CASE STUDY
Case Study: Live Drone Coverage at EDC Las Vegas
EDC Las Vegas is one of the biggest festivals in the country, and Air Views Media flies it with a three-pilot drone team. Over three days we flew over the biggest stages, with overcrowd drones fed directly into the Hulu live stream. Year after year, our pilots keep coming back to the desert for FPV and micro-drone work across the festival grounds.
At a glance
• Event: EDC Las Vegas
• Crew: three-pilot drone team
• Duration: three days
• Live: overcrowd drones fed directly into the Hulu live stream
• Focus: flying over the biggest stages
• Also on site credits: EDC Las Vegas 2025 Kinetic Metropolis FPV for Restless Media (Cheetah Lounge, executive producer); 2024 one-take micro-drone flythroughs of EDC Las Vegas and Camp EDC with the media team
The brief
EDC Las Vegas draws more than 500,000 people to the desert every year. The show needed aerials that could work over the biggest stages and still land cleanly in a national livestream. That meant a multi-pilot team on for the full three days, not a single pass for a highlight reel.
Live festival aerials are, in general terms, moving cameras the director can cut to the way they cut to a tower or handheld. Organizers plan flight areas against crowd flow, stage schedules and stream windows, then keep the pilots on the same cues as the rest of the show. That is what makes overcrowd shots feel part of the broadcast rather than a separate package.
Three pilots, three days
We worked EDC Las Vegas as a three-pilot drone team across three days. Spreading the load across pilots kept coverage available when stages peaked and when the stream called for another angle. On a site this size, one pilot cannot cover every main-stage window; a three-pilot team can stay ready while others reposition, recharge or hand off the next cue.
Overcrowd into the Hulu live stream
Our overcrowd drones fed directly into the Hulu live stream. The feed path was built for live cuts: camera to receiver, receiver into the production that owned the Hulu stream, then out on air when the director called for it. Because those aerials were going out live, the pilots flew on production cues rather than freelancing for later edit alone.
Any live aerial into a major stream follows the same basic path. What changes from job to job is venue wiring and who sits between the aerial and the platform. The constant is rehearsal of that path before gates so the director knows the drone is a real camera, not a surprise feed.
Over the biggest stages
We flew over the biggest stages at EDC Las Vegas. Those moves are what give a livestream a sense of scale: rising off the crowd, clearing the lighting, then settling on the stage when the set hits. Our FAA §107.39 waiver for operation over people is what makes over-the-crowd aerials possible where the operation qualifies; each flight is planned to meet the waiver's conditions and the festival's own safety plan.
Year after year on the grounds
Beyond the three-day Hulu live work, our EDC Las Vegas credits include FPV coverage around Kinetic Metropolis in 2025 for Restless Media, with Cheetah Lounge as executive producer, and media-team micro-drone flythroughs of EDC Las Vegas and Camp EDC in 2024, each in one continuous take. Those jobs sit alongside the live stream work as part of how we cover the festival.
What carries over to your festival
A three-pilot team, a rehearsed overcrowd path into the stream and flight plans that match the biggest stages are the pieces that travel to other festivals. Our live feeds have gone out on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music and Twitch. See our Sphere Las Vegas drone case study, our Las Vegas page, our one-take micro drone flythrough tours, our FPV drones for concerts and festivals, or more of our live broadcast work. Also see our FIFA Fan Festival Atlanta drone case study.
EDC Las Vegas drone FAQ
What did Air Views Media do at EDC Las Vegas?
We flew as a three-pilot drone team over three days, covering the biggest stages with overcrowd drones fed directly into the Hulu live stream. Our credits also include Kinetic Metropolis FPV in 2025 and one-take micro-drone flythroughs of EDC Las Vegas and Camp EDC in 2024.
Did your drones go live on Hulu?
Yes. Our overcrowd drones fed directly into the Hulu live stream.
How large was the drone team?
A three-pilot drone team, on site across three days.
Can you fly over a festival crowd?
Yes, where the operation qualifies. Air Views Media holds an FAA §107.39 waiver for operation over people, and we plan each flight to meet the waiver's conditions and the festival's safety plan.
Are you based in Las Vegas?
We're based in Augusta, GA, with a second location in Lynchburg, VA, and we travel to Las Vegas for festivals, venues and brand work.
EDC and Electric Daisy Carnival are trademarks of their owners. This page describes Air Views Media's own work and is not endorsed by them.