United States

UAS / Drones

Working with an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)/Drone

(U.S. Productions)
  • Small, unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 pounds— including payload—at takeoff (unless the vendor has a waiver provided to Risk Management and Production Safety)
  • UAS vendor must utilize the Low Altitude Authorization & Notification Capability (LAANC) automated airspace approval system
  • When utilizing First Person View (FPV), the vendor must have a visual observer keeping line of sight on the drone at all times
  • Do not fly above 400ft above ground level (AGL)
  • Do not fly within 5 miles of an airport without approval and notification to the control tower
  • Do not fly a drone from a moving vehicle unless in a sparsely populated area
  • Flying over people is not permitted unless satisfying one of the categories in Subpart D for operations over humans.
  • Night operations are permitted under Part 107.29.

What Production Safety Needs:

In addition to the insurance documentation required by Risk Management, Safety will need the following information from the drone company:

 

  • Pre-flight inspection
  • Written safety guidelines for crew
  • Emergency landing procedures
  • Use of a Visual Observer, assigned to no other duties during drone flight(s)
  • Plan of activity (POA) with a map including:
  • Takeoff/Landing zones (LZ)
    • Flight path/altitude
    • Safe zone for crew members not directly involved in flight operations
    • Emergency landing zone(s) (ELZ)
    • Obstructions to be avoided
  • Pre-flight safety brief (review safety guidelines, flight plan and emergency procedures)

 

Be sure to attach Safety Bulletin #36 – Recommended Guidelines for Safely Working Around UAS to the call sheet.  If it is intended to fly the drone less than 50 feet from cast and crew and/or less than 30 feet from stunt performers contact your production safety rep to discuss. 

Only drone companies with all safety and insurance requirements can fly a drone on production. This includes on all scouts, surveys, and recces. 

Can my crew member fly a drone?

No crew member can fly a drone on productions. Only third party vendors with all safety and insurance requirements can fly a drone on production.

Additional Safety Protocols:

  • Attach Safety Bulletin #36 – Recommended Guidelines for Safely Working Around UAS to the Call Sheet
  • Hold a pre-flight safety brief (review safety guidelines, flight plan and emergency procedures)
  • Hold a safety meeting prior to flight with all pertinent cast and crew.
  • Follow all protocols as outlined in the POA.
  • Limit radio frequency (RF) use during flight operations to reduce risk of drone control failure
  • (For Los Angeles and Downtown L.A. locations only) When working in downtown Los Angeles, notify Hooper LAPD flight operations of the planned drone use location.
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This website and the information contained in the Injury & Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) are intended and authorized for the use of employees of this Company only; they are not intended for, nor should they be used by, the general public or any third parties. If you have not been expressly directed to this site by the Warner Bros. Studio Operations Department of Safety & Environmental Affairs, you are not authorized to use this website and you must exit now. The IIPP is a general outline of safe work practices to be used as a guideline for our productions to provide a safe work environment for our employees. Because each particular work situation is different, these IIPP guidelines are intended to be used in conjunction with consulting the appropriate production supervisors and seeking the assistance of our Production Safety personnel. The information contained in this IIPP is not a legal interpretation of any federal, state or local regulations, laws or standards. No warranty is made about any of the contents of this website.

UNITED STATES

  • For Productions within the United States

  • Burbank, Ca.

FACILITIES

CANADA

For Productions within the Canada

  • British Columbia

  • Ontario

INTERNATIONAL

For Productions around the world

HBO

This Section is currently under development