Filming Construction Sites with Neo 2 | Coastal Tips
Filming Construction Sites with Neo 2 | Coastal Tips
META: Master coastal construction site filming with Neo 2. Expert tips on obstacle avoidance, battery management, and cinematic techniques for professional results.
TL;DR
- Neo 2's obstacle avoidance system handles unpredictable coastal construction environments with omnidirectional sensing
- Battery management in salt air requires specific protocols to maintain 31-minute flight times
- D-Log color profile captures the full dynamic range of bright coastal skies against dark construction materials
- ActiveTrack 5.0 follows heavy machinery smoothly without manual input, freeing you to focus on composition
Why Coastal Construction Sites Demand Specialized Drone Techniques
Construction site documentation near coastlines presents unique challenges that standard filming approaches can't solve. The Neo 2 addresses these with specific features designed for harsh environments—and after eighteen months filming harbor expansions, seawall repairs, and beachfront developments, I've learned exactly how to maximize them.
Salt air corrodes equipment. Wind gusts arrive without warning. Reflective surfaces from water and glass create exposure nightmares. Yet clients increasingly demand aerial progress documentation for coastal projects, making this niche both challenging and lucrative.
This guide covers the exact workflows, settings, and techniques that have made my coastal construction footage consistently deliverable—even in conditions that ground lesser aircraft.
Understanding Neo 2's Obstacle Avoidance in Active Construction Zones
Construction sites are obstacle courses. Cranes swing unexpectedly. Workers move scaffolding. Delivery trucks arrive and depart constantly. The Neo 2's omnidirectional obstacle sensing becomes essential rather than optional in these environments.
The system uses binocular vision sensors on all six sides, creating a detection sphere around the aircraft. In my experience, this performs remarkably well against the irregular shapes common on construction sites—partially completed structures, temporary fencing, and equipment with protruding elements.
Configuring Obstacle Avoidance for Construction Environments
I run three distinct obstacle avoidance profiles depending on the shot type:
Documentation passes (wide establishing shots)
- All sensors active
- Brake distance set to maximum
- Speed limited to 8 m/s
Detail work (close inspection footage)
- Forward and downward sensors prioritized
- Lateral sensors set to warning-only
- Speed limited to 3 m/s
Tracking shots (following equipment)
- ActiveTrack engaged with obstacle avoidance
- Rear sensors set to warning-only to prevent false stops
- Dynamic speed matching enabled
Pro Tip: Disable upward obstacle avoidance when filming beneath partially completed structures. The sensors often misread rebar and temporary supports, causing unnecessary flight interruptions. Maintain visual line of sight and manual altitude control instead.
Battery Management: The Coastal Field Experience That Changed My Workflow
Here's the battery insight that transformed my coastal operations: salt air doesn't kill batteries immediately—it degrades them incrementally in ways the battery management system doesn't detect until failure.
I learned this filming a marina construction project over eight weeks. By week six, batteries that showed 94% health in the app were delivering only 22 minutes of actual flight time instead of the rated 31 minutes. The culprit was microscopic salt crystal accumulation on the battery contacts and internal monitoring circuits.
The Protocol That Prevents Premature Battery Degradation
After each coastal flight day:
- Wipe battery contacts with 99% isopropyl alcohol
- Store batteries at 40-60% charge in sealed containers with silica gel packets
- Rotate battery usage to prevent any single unit from accumulating disproportionate exposure
- Run a full discharge/charge cycle every ten flight cycles in coastal environments
This protocol has extended my battery lifespan by approximately 40% compared to my first year of coastal work.
Thermal Considerations for Coastal Conditions
Coastal sites often combine high humidity with direct sun exposure on reflective surfaces. The Neo 2's thermal management handles this well, but I've found that pre-cooling batteries before flight improves performance noticeably.
I keep batteries in an insulated cooler (not frozen—just cool) until fifteen minutes before flight. This gives them time to reach optimal operating temperature while preventing the heat soak that occurs when batteries sit in a hot vehicle or direct sunlight.
Cinematic Techniques: Making Construction Footage Compelling
Construction documentation doesn't have to look like security camera footage. The Neo 2's creative features transform utilitarian progress shots into content clients actually want to share.
QuickShots for Consistent Deliverables
QuickShots provide repeatable movements that create visual consistency across multi-month documentation projects. For construction sites, I rely heavily on three modes:
Dronie – Establishes site context while keeping the primary structure centered. I use this for opening shots in monthly progress videos.
Circle – Reveals the three-dimensional nature of structures under construction. Particularly effective for showing how buildings relate to surrounding coastal features.
Helix – Combines vertical reveal with orbital movement. This has become my signature shot for project completion documentation.
Hyperlapse for Progress Visualization
The Neo 2's Hyperlapse function creates time-compressed footage that demonstrates construction progress in seconds rather than months. I capture identical hyperlapse paths at each site visit, then compile them into progress sequences that clients use for investor presentations and public relations.
The key is GPS waypoint precision. The Neo 2 stores flight paths, allowing you to replicate exact movements weeks or months apart. This consistency makes the final compiled footage dramatically more effective than manually attempted recreations.
Expert Insight: When shooting hyperlapse over water-adjacent construction, set your interval to 3 seconds minimum. Shorter intervals capture too much wave movement variation, creating distracting flicker in the final output. The longer interval smooths water appearance while still capturing meaningful construction activity.
D-Log and Exposure: Handling Coastal Dynamic Range
Coastal construction sites present extreme dynamic range challenges. Bright sky, reflective water, dark construction materials, and workers in high-visibility clothing all appear in single frames.
D-Log color profile captures approximately 13 stops of dynamic range, preserving detail in highlights and shadows that standard color profiles clip. This requires post-production color grading but provides dramatically more flexibility.
My Coastal Construction Exposure Settings
| Condition | ISO | Shutter | ND Filter | D-Log |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overcast | 100 | 1/60 | None | Yes |
| Sunny, morning/evening | 100 | 1/120 | ND8 | Yes |
| Sunny, midday | 100 | 1/240 | ND16 | Yes |
| Sunny, water-heavy frame | 100 | 1/240 | ND32 | Yes |
White Balance for Mixed Coastal Light
Auto white balance struggles with coastal construction scenes. The combination of blue sky, blue-green water, orange safety equipment, and gray concrete confuses automatic systems.
I manually set white balance to 5600K for sunny conditions and 6500K for overcast. This provides consistent footage that grades predictably, rather than shots that shift color temperature based on what percentage of the frame contains water versus structure.
Subject Tracking: Following Heavy Equipment Safely
ActiveTrack 5.0 on the Neo 2 handles construction equipment tracking with impressive reliability. Excavators, cranes, and trucks maintain lock even when partially obscured by dust or other equipment.
The system works best when you:
- Initialize tracking from 30-50 meters distance
- Select the equipment cab rather than the entire machine
- Set tracking speed limits appropriate to the equipment type
- Maintain altitude above the highest potential obstacle in the tracking path
Tracking Shots That Tell Construction Stories
Rather than simply following equipment, use tracking to show relationships. Track a concrete truck from site entrance to pour location, revealing the logistics of material delivery. Follow a crane load from ground to installation point, demonstrating the vertical construction process.
These narrative tracking shots transform documentation into storytelling, significantly increasing the value clients perceive in your deliverables.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Flying immediately after arriving at coastal sites – Give yourself fifteen minutes to observe wind patterns, identify obstacles, and note equipment movement patterns before launching.
Ignoring salt accumulation on the aircraft body – Salt doesn't just affect batteries. Wipe down the entire aircraft, including sensor lenses, after every coastal session.
Using automatic exposure for documentation consistency – Manual exposure ensures footage from different days grades consistently. Automatic exposure creates matching nightmares in post-production.
Positioning directly downwind of active construction – Dust and debris travel farther than you expect. Position upwind or crosswind to protect sensors and camera glass.
Neglecting to communicate with site supervisors – Construction sites have strict safety protocols. Coordinate flight times with crane operations and material deliveries to avoid conflicts and maintain site access privileges.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Neo 2 handle sudden wind gusts common in coastal areas?
The Neo 2 maintains stable hover in winds up to 10.7 m/s and can return home in winds up to 12 m/s. The aircraft automatically compensates for gusts using its GPS and vision positioning systems. For coastal work, I recommend setting the return-to-home altitude 20 meters above the highest structure to ensure safe navigation during unexpected wind events.
Can ActiveTrack follow multiple pieces of equipment simultaneously?
ActiveTrack 5.0 focuses on single subjects but handles subject switching smoothly. You can tap to transfer tracking from one piece of equipment to another without stopping recording. For shots requiring multiple equipment in frame, use manual flight with obstacle avoidance rather than tracking modes.
What's the best time of day for coastal construction filming?
The two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset provide optimal lighting with manageable dynamic range. Midday sun creates harsh shadows and extreme contrast between water and structures. Morning sessions also typically offer calmer winds before thermal activity increases.
Ready for your own Neo 2? Contact our team for expert consultation.