In early 2016, at the early stages of the Amazing Dinoworld project, it became clear that we would need a solution for capturing high-resolution 8K aerial imagery. Our primary camera system for the series was at the time still-unannounced RED Helium 8K Digital Cinema camera. The only real option was to use full-size helicopters, however they were not only prohibitively expensive, but also logistically challenging to operate in remote locations.

At first we tried the also unannounced DJI's flagship M600 drone platform. Due to my close relationship with DJI - after visit to their Shenzhen HQ - I was given by their head of product development Paul Pan one of the only two prototype units in the world for testing in Japan - together with the new Ronin-MX gimbal system:

While the M600 + Ronin-MX combo worked reasonably well for 4K footage, but it was struggling to deliver the level of stability required for 8K imagery, with micro-vibrations present in the footage. At 8K resolution, even the slightest movement becomes highly noticeable. Another limitation of the system was that due to its limited lift capacity, we could only power the 8K camera with a small battery from the Ronin-MX. The larger V-Lock type batteries could only be mounted at the rear of the camera, which (once fitted with lens, filters and lens controls) prevented it from fitting into the gimbal. This has lead to the development of another product - side-mount V-Lock battery system for RED cameras:

Luckily for us, in 2017 DJI released their new flagship gimbal system - the Ronin 2. Not only it was capable of carrying much heavier camera configurations, but more importantly the micro-vibrations in 8K imagery were gone. But this presented us with another challenge - the minimal configuration of the Ronin 2 with the RED Helium 8K camera already weighed well in excess of 15kg (33lbs) - well beyond the maximum payload capacity of the M600 drone. There were no other commercially available drones (UAV's) capable of carrying such a heavy payload. Our only option was to build one ourselves. We have taken the flagship DJI M600 Pro drone platform and drastically modified it with much more powerful propulsion system, double the battery capacity and custom carbon-fiber frame to increase the payload capacity to 50kg (110 lbs)!:

The early prototype testing identified several areas for improvement, so we had to redesign and refine many components. One big issue was the diameter of the arm booms, that needed to be increased to strengthen the frame under such a heavy load. This forced us to redisign and CNC new arm mounts:

Another issue was strengthening the Ronin 2 gimbal attachment point to the drone frame - while isolating the gimbal from the inherit drone vibrations and micro-movements. This resulted in a completely new vibration isolator mount, fine-tuned for the average weight of the heavy camera payload:

While we were in the process of redesigning and refining the drone frame and components, the renowned aerial film equipment manufacturer Shotover Systems from New Zealand released their new ccompact flagship gimbal system - the Shotover G1. With the 50kg (110lbs) payload capacity of our M6, it was an easy fit - we just needed to make a modular version of the vibration isolator, so we could easily swap between the Ronin 2 and Shotover G1 gimbals:

The last modification to tackle was the landing gear. Filming in deep snow and extremely uneven terrain meant that most of the time it was hard to find a level surface to take off and land safely. We came up with a unique solution - separating the landing gear from the drone frame completely. A large diameter circular frame with 6 extendable legs provided a very stable base to land on any uneven terrain, even in deep snow or shallow water. This also made the drone lighter - which improved flight time and payload capacity:

As you can imagine - the only downside was that we always had to return to land in the same spot we have taken off from. Good flight planing and complex redundancies and safety procedures made this much less stressful. But you had this in the back of your mind every time you took off - that's for sure! We also had to reinforce the motor arm booms (which were the ones contacting the landing gear ring), but overall this has turned out to be a great solution. You can see footage from the M6 in my showreel on the cinematography page and through out the Amazing Dinoworld series - whenever you see an aerial point of view. We have since used progressively updated versions of the M6 drone on various other projects - including the Sakurajima documentary and the disaster prevention project - 3D terrain mapping the 75 square kilometers (29 square miles) volcano, for scientists to run various eruption and lahar flows simulations.