Redcopters

PAUL REILLY
Principal

As head of the Redcopters team, Paul’s background is engineering, film making and photography. Paul started Redcopters in 2011 seeing the opportunity for the new drone technology across a variety of industry sectors. Chief pilot and business manager, Paul will direct the assignment from quote to delivery.

KEVIN LANGAN
Head of Imaging

Kevin provides creative inspiration for Redcopters. A professional photographer with extensive film making and video experience, Kevin understands how to conceptualise and execute aesthetically beautiful shots that sets an image apart from the rest. Where a client wants a fully-made film, Kevin will take responsibility for cinematography, editing, music, titling and delivery.

MICHAEL TOMKINS
Cameras

With many years of photographic experience behind him, Michael is chief camera operator, and will ensure that we capture the correct shots on assignment, whether it’s a survey, drama or promotional shoot. Michael’s expertise at planning ensures that even complex assignments go well and we cover every angle.

ASSOCIATES

We have a team of about a dozen associates around the UK who will be called in for specialist roles or for geographically remote jobs; each brings his or her expertise to bear to provide a consistent quality service to our clients.

Services

Aerial Surveying and Roofs by Drone
The building inspection and surveying industries are starting to appreciate the benefits of small unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) as tool for surveying buildings, especially roofs and other inaccessible locations. Redcopters’ unmanned multi-rotor helicopter provides an alternative to conventional access methods for high or awkward locations, such as towers, scaffolding or hydraulic platforms (MEWPs).

Our drone is licensed to fly in built-up areas, so we can operate across London and most other towns and cities. Our drone flies over a domestic property in London for a roof and chimney survey

To fly a drone around a building is faster than moving towers or platforms and means that multiple locations can be quickly accessed, allowing rapid diagnosis of a problem, with live video available on a ground-based monitor throughout. And, we use a polecam too, just in case you want a close look in the gutters!

Used regularly, Redcopter’s’ aircraft can provide monitoring of construction progress and can provide evidence of structural damage for insurance claims or valuations.

This is how a drone survey works. This film shows us at work on a high tower, with awkward visibility and poor access due to the radio gear on the roof. The drone was able to take high-quality movies and stills and clearly reveal the exact state of all of the roof plant.

Property and Development
It is often difficult to appreciate the full extent or character of a property from ground level, and the cost of aerial photography from conventional aircraft is prohibitive for all but the most high value properties.

This situation has now changed; low cost photography from our small unmanned aircraft makes aerial images and videos affordable for a much wider range of properties. Anything from a quick ‘pop-up’ to take a few photos to a fully edited ‘fly-around’ promotional video for the website is achievable using Redcopters’ technology, giving both estate agents and their clients a new range of options.

Visualization and 3D
Architectural Visualization creates synthesized views of new buildings and their surroundings from computer models, prior to construction, using computer generated imagery. Developers, architects, construction firms and promotional companies, as well as local authorities, have all found the benefits of being able to present exactly what a new building will look like, as well as the views from balconies, roofs or towers.

The very best of these merge real life views (photographs) with a computer generated model. This needs careful coordination between the graphic designer and the photographer. We specialize in taking these aerial shots using our drone, ensuring that our photography matches exactly with the CAD model. We take account of location, altitude, field of view, as well as lighting etc.

We also provide a service for 3D modelling, which includes using a set of precision aerial photos as the starting point for creating a 3D model, a point cloud or a virtual landscape. This can have many applications, from architecture, building management and maintenance to mapping and video gaming. This film shows how we created a virtual landscape from a photo set of a water tower in Cambridge, UK.

Advertising and Promotion
An aerial photograph or film provides an eye-catching and unusual view that attracts customers and stands out from the crowd. Tourist attractions, houses, golf courses, offices, facilities and hotels all stand out from the crowd when shown in their surroundings and to their full glory. Aerial photos are also often the best way to inform clients how to get around your site, as well as providing spectacular images for marketing and promotion.

Whether it’s an annual event, a thousand year old castle, or a golf course we can shoot the photos or videos that you need to show your business in the best possible light.

Media and Film
The Redcopters team understands the needs of film-makers, and the demands and constraints under which they work. Our role is to provide the expertise and facilities for aerial footage while working seamlessly with the film maker and their team. The use of small airborne cameras opens up shots that have not previously possible. Not only that, but now a director can see instantly from the ground what is being filmed, thanks to our live video downlink.

It is equally at home 1 metre above the ground, where it becomes a kind of magic dolly, able to pan and slide, and can travel over any kind of terrain (or even water), without needing a track. Rapid set-up of eye-catching shots, free of the constraints of jibs, tracks, dollies and gantries, is now possible.

Events
Aerial photos of fairs, sports, races, garden weddings and receptions, and other outdoor activities are great records of important events and often provide a promotional tool as well.

We can provide event planners, organisers and participants with a record that shows the entire event, and our shots from the air provide instantly eye-catching and irresistible part of that record.

Gallery