Quick shots were introduced a few years ago as a series of automated moves to be used mostly by beginners
But they have been constantly improved and can now also be used for videography in different situations to reveal the landscape around an exciting landmark, quickly gather cinematic footage of an unknown location, or for real estate footage
In this video, I will show you how to make the most of them with the following DJI drones (these are affiliate links, so I get a small commission in case of purchase):
Other related articles you might find interesting:
Settings
Quick Shots works almost identically on the four DJI models; I will show you how to set it up with the Mini 4 Pro. In some models, there are only a couple of small differences that I will explain
First of all, for safety reasons, we want to turn on the Obstacle Avoidance System and set it either to Bypass or Brake, as it is not easy to anticipate the moves made by the aircraft, and obstacles may get in the way
The only model not equipped with omnidirectional obstacle sensors is the Flip. When using this model, make sure to stay clear of surrounding obstacles
On the Photo/video menu above the shutter, after selecting Video, we chose Normal on the menu to the left, and in the one to the right, we find the icon for Quickshots below Mastershots
In the vertical menu to the left, the different modes are listed:
- Dronie
- Rocket
- Circle
- Helix
- Boomerang
- Asteroid
In the Mavic 4 Pro, there is an interesting extra one that I will analyze later on
By tapping the icon on the lower right, it is possible to choose between Auto or Manual Exposure. I suggest using manual exposure, as the light intensity may vary considerably during the different moves, leading to unwanted shifts of luminosity when using Auto exposure
For best results, the middle hours of a sunny day are to be avoided, as the differences in luminosity are severe and the shadows too harsh. Much better to use this feature after sunrise, before sunset, or with the sun covered by clouds to reduce the shifts in luminosity and for softer shadows
The window for exposure and White Balance is almost the same as for shooting footage, although the options for frame rate are limited to 30 or 60 fps. It would be nice to have a choice for the widely used 24 fps
It is possible to select any of the three color profiles:
- Normal
- HLG
- D Log
An important feature for professional users to adapt the clips to the specific color scheme of a project
At the top of the window, we can set the White Balance. Manual mode is the way to go, as Auto mode causes serious shifts in colors when the luminosity changes
After choosing one of the six Quickshots modes, 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 the different Quickshots, the sticks of the remote controller are not available; if we touch them, the Quick Shot will be aborted. Another way to stop the aircraft during a Quick Shot is to hit the left button of the remote controller, which is useful when some danger is detected
The Moves
Dronie
Let’s start with the first mode, Dronie
After choosing the target, a small window appears in the lower part of the screen to select the distance of the aircraft from the target during the shot. The values go from 30 mt to 120, let’s start with a short one of 40 meters
After hitting the green shutter, the aircraft will move away from the subject while ascending. It is a perfect move for the ending of a movie
A low value is preferable when filming people, while a higher one is preferable to show the surroundings of a landmark. This is the result when choosing a distance of 100 meters, which gives a better idea of the location
At the end of the move, the aircraft returns to the initial position, which is useful if we want to try a different shot or reshoot the same quick shot with different values
It would be helpful to have the option to continue filming during the reverse move, allowing a choice between a fly-away shot and one that moves closer. It is possible to reverse the move in post-processing if there are no moving elements in the scene, like cars or people walking
Rocket
With Rocket, the drone 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 essentially the crane move, a classic in videography, useful for showing a landmark or in real estate videography, but it is not a simple move to execute manually
We can select the altitude, ranging from 30 meters to 80 meters
Like in Dronie, it would be useful to keep recording while the aircraft returns to the starting point, thus obtaining a reverse crane, 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 from the target. We can only set the direction of flight, clockwise or counterclockwise, using the yellow arrow
I don’t find this option of any interest, as with POI, we can do the same thing with many more options, like using the two sticks of the remote controller to get closer or further away from the target, and for ascending or descending
Helix
Helix is a more dynamic way to reveal the surroundings. 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 could reach the maximum allowed altitude. In this case, we get an error message, and the move is aborted
Boomerang
With Boomerang, there is no control over the movement; only the direction of flight can be selected
The drone flies away from the target while rising in altitude and then returns on the other side of the target at the same altitude as it was at the beginning of the movement. It draws a half ellipse around the target. It is an excellent move for real estate to showcase a property, not an easy one to perform manually
Both Boomerang and Helix are quite slow, and it would be beneficial to have some control over the speed of the moves. It is possible to speed things up in post-production, but moving subjects like cars, people walking, or waves will look unnatural
Asteroid
In Asteroid mode, the Aircraft performs a move similar to Rocket, rising in altitude while maintaining the target in the middle of the frame
At the top of the move, several photos are taken for a full 360-degree panorama. The app processes images to reproduce a tiny planet view. It is good fun to show it to friends or to post it on social media, but it is not useful in videography
It is suggested to start at a low altitude to avoid hitting the maximum value, in which case the QuickShot is aborted
Rotate
The mighty Mavic 4 Pro has an extra Quick Shot, named Rotate
It takes advantage of the rotating gimbal of the flagship model to perform an advancing move with a rotation of the camera. The variables that can be selected are the amount of the rotation in degrees, the length of the advancing move, and the length in seconds of the resulting clip
All Quickshots modes works exactly in the same way in vertical format
Most of the Quickshots have some capability of tracking a moving target, as long as the movement is not too fast. Helix and Boomerang can be quite interesting for following someone walking and for vlogging