Dronie
Also known as: drone selfie
A drone selfie: the shot starts close on a person, then flies backward and upward, pulling away to reveal the landscape around them in one continuous move.
Updated
What it means
A dronie is the aerial version of a selfie. The drone hovers a few meters in front of you, framed on your face, then flies back and climbs while keeping you centered, until you are a small figure in a big landscape. It combines a pull-back with a rise, and it works like a reveal played from the subject outward.
Most DJI camera drones include it as one of the automated QuickShots, so you only set a distance and tap start. It can also be flown by hand: pull back on the pitch stick and push up on the throttle together, tilting the gimbal down as you climb so the subject stays in frame. It makes a classic closing shot for a trip or a summit.
How it works in practice
Pick a spot where the surroundings are the point: a summit, a beach, a boat deck, a viewpoint. Start the drone close, a few meters away and slightly above eye level, and set a pull-back distance that fits the scene. A longer distance gives a more dramatic reveal but takes longer and needs more clear space behind the drone.
Do something in the first second: wave, raise your arms, turn toward the view. A person standing still and staring up at a drone makes a weak opening. Fly two or three takes with different actions and distances, and record at a higher frame rate such as 50 or 60 fps if you want the option to slow the start down.
What to watch out for
The drone flies backward and upward, and many models have weaker or no obstacle sensing behind and above them. Branches, power lines and cliff edges are the classic dronie disasters. Look along the whole path behind the drone before you tap start, and keep a thumb ready to stop it.
A dronie also loses its subject fast. After a few seconds you are tiny, so the end of the clip is mostly landscape - great if it is spectacular, dull if not. Trim before the shot overstays its welcome. If the horizon looks tilted, recalibrate the Gimbal before flying rather than fixing it later. Flying close to people, yourself included, is covered by local rules in many places, so check them first.
How RawClip handles it
Upload your dronies together with the action footage from the same day. RawClip trims the slow start and the dull tail of each clip, keeps the strongest seconds and places them in your highlight with transitions and cuts on the beat. The AI also analyzes faces, which suits a shot that opens close on you.