Trust RedBull Motorsports to take drone filming to another level. In one of the latest videos shared by the brand, we get to witness what happens when a racing drone follows a freestyle motocross racer on the trails and in the jumps. We hope none of you suffer from motion sickness because the result is a lot of fun.
THAT'S EXTREME!
Have you ever heard of drone racing? Combining state-of-the-art machines with the reflexes and talent of the competitors, these insane events send drones flying at full speed through hoops and arches along a specialized track. The tiny radio-controlled flying devices are built for speed and agility and fitted with cameras that allow the controller to navigate through the course.
It wasn’t long before someone found a fun new mission for one of these drones: why not chase a freestyler in his jumps? Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s flip the drone at the same time the rider does. The result is the insane, single-sequence “Follow Me” video that follows freestyle rider Tom Pagès as he demonstrates four of his signature moves as captured by freestyle drone pioneer Thomas “Tomz” Panaiva.
You get a high-pace, first-person look at what it’s like to tackle jumps, do flips, and navigate through the trees. This was no small feat considering Pagès had to get used to the presence and the buzzing sound of the drone and both man and machine had to avoid a collision.
"On one of the jumps, I’m 20 cm (8 inches) away from his helmet", Tomz explains. For Pagès, the result of the sequence is like taking someone on his backseat through the course. The 8-minute long clip shows the sequence followed by a behind-the-scenes that show us how much coordination
Drones have opened the door to new sights and new ways of getting in on the action so it’s exciting to think of what innovative new ways to combine drone filming and extreme sports people will come up with next.