The Zen Video Your Life Needs Right Now

Teenager assembles a drone cam and flies it over a coast. With the best soundtrack song playing, put this badboy on full screen, turn up that volume, sit back and enjoy. Wait for that last scene.

reddit.com / Via reddit.com

Reddit user /u/mon7gomery spent 19 hours putting together a drone made with parts from over 9 different companies. He added a GoPro Hero 3+ camera, launched the drone, and controlled the beast from over 2000 feet away.

Here's what he works with

i.imgur.com / Via imgur.com

He says, "This film hasn't been edited in any way other than transitions and slowed for the final 20 seconds. The colours are straight from the camera and there's no software stabilisation. With previous setups I've done all I can to make footage look good, but I've upgraded and it's not been necessary. I edit with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects CS6."

Interested in specs? Here you go

"I use a quadcopter (four motors and props) called a TBS Discovery Pro. It took 19 hours to build and uses parts from over 9 different companies. I film with a GoPro Hero 3+ which is mounted on a gimbal on the quad frame. The gimbal uses two motors and a gyroscope to constantly adjust the position of the camera relative to the quad in order to keep the horizon level and steady. The gimbal can be controlled to pitch the camera up or down in flight.

"I have a transmitter (Turnigy 9XR with EzUHF JR module, for those interested) which sends control signals to the quad, and a video transmitter on the quad which sends back video. I have a switch to flick between the GoPro's feed (to line up shots) and the flight camera (to help tell which way the quad is tilting and moving). I wear video goggles when flying to view these feeds.

"During this particular flight I was standing at a hotel room window and the quad was about 650 metres from me, most of the time. (The video feed is overlaid with stats and GPS position data to tell me this and other vitals). The setup is capable of up to 3 miles range, which is when I need to turn back before the battery runs out (each battery gives me 12 minutes, of which I have 3)."

Sounds expensive, maybe even dangerous!

He adds, "There's no denying it's an expensive hobby, but I hope to recover some of the cost in the future by selling footage and services. Since I started, there's been an explosion of interest in this market, and with the release of ready-to-fly products such as DJI's Phantom it's becoming more accessible to the masses. Regulation is bound to follow. So far the community has resisted, but in the wrong hands these things can be lethal. By building your own platform, you're forced to understand every little aspect of what you're putting in the air, and know what can go wrong. I'd prefer if this hobby didn't become commercialised, but hey, it's bound to happen."

But, at the end of the day, he says, "Anyway, I'm loving what I'm doing and loving that you love it too. :)"