Lake Charles, LA Drone Videographer and Operator
Air Views Media is a drone videography company serving Lake Charles, Sulphur, Westlake and Southwest Louisiana for casino resorts, events, industry, real estate and brand films. Our crew has flown one-take interior fly-throughs of more than 15 Charleston-area hotels for Vive Media. FAA Part 107 certified pilots, $10M liability standard (optional up to $25M).
Lake Charles
Resorts, the lakefront and events
Casino resorts, the lakefront, downtown and festivals around Lake Charles suit aerials, filmed with the property's or organizer's approval. For resorts and venues an indoor one-take fly-through shows the space in a single shot; see indoor fly-through tours. For festivals and concerts we film recaps, and for larger shows we send live drone feeds to the stream or screens; see live broadcast drones and concert and festival drones. Louisiana law bars flying a drone over a permitted parade or parade route, including Mardi Gras parades, unless the flight is for an authorized film or TV production.
Refineries, LNG and Louisiana law
Southwest Louisiana is lined with refineries, chemical plants and LNG terminals. Unless a flight complies with FAA rules, Louisiana law makes it a crime to record refineries, chemical plants, schools, ports, pipelines or other critical infrastructure without the owner's written consent, to fly over a jail without permission, or to record a military site without the commander's consent; flying over fenced critical infrastructure without authority is a separate crime, so we get written consent first or keep those sites out of the shot. A Strategic Petroleum Reserve site in Cameron Parish is a federal no-drone area. Louisiana preempts local drone ordinances, but cities and parishes still control takeoff and landing on their own property, so we launch from private property with the owner's approval or get permission. We keep neighbors and people on private property out of frame unless they agree to be filmed.
Federal sites to the north
For jobs toward Leesville and Oakdale, Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk, is a federal no-drone area with restricted airspace that starts at the surface, and the federal prison complex in Oakdale is a federal no-drone area too. Commercial drone use in Louisiana state parks needs advance approval from the Office of State Parks, so we arrange it before any park shoot. For New Orleans itself, including the French Quarter and the Superdome, see New Orleans drone videography; we plan Lake Charles jobs alongside that work.
Airspace
Lake Charles Regional, about 5 miles south of downtown, and Chennault International, about 4 miles east, both have control towers and controlled airspace, so many addresses need LAANC. We check every Lake Charles location on the FAA sectional, B4UFLY and NOTAMs before quoting, and file LAANC or FAA authorization for any address that needs it.
Credits
Charleston hotel fly-throughs for Vive Media, the John Summit and Dom Dolla Super Bowl week pop-up on Bourbon Street and the Vans Warped Tour live broadcast in Orlando.
Related
New Orleans drone videography | Lafayette, LA drone videographer | Baton Rouge, LA drone videographer | Shreveport, LA drone videographer | Augusta drone videography (headquarters) | Lynchburg, VA drone videography (second location) | Live broadcast drones | Concert and festival drones | All locations
Nearby cities we fly
Metairie, LA drone videographer | Galveston, TX drone videographer | Houston, TX drone videographer | College Station, TX drone videographer
FAQs
Can you film refineries and LNG plants?
Only with the owner's prior written consent. Louisiana law makes recording refineries, chemical plants, LNG terminals and other critical infrastructure by drone without consent a crime.
Can you fly near Fort Johnson?
No. Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk, is a federal no-drone area, and its restricted airspace starts at the surface.
Do you need FAA approval to fly in Lake Charles?
It depends on the address. Lake Charles Regional and Chennault International both have control towers. We check every location on the FAA sectional and B4UFLY before quoting and file LAANC where it is needed.
Can you film inside casinos and resorts?
Yes, with the property's approval. We fly indoor one-take fly-throughs that show lobbies, gaming floors and rooms in a single shot.
What insurance do you carry?
Our standard policy is $10M liability, with optional coverage up to $25M when a venue, league or network requires it. Certificates naming your venue or production are issued before the shoot.
Request a Quote
Tell us the date, location and what you need filmed. Request a Quote or call 706-284-8364.