, usually when shooting next to government entity locations like airports, utilities or military bases.
Location Permits
Finally now that we have all the safety permits done, you will need to get a location permit. The location permit would depend on the location of the shoot. So let’s say you would like to shoot near or in the Down Town Area in Dubai. that location is owned by the developer Emaar. You will need to get a permit from Emaar to shoot in their property.
While this seems to be too much for anyone who hasn’t done commercial shoots in the Emirates before, this is the exact same process for any commercial shoot even if drones are not involved with the exception of the aviation authority part.
Your Drone Pilot
A word of caution when it comes to choosing who you work with as your drone pilot, as everyone that bought a drone is calling themselves a commercial pilot in Dubai (A bit of an exaggeration maybe) but I have seen this a lot specially from some prospect customers that I worked with. “Why do I need all of that, I got a quote from another person for 2,000 AED”. I can guarantee that this “pilot” is either not commercially certified or is breaking the law. Should you get caught the penalties might range from 5,000 AED to millions of AEDs depending on the situation. the production company involved runs the risk of getting their trade license closed, the drone pilot gets his license revoked and will face penalties too and you as the customer will most probably be dragged in to this poop storm!
So other than the above, a commercially certified pilot will the the proper certification “usually red in color”, will have experience, will be able to make the right calls about when, how and if to fly and finally will have liability insurance to cover any accidents that might happen. The 2K guy wont have any of that for sure.
In Conclusion
So all said and done, how should you plan your shoot. Given the processes involved in commercial shoots, my advise would be to involve a production house that can arrange all of the above and ensure that you get a quality, hassle free shoot. In order to allow the production house enough time to plan for all needed actions and permits you need to allow 3 to 4 weeks of lead time before your planned shoot date.
You can also see the video at the top of this post for a rundown on the Drone laws in the UAE.
That way you ensure you have everything you need to fly safe and be legally compliant.