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2018 Engineering Drone Video of the Year finalist – ERO Architects

2018 Engineering Drone Video of the Year finalist – ERO Architects

Congratulations to ERO Architects for being a 2018 Engineering Drone Video of the Year finalist.


STC Nursing and Allied Health Expansion

Aerial Video Drone Production Approach

Our aerial video professionals at ERO Architects, Mar Rivera and Hector Sanchez, use a DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter with integrated 4K camera on a 3-axis gimbal with 360-degree pan. The drone range is up to 1.2 miles using dual remote controls, one for the pilot and one for the video operator. We post produce our videos on the Adobe Premiere CC platform.

Working with ERO Architects structural engineers, Eli R. Ochoa, PE, AIA and Joel D. Galindo, PE, to document the structural system of the South Texas College (STC) Nursing and Allied Health Building was illuminating and very informative. Their enthusiasm for the project approach for economy and safety was contagious. Our objective was to showcase both the building’s structural components and our structural engineering department.

For this project, once we scouted the construction site, the video production started with our drone operators collaborating with the design staff to identify the various components and elements of the building that are most important to our technical and stakeholder audiences.

The message strategy for the video is the same with all storytelling: (1) tell them what you are going to tell them; (2) tell them; and, (3) tell them what you just told them. The difference between a story and videography is the intense imagery, combined with and edited to dramatic music.

The videography begins at a height sufficient for a snapshot of the entire project followed by continuous flight around the project site to see it from all directional building elevations. At each building elevation, the camera is moved from panorama to close up to see the details. In both modes, panoramic to close up, project elements are labeled on the video to call attention to the importance of the structural elements.

The STC Nursing and Allied Health Expansion building is four stories and has a structural steel frame with composite floor construction (i.e. the steel beams and the concrete work together to support the loads). The floors are supported with steel columns which are reduced in size, for economy, with a field splice four feet above the 3rd floor. Reinforced masonry shear walls serve as the lateral force-resisting system and encompass the elevators and fire stairs. Together, they resist the lateral forces induced by the wind.

The final video brings this all to life. In the opening scenes, one can see the entire building and all its floors. Close ups show the columns, the field splices and the masonry shear walls already constructed. All these elements work together and allow the building to function safely and efficiently. The video concludes with a high sweeping aerial pull out of everything that was seen throughout the video.