CASE STUDY
Case Study: Live FPV Drones Inside the Sphere Las Vegas
Inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, Air Views Media flew custom-built, sub-100-gram livestream drones for UNITY. We live-streamed FPV drone footage directly from the drone goggles to the Sphere interior screen, one of the world's largest screens, as part of the show. That same footage was also used for content in an Alan Walker music video.
At a glance
• Event: UNITY at the Sphere, Las Vegas
• Aircraft: custom-built, sub-100-gram livestream drones
• Live path: FPV picture from the drone goggles straight to the Sphere interior screen
• Screen: one of the world's largest screens
• Also: footage used for content in an Alan Walker music video
The brief
For UNITY at the Sphere, the drone had to keep an exceptionally low profile. It would fly inside the venue, above an audience, and its picture would go live onto the Sphere's own immersive screen as part of the show's visuals. The production needed a real-time aerial camera that felt like part of the program, not a distraction in the room.
What we flew
We flew custom-built, sub-100-gram livestream drones. We build our micro drones in house to be as small as possible, and indoors that size matters: light aircraft and minimal equipment meant a real-time aerial view with zero disruption to the audience.
Indoor live aerials, in general, favor the lightest aircraft that can still deliver a clean picture. Smaller airframes reduce the visual footprint for the audience and make it easier to work around lighting, speakers and the show's own safety rules. Organizers planning indoor drones should agree flight corridors with venue ops early and treat the screen or LED handoff like any other program camera.
From the goggles to the Sphere screen
The live path was simple and deliberate. We live-streamed FPV drone footage directly from the drone goggles to the Sphere interior screen. That handoff put the pilot's first-person view onto one of the world's largest screens in real time, so the audience saw the same aerial move the pilot was flying.
Any indoor live aerial into a venue screen follows the same basic idea: the aircraft is a camera on the show, the receiver path is rehearsed like a program camera, and the director knows when the aerial is available. What made this job distinct was the scale of the screen and how little equipment was needed to put a clean FPV picture on it.
Beyond the live show
Footage from the Sphere work was also used for content in an Alan Walker music video. The live feed served the night; the recorded material carried into artist content afterward. That split—live for the room, recorded for later edit—is common on big shows, and it is why we plan both the screen path and the record path before doors.
The result
A live FPV aerial feed on one of the world's largest screens, flown with custom sub-100-gram livestream drones, with minimal equipment and no disruption to the audience below. The same capture later appeared as content in an Alan Walker music video.
What carries over to your show
Indoor venues that want live aerials on their own screens need light aircraft, a clean goggles-to-screen path and a safety plan the venue will approve. Our live feeds have gone out on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music and Twitch, and our festival and venue work includes EDC Las Vegas and other large productions. See our EDC 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.
Sphere drone FAQ
Can a drone fly inside the Sphere?
We've done it. For UNITY at the Sphere, we flew custom-built, sub-100-gram livestream drones inside the venue, and live-streamed FPV footage directly from the drone goggles to the Sphere interior screen.
Why use such small drones indoors?
A sub-100-gram drone keeps a very low profile in a packed venue. At the Sphere, that meant a real-time aerial view with minimal equipment and no disruption to the audience.
How did the feed reach the Sphere screen?
We live-streamed FPV drone footage directly from the drone goggles to the Sphere interior screen, one of the world's largest screens.
Was the footage used beyond the live show?
Yes. Footage from the Sphere work was also used for content in an Alan Walker music video.
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.
Air Views Media is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sphere, UNITY or Alan Walker. Sphere, UNITY and Alan Walker are trademarks of their owners. This page describes Air Views Media's own work and is not an endorsement by them.