Nerdist: We’re old enough to remember when a fireworks show set to John Williams’ Star Wars music was the pinnacle of geekdom. But as cool as those are, they’re nothing compared to modern nighttime drone shows. And we’ve just seen a Star Wars-themed one that will blow you away like a Death Star without an energy shield.
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I will say, pink is not a color I frequently associate with Star Wars, but now that I have seen the iconic Star Wars logo in pink, I never want it to see it in any other color besides. That being said, this is cool as hell, and R2-D2 made a very cute appearance in the sky (Yoda showed up too, but not very cute, though he was never too cute to begin with, so I guess we can't fault the drones for that). I have never worked with drones of any sort before, so this is very new territory for me, but that's also exciting, because it means more to learn about and explore. I am not much of a programming gal, but I think it would be interesting to see how the light show designers get the drones to fly in formation, change color, make new shapes, et cetera.
Drone shows are really cool and I'm glad that they're becoming mainstream. I'm curious how much putting one on costs, but since they're reusable, I would imagine that if you are a venue or organization that regularly puts on fireworks shows or similar things, the cost would break even pretty quick. As drones get cheaper, I think they're a really great option for special events. In addition to the additional control that you get as opposed to fireworks, I imagine they're more environmentally friendly than fireworks (or other options, like custom 'meteor showers' that you can buy where they shove some metals into the atmosphere from LEO to make an on-demand atmospheric light show), and there is just a basic cool factor of a drone swarm. As these proliferate, I hope that we might see them move into smaller theatrical settings in some form. I'm not quite sure how they could be used in performing arts, but I'm sure somebody has a cool idea.
I’ve seen several drone shows before but I think this involved the most drones. The arrangements of the drones are really successful because they are so distinct and easily-recognised, which is difficult because the number of drones used limits the arrangement. Yet they managed to come up with simple and accurate depiction of Star Wars elements. My favourite one is with the two lightsabers crossing over each other -- when the drones gradually light up, it really looks like the lightsabers are extending. Also, the idea of changing a baseball into the Death Star connects baseball to the Star Wars theme even more. Especially the ending where the bat hits the Death Star and the light makes it look like the Death Star exploded. The incorporation of the Star Wars themed music elevates the whole experience, making it more immersive. So overall, I think the arrangement and lighting effect add realism to the whole show. The music also helped create the atmosphere because it’s so iconic and well-known.
I've never seen a drone show in person but I've seen a few videos/documentaries about people that put them on. It takes an immense amount of time to calibrate, program, transport, and set up these kinds of displays. What if there's intense wind? What if one has a faulty battery and falls out of the sky leaving a hole in the overall picture? With stronger, more weather resilient drones (with more battery life) I feel drone shows have become a pretty popular and not too difficult to find attraction. But I still applaud those that chose to engage in this art form because the mastery of finessing the technical elements is not an easy task. It involves a lot of test flying, test code, and keeping your fingers crossed for good outdoor conditions. (Also better hope they're perfectly in sync not only with each other but with the music.) I am curious however why they picked Star Wars in particular given it's a sporting game.
I have certainly seen drone shows before, but they will never fail to amaze me, and this one is no different. The amount of coordination and programming that much go into making these types of displays is mind numbing. One thing that I always wonder about these shows is how the drones do not affect one another, particularly the downward draft they create to keep themselves afloat. It is hard to judge their proximity to one another in these videos, seeing as it is dark and shot from far away. I am sure that these parameters were calculated and recalculated several times before a single drone took to the air, but it makes me wonder what the margin of error is – how close can the drones get to one another before they begin to interfere with those around them? It also makes me wonder how the drones communicate with one another, if at all – do the drones communicate in some way with those around them, or do they only connect to a central server on the ground, and each fly their own preprogrammed path? As I write each of these questions down, three more questions appear in my mind, and it creates such a strong appreciation for the teams that worked on and designed these shows.
I am totally obsessed with these drone shows that they have been doing for bigger sports events and other types of events. I have seen so many these past couple years and every single one of them gets bigger and better each time. This artform is so unique because it uses all three dimensions to create this dynamic image in the sky that looks different from every viewing angle. It’s especially cool when they integrate these drones into full shows with lighting and atmospheric effects and they film the whole thing like they often do with the super bowl halftime show. I would absolutely love to work in this area of the industry at some point in my career because I think it is so rapidly developing and newer technology is revolutionizing the way we do things every single day. Star Wars is the perfect show and music to be syncing to as well. This is a fascinating article and video.
Drone shows seem objectively impressive and cutting-edge; the Star Wars one in this article is no exception. This fairly advanced type of technology and media brings forth a variety of new creative ideas and opportunities. From the creation of whole images from individual drone projections to influencing mood and tone with different intensity and colored lighting, drone shows demonstrate yet another technological advancement in terms of entertainment. And as shown in the Star Wars video, a drone show paired with the right music and sound effects results in a highly immersive and entertaining experience. I also found it interesting how one of the last sentences of the article was a little jab at Disney to consider implementing drone shows at their amusement parks; this could be considered as a legitimate suggestion: besides providing an incredible new attraction, it may also be more ethical and environmentally considerate than using traditional fireworks (which are known to cause air pollution).
These drone shows that are becoming more and more prevalent for high end events are just so damn cool. The cutting edge technology needed to assign specific latitude and longitude and altitude for these drones to make images in the sky is truly spectacular. Star Wars continues to be one of the most impressive film franchises that had to and chose to create technology in order to create the visual effects that George Lucas was looking for. It seems only fitting for a drone show to honor those iconic characters. While I have seen some of the preparation work that goes into creating these drone shows, I would love to one day get a more in depth look at what reality goes on to make it happen. I can only imagine that as this technology gets more and more advanced, we could see it a lot more on larger and smaller scales to only add to the spectacle that we all so greatly desire.
I love that these drone shows are becoming more and more common. I remember seeing my first one the first times I ever saw one of these shows was at Coachella in 2017 or 2018 While Odesza was performing, Intel did a live drone show right above the stage. They started by drawing a UFO and then made the UFO "rain" little balls of light as if it was beaming someone up into it. And then they closed the show by forming Odesza's logo and making it rotate around. I love seeing these live. Other cools times I have watched these were for events like the Olympics a few years back where it was pre-recorded. Combining this experience with Star Wars is awesome. With a franchise as large as Star Wars being the theme of the show, you are bound to draw some attention. Not to mention amaze the crowd. I wish I got to watch this live.
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