by Staff Writer, Dragon Drones, 3 min read

Hello there!  We often receive questions from our clients about what the videos and photos will look like after we deliver them.  Enclosed below is a step-by-step process about how we go about providing the footage and photos to you, the end client.

Initial Review

Once our staff has finished the drone photography and footage request, we complete an initial on-site review of the finished product to make sure that all the video files are in order and that something weird didn't happen to them.  Coming back to the office, our technicians take the footage off of the drone and camera's SD card and then begin what we call the ingesting process.

Ingesting Process

Weird name for a simple procedure!  We simply take the footage off of the SD card and load it into our computers.  Immediately upon doing that, we transmit a copy of the footage to our off-site backup, which allows for an extra layer of redundancy just in case footage is lost or corrupted along the way.  We'll play the videos back and make sure that we have all the shots we need before delivering it to you, the client.

Server Upload

This is where we deliver the footage to you, the client.  We'll upload our footage to a private server which allows for direct access to the raw, unedited photos and videos.  After that, we'll send you a link to download.

These files are normally very, very large.  Video footage in 4K takes a while to download, so feel free to grab a coffee and relax a bit while the procedure completes.

Sometimes, you may encounter an error when the footage has been downloaded.  Windows and Macs are not terribly good at displaying large files without a top-of-the-line desktop system.  If the downloaded folder, when you attempt to unzip it says "This archive is empty" or a similar message, we recommend using a separate program to unzip these files so they display correctly.

• For Windows, we recommend 7zip, which we've linked to here.
• You'll need to know your system architecture to download the right package.  Most (not all) Windows systems running Windows 10 and above are "64-bit Windows x64", the first download link.
• For Mac, we recommend The Unarchiver, which we've linked to here.

Once that is completed using these programs, you should be able to view the footage from your project.  In rare cases, we may elect to provide a physical copy of the footage, such as on an SD card or other storage device, which would likely not have any .zip files to open.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this helps in clearing up some common questions and potential concerns about receiving the footage from our team.  If you have any questions, feel free to speak to your Customer Service Representative and we are happy to assist.

Please note these programs are not made by Dragon Drones and are provided here as a reference.  They are not the only platforms which can provide this remedy.  Dragon Drones is not liable for any damage to your systems, peripherals, files, folders or information from using these links.