Sedona, AZ Drone Videographer and Operator

Resorts and real estate

Sedona's resorts, spas and homes suit hospitality and real estate films, filmed with the owner's approval. Our crew has flown one-take interior fly-throughs of more than 15 Charleston-area hotels for Vive Media; for resorts and venues see indoor fly-through tours.

Red Rock Country and wilderness

Most of the red rock country around Sedona is Coconino National Forest. The Red Rock-Secret Mountain and Munds Mountain wildernesses are designated wilderness, where the Forest Service does not allow drones to take off or land. Commercial filming on other forest land may need a Forest Service permit. Red Rock and Slide Rock are state parks: Arizona State Parks prohibits recreational drone use, and commercial flights need a filming permit approved by park management, so we apply well ahead of any state park shoot.

Grand Canyon and federal sites

Grand Canyon National Park is National Park Service land, where launching or landing a drone is prohibited without the superintendent's written approval. The Naval Observatory sites near Flagstaff and Glen Canyon Dam are federal no-drone areas around the clock. Arizona law makes it a felony to photograph or loiter over a critical facility, such as a power plant, substation, water plant, dam, rail yard, prison or military site, in furtherance of a crime, and a misdemeanor to fly in violation of FAA rules or in the way of police, firefighters or emergency crews. We keep those sites out of the shot unless the owner asks us to film them. We keep neighbors and people on private property out of frame unless they agree to be filmed.

Airspace

Sedona Airport, about 2 miles southwest of town, has no control tower, but tour helicopters and planes work the area, so we keep a visual observer on every flight. Flagstaff Pulliam and Grand Canyon National Park Airport have control towers. Wildfire and other hazard TFRs close the airspace to drones with little notice, so we check NOTAMs again on the day of every flight. We check every Sedona 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 Las Vegas Grand Prix launch party and Science Channel's Impossible Engineering aerials of the Jenga building in Austin.

Related

Phoenix, AZ drone videographer | Scottsdale, AZ drone videographer | Tucson, AZ drone videographer | Las Vegas drone videography | Los Angeles drone videography | Augusta drone videography (headquarters) | Lynchburg, VA drone videography (second location) | Live broadcast drones | Concert and festival drones | All locations

Nearby cities we fly

Tempe, AZ drone videographer | Palm Springs, CA drone videographer | Albuquerque, NM drone videographer | San Diego, CA drone videographer

FAQs

Can you fly drones in the Sedona red rocks?

Not from designated wilderness. Much of the red rock country is Coconino National Forest wilderness, where drones may not take off or land, so we launch from legal sites outside it.

Can you fly over the Grand Canyon?

Not from National Park Service land without the superintendent's written approval. We film from legal sites outside the park.

Can you fly drones in Arizona state parks?

Only with a filming permit approved by park management. Arizona State Parks prohibits recreational drone use, so we apply well ahead of any state park shoot.

Do you need FAA approval to fly in Sedona?

It depends on the address. Sedona Airport has no tower, but tour aircraft fly the area. We check every location on the FAA sectional and B4UFLY before quoting and file LAANC where it is needed.

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.