During the recent Snoopy Run (Singapore) 2018 at Bedok Reservoir, we brought down our Posmo and drone to capture interesting and memorable moments in the event.
Due to aerodrome limitations, we were only able to fly the drone at the other side of Bedok Reservoir, which was away from the stage and activities area. Hence, our drone shots were limited to participants running along Bedok Reservoir, unable to capture any activities at the main stage using the drone. For the stage and activities area near the starting line of the run, we decided to use the Posmo as an alternative to a drone.
Designed and introduced by Skyshot at the end of 2017, some of you might have read about Posmo (Pole + Osmo) in our previous blog post. The audio boom pole, which can be extended to a maximum of 4 meters, together with the DJI Osmo Pro, can be a good alternative aerial camera.
If you would like to get shots that are closer to the people, using a drone would be dangerous and it attracts the attention of people nearby due to the loud noise produced. The Posmo solves these limitations as it is safe to be used even when the camera is of proximity to people around. We used the Posmo to achieve aerial shots that are closer to the people at the stage and activities area. The shots of runners at the event are more up-close using a Posmo, which have different perspectives compared to drone shots as the drone shoots from higher up in the air and captures a wider view of the environment.
As mentioned in the previous Posmo article, it cannot move fast as you have to take small steps to prevent "bobbing effect" in the camera. As such, we decided to improvise the movement of the Posmo by using a Segway instead of taking small steps. Here is a behind the scenes video of how we used our improvised method during the Snoopy Run:
The phone can be attached on the pole instead, at a comfortable height for the user. We used the DJI GO app to view and check the shot. The camera angle can be adjusted using the app as well.
Using the Segway aids faster and smoother camera movement, allowing us to do tracking shots as the participants run along Bedok Reservoir. The Segway travels up to 16km/h with smooth movement as long as the ground is not bumpy. A limitation faced is that the Segway is unable to travel on uneven surfaces as it will affect the smoothness of the shot and the wheel might get stuck, which poses danger to the user. All in all, the Segway is no doubt extremely useful when used together with the Posmo but still has certain limitations. The user has to be careful of uneven surfaces when using the Segway to avoid falling.
Here is the event video for Snoopy Run 2018