DJI Mini 5 Pro – How to Use QUICKSHOTS for Cinematic Footage

QuickShots are a collection of automated movements centered around a subject. They’re commonly used to create dynamic selfies for sharing or to effortlessly capture clips while traveling

They can also be used to showcase the surroundings of notable landmarks, produce cinematic footage of unfamiliar locations, or support real estate videography

The Mini 5 Pro introduces some new features compared to previous lightweight models. In this article, I will show you all you need to know to make the most of this functionality

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Settings

On the Photo/video menu above the shutter, we find the Quickshots icon below Mastershots. In the vertical menu to the left, the different modes are listed:

Rotate
Dronie
Rocket
Circle
Helix
Boomerang
Asteroid

The Exposure can be set to Auto or Manual. I suggest using manual, as during different moves the light intensity may vary considerably, leading to unwanted shifts in luminance when using Auto exposure

It is preferable to avoid the middle hours of a sunny day, as the differences in luminosity are severe and the shadows too harsh. Better results are obtained after sunrise, before sunset, or with the sun covered by clouds

The White Balance should also be set to manu-al to avoid color shifts

For Resolution, there is a choice between 4k and 1080p with frame rates of 30 to 60 fps. The widely used 24fps is not available. This is annoying for users who normally shoot at 24fps, as the quickshots will stutter if the footage is encoded at a different frame rate-

The three different Color Profiles, Normal, D-Log M, and HLG are available; it is also possible to take Vertical Quickshots in Portrait mode

After choosing the Quickshot modes, in most cases, a target must be selected by drawing a box around it. If people or vehicles are on the frame, a plus sign will be overlaid, and we can select them as targets by simply tapping on the plus sign

During a Quickshot, we can interrupt the process by touching the sticks of the remote controller or the left button of the remote controller

Dronie

Let’s start with the first mode, Dronie. After selecting the target, a small window appears in the lower part of the screen in the middle to select the Distance of the aircraft from the target during the shot from 30 mt to 120

Dronie is often used for selfies. In this case, the distance should be set to the minimum value. After hitting the shutter, the aircraft moves away from the subject while ascending.

It is also a perfect move in videography for the ending of a movie or to reveal the surroundings of a landmark. When used for videography, it is preferable to choose a high distance value

At the end of the move, the software stops recording, and the aircraft returns to the starting point. It would be nice if the app kept recording while coming back, to get an interesting establishing shot punching into the target from a wider view

Rocket

The aircraft ascends and advances while keeping the camera on the target. The move ends on top of the target with the camera pointing down for a bird’s eye view. It is practically the crane move, a classic in videography, not a simple move to execute manually. With Rocket the move is always perfectly smooth

Rocket is also often used for selfies. In the settings, we can select the Altitude, from 30 meters to 80. Lower value are more suitable for selfies, higher ones for videography

Like in the case of Dronie, it would be nice to have the opposite move, starting on top of the target and moving backward and downward to reveal the background

Circle

Circle is a simplified version of the intelligent flight mode Point of Interest. The aircraft rotates around the target at a constant distance and height

We can only set the direction using the yellow arrow. I don’t find this mode interesting, as with POI, we can do the same thing with plenty of other options, like using the two sticks of the remote controller to get closer or further away from the target, and we can control the rotation speed

Helix

Helix is an excellent way to reveal the surroundings of a landmark. The drone orbits around the target while rising in altitude

We can set the direction of flight and the Maximum Radius from 10 to 120 meters. If we use the higher values and start from a relatively high elevation, we might get an error message on screen if the maximum allowed altitude is exceeded

In the right locations, the results can be quite spectacular, especially when using high Radius values; however, the movement becomes extremely slow. In this case, reduce the Radius Value to increase the speed

Boomerang

With Boomerang, there are no parameters to set; only the direction of flight can be selected

The drone flies away from the target, rising in altitude, and then comes back on the other side of the target at the original altitude. It draws a half ellipse around the target

This is not an easy move to perform manually, and it is an excellent one for real estate to showcase a property.

Asteroid

Asteroid is available only at a resolution of 1080p. It is good fun to show it to friends who have not seen a tiny planet before or to post it on social media, but it is not useful in videography

The first part of the move is similar to a Rocket, rising with the camera locked on the target. At a certain altitude, several photos are taken for a 360-degree representation of the scene

Rotate

I left this mode for last, as it is a new one for DJI lightweight models. It uses the rotating gimbal, also present in the Air 3s and Mavic 4, to mimic the behaviour of a real airplane leaning to one side while turning

By opening the small window at the bottom of the screen, we access several parameters

We can choose the Direction between Forward and Backward

For Rotation Angle, there are two choices: With the first one, the clip starts with a 45-degree rotation to the right and then rotates by the same amount to the other side. With the second option, the aircraft will rotate progressively from 0 to 180 degrees for an upside-down view

For Rotation Speed, there are three choices. I suggest selecting the minimum value, as otherwise the resulting clip will be too short

Finally, we can choose the Flight Speed

The top of the small window shows the Distance to travel and the Length in seconds of the resulting clip

In Rotate mode, a target is not needed. It is the only Quickshot mode where the drone doesn’t come back to the starting point at the end of the move