Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - popularly known as drones - are increasingly deployed by government agencies, companies, non-profits, and individuals, for capturing high-resolution aerial photography of landscapes, buildings, events, and more.
This course will teach drone flight skills and digital photo and video techniques, which are necessary to work professionally in the growing field of drone photography. Students will also learn the body of knowledge to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) examination for a Part 107 flight certification. The Part 107 certificate is an FAA requirement for anyone who intends to use drones for professional purposes.
Students will learn how to capture video and photography of their flights, using different angles, filters, and other aerial photography techniques. Adobe software will be provided for video editing, creating transitions, embedding captions and music, and creating dramatic movie effects from their drone flight data. As their final project, students will edit and publish a video recording on a topic of their choice.
Evergreen's certified drone pilots will instruct students, through weekly drone flight exercises, to develop confidence in the capture of aerial photography and videography. Flight training will also enhance student awareness and practice of safety and regulatory compliance requirements.
Weekly modules will cover the required aviation topics in detail, including airspace regulations, aviation weather, emergency procedures, airport operations, radio communication procedures, aircraft performance and loading, crew resource management, and aeronautical decision-making. Students who succeed in the weekly practice quizzes will be well-prepared to take and pass the FAA Part 107 examination, after the conclusion of the course.
This drone flight class may be taken concurrently with the remote sensing oriented class, titled GIS and Mapping with Drone Imagery - also offered during summer quarter.
Graduate students will be required to design and execute an independent learning project for presentation at the final class meeting.
Registration
Academic Details
This offering is connected to the undergraduate-level Flying and Mapping with Drones Certificate (https://www.evergreen.edu/certificates/flying-and-mapping-drones) and the graduate-level Flying and Mapping with Drones Certificate (https://www.evergreen.edu/certificates/flying-and-mapping-drones-gradua…) at Evergreen.
photography, videography, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), real estate, marketing, land management and monitoring, land and environmental conservation, animal studies, infrastructure and transportation monitoring
$50 required lab fee
Students are required to procure their own drone instrument in time for the second week of the course. During the first class session, Faculty will present the technical requirements, and common options available in the current fast-changing commercial drone marketplace. Faculty will provide a list of acceptable devices at various price points, ranging from low-cost purchase options (around $50) to, optionally, drone devices of higher cost which provide more capabilities.