This Fourth of July, I stood on a rooftop not removed from the Alamo. Had I been in San Antonio, Texas in 2024, I’d have seen a drone mild present. However the present in 2025 was booming — actually. The town had gone again to fireworks.
It wasn’t simply San Antonio. Throughout the nation, many cities that had experimented with drone exhibits in recent times — typically citing environmental or noise issues — reverted to conventional fireworks in 2025.
Some drone exhibits have been shut down over security issues (one devastating incident in Orlando final Christmas largely incited that). It’s extra seemingly although that officers will let you know it’s concerning the “growth issue.” For a lot of audiences, particularly these nostalgic for the spectacle of fireworks, that snap and sizzle continues to be the gold normal.
However right here’s the factor: noise isn’t the actual challenge. The truth is, drone exhibits ought to be celebrated for his or her silence. For households with younger children, fight veterans or pet house owners, that’s a significant benefit.
What’s actually taking place is that this: the drone exhibits haven’t been ok. And most of the time, that comes down to at least one drawback — lazy animations.
Stage up your drone exhibits
The hazard of “ok”
The drone present business is at a important second. Regardless of a few of final 12 months’s exhibits not returning, public curiosity is extremely excessive. Extra individuals are witnessing (and loving) drone exhibits.
However even nonetheless, the viewers’s persistence is restricted. In the event that they see a number of underwhelming exhibits — flat shapes, clunky transitions, and uninspired actions (and even simply repetitive animations) — they cease coming. Worse, cities cease reserving.
A mediocre drone present doesn’t simply disappoint. It pushes individuals again towards fireworks.
Why cookie-cutter designs are killing the vibe
I’ve seen dozens of drone exhibits now. And whereas many function dazzling animations (it’s powerful to beat the lightsaber battle within the first-ever drone present I noticed — a Star Wars present by Sky Parts), that’s not at all times the case. Particularly in relation to low-budget exhibits typically in small cities, they include pre-built animations from a template retailer. You’ve most likely seen it too: A waving flag. A blinking star. A peace signal. They’re fast to deploy — and immediately forgettable.
The dangers of counting on generic templates:
- Audiences tune out once they’ve seen it earlier than.
- Shoppers pull out once they understand their present appears similar to the one in one other metropolis.
- The business suffers as a result of your present turns into the explanation they return to fireworks.
Drone exhibits are nonetheless particular. They’re new, uncommon and stuffed with potential. But when each present feels the identical, that magic wears off quick. So what can drone present firms do? The key lies in animations.
The way to stage up your animation sport
1. Don’t suppose in shapes. Suppose in scenes.
A top level view of the Statue of Liberty is simply that — an overview. However animating her torch lighting up, transitioning into fireworks with spark-like movement trails, now that tells a narrative.
Give attention to transitions and movement. Take into consideration pacing and emotional arcs. Shock your viewers. Don’t simply animate, however as a substitute choreograph.
2. Use animation software program — and be taught to bend it to your will
Many nice drone exhibits at this time are in-built Blender, which is a versatile, open-source platform tailored with drone-specific plugins. With it, you possibly can create formations and actions whereas sustaining security constraints — distances between drones, speeds per body and bodily drone limitations.
Different software program utilized by animators and tailored by drone pilots embody Maya, Cinema 4D and Houdini. And growing plugins and instruments for these softwares (designed for all kinds of drone pilots) make them extra usable for drone pilots.
3. Collaborate with artists, not simply engineers
If you happen to’re robust with the software program however a weak designer, that’s okay. Associate with somebody who is aware of easy methods to storyboard or who comes from movement graphics or theater. The perfect exhibits occur when artwork and aerospace collide. The truth is, Preston Ward, Chief Pilot of Sky Parts, as soon as informed me that the hardest job to fill on his crew is animators.
For drone firms with out the assets to rent their very own animator, although, there are alternatives. Firms like Wow Drone specialise in filling that inventive hole. They’ll co-pilot with you, offering customized visuals tailor-made to your fleet and timeline.
4. Don’t let AI be your artist — let it’s your intern
I’ve been experimenting loads with AI, and it actually could be a enormous effort and time saver in all facets of labor. But it surely’s nonetheless not good.
What about AI in drone exhibits? When you can actually use generative AI for early mockups, keep away from it for closing scenes. Alex Levandovskiy, founding father of Wow Drone, shared with me 3 ways he believes AI will form the way forward for drone present design:
- Generate 3D fashions for Blender utilizing AI prompts.
- Create storyboards or moodboards in ChatGPT or Midjourney.
- Visualize early mockups in real-world environments.
Nonetheless, whereas AI will help ideate and encourage, it might’t ship the nuance that makes a present resonate. Actual artistry nonetheless requires a human eye.
A simple option to rent customized drone present designers (or assist your present designers with higher visuals)
Levandovskiy’s firm, Wow Drone, presents a service that gives that human eye. Wow Drone can create a full present for drone mild present firms, from storyboards and mockups to the ultimate animation with flight path information able to add into your drones.
For small drone present firms, meaning you execute the present, however Wow Drone designed it.
And in case your drone present firm already has in-house designers, Wow Drone can create customized visuals that combine into your individual exhibits.
Briefly, they’re a key supporter of drone mild present firms in serving to make animations higher. Wow Drone helps mild present drones from main platforms together with UVify and Verge Aero.
And the way’s this for a deal? Whenever you ebook with Wow Drone, you may get 10% off your first order by utilizing promo code SALLYFRENCH_WOW.
If drone exhibits are going to final — if we need to maintain the Fourth of July skies stuffed with coordinated shade as a substitute of combustion — now we have to do higher.
Now we have to animate with intention. Now we have to interrupt the mildew of blinking flags and spinning stars. A silent present might be elegant — so long as the animations are elegant, too.
FTC disclaimer: Wow Drone is an official accomplice of The Drone Lady. Whenever you make a purchase order utilizing my promo code, I make a fee.
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