To please the customer, even in violation of the law. For security reasons, drone flights have been banned in most Russian regions, but wedding agencies offer various plans, if only newlyweds place an order. At the same time, the price of filming is constantly increasing.
“We turned to one of the companies in our town that specializes in video filming. At the time of communication with the experts, we were offered to use the video shooting service using a quadcopter. The picture looked really, really exciting: there were really beautiful panoramas of the city, smooth movements that couldn’t be done with cameras, and the person herself,” said Saratov resident Olga Zolotova. .
The future spouses were deterred by their wedding planner – they decided to consult her because of the high cost of the business. But the reason is not the money. The “eye in the sky” service – that is, shooting from a helicopter and simply flying on a drone – is prohibited in Saratov and most Russian cities for security reasons. But circumventing the law, marriage agencies, private traders and the newlyweds themselves offer tricks to “steal”.
For quick cash, the videographers even teach clients how to behave if they get caught. They say the price had to be doubled because of the risk. But even large fines don’t stop many. An agency admitted having already had to pay a fine: from 20 to 50 thousand for an individual, from 200 to 500 for a legal entity. Businesses can also be suspended for up to 90 days.
“If, God forbid, a difficult situation arises in the form of consequences such as serious harm to the health of a citizen or, God forbid, death, then we are talking about criminal liability under article 271 with badge 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, criminal liability is provided for up to 5 years,” said the director of the Center for Monitoring Legislation and Law Enforcement of the University named after OE Kutafin (MSLA) Oleg Grin.
The responsibility for photographing from the sky rests entirely with whoever takes it. This enhances the frivolity of the newlyweds. Their forbidden desires are mostly ready to be fulfilled by those who shoot a quadcopter – the main type of professional activity.
“The minimum fee for a copterist is 20,000 rubles per shift, it can be up to 150,000. In any case, let’s hope this is a temporary measure,” shared videographer Vasily Kalinenko .
Russian State Duma deputy Dmitry Gusev said: “You never know if he steals to film a wedding, or if he steals to kill someone. Marriage agencies take advantage of the good mood of newly weds.
However, there are those who do not give up helicopters and use professional tricks.
“Helicopters are still used indoors. There are very small helicopters – up to 150 grams, with very small built-in cameras – to film the first dance of the bride and groom, to film a general overview, for example, of the tables. There’s a little trick – with those places we’ve worked with a lot and for a long time, and the videographers have been there before, they take stock footage, for example, flying over a field, a golf course, flying over a beautiful lawn, ”said the head of the wedding agency Varvara Peregudova.
The current restrictions could halt the development of the industry itself.
“People call and ask: tell me, does it make sense now to buy a drone, to study, because it’s forbidden everywhere. I run a drone flight school that I have founded two years ago. You learn to fly in gymnasiums. But it is clear that this is not enough, “said Dmitry Zyablov, director of the drone flight school.
On the eve of the Government of the Russian Federation approved a strategy for the development of unmanned aircraft in Russia until 2030. According to members of the federal executive, there is potential for the use of helicopters in the country. And from March 2024, the Ministry of Transport will simplify the procedure for organizing drone flights – they will be allowed to launch over populated areas at a height of up to 150 meters during the day.
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