Why the Crew Behind the Drone Matters as Much as the Drone Itself
Producers and directors who’ve been burned by an inexperienced drone operator don’t make that mistake twice. The delay mid-shoot while a pilot figures out their permit situation. The footage that looks great on a monitor and falls apart in editorial. The crew that doesn’t understand call sheets or can’t coordinate with the DP’s lighting setup. When you’re booking aerial coverage for a professional production, the question isn’t just whether an operator has a drone. It is whether they have actually worked on a set.
Xizmo Media is a Brooklyn-based drone filming company built from the ground up by people who came out of professional production, not hobbyist photography. That distinction shows up on every project we touch, from our Brooklyn aerial production crews to the units we send out across the other boroughs.
Most drone filming companies in New York rent their gear and staff each job with whoever is free that week. We don’t. Every pilot on a Xizmo unit is a full-time member of the company, flying the same aircraft and camera systems week after week, which is why repeat directors call us directly instead of putting the aerial unit out to bid.
The Crew
Edward Kostakis, Xizmo’s CEO and co-founder, has logged thousands of hours on set piloting for live television broadcasts, feature films, commercials, and music videos. He holds a private pilot’s license alongside seaplane and helicopter ratings, spent four years as Senior Pilot in North America for DJI, and served eight years as an Air Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He’s an award-winning aerial cinematographer whose work has been covered in the New York Times, Popular Mechanics, and ABC News. He doesn’t need to be told how a set works — he’s spent a career on them.
Pablo Barrera, co-founder and Operations Manager, is a New York Emmy winner and two-time Daytime Emmy-nominated producer with credits across dozens of TV shows, feature films, and digital productions. He’s a certified camera head operator and technician for the Arri SRH360, Shotover, and Newton heads, and he founded and chaired the AITSE Local 600 Eastern Region Drone Committee. He understands production from both sides of the camera, which means he knows how to integrate aerial work into a production’s rhythm rather than disrupting it.
Together, they have worked on projects including live international broadcasts with ABC Good Morning America, Volcano Live with Nik Wallenda, the drone whistleblower documentary National Bird, and large-scale commercial productions across New York and internationally.
What Production-Ready Actually Means
Production companies that work with Xizmo consistently note the same thing: the crew shows up prepared, adapts to the day’s conditions, and doesn’t require hand-holding. Our pilots understand call sheets, coordinate with DPs and gaffers on lighting timing, and come to set with flight paths already planned around the director’s shot list. Aerial coverage gets treated as a department, not a side gig happening in the background.
On the technical side, our drones are configured to carry cinema-grade camera systems including RED and ARRI, so your aerial footage matches the look of your ground-based imagery without a color science fight in post. For high-energy sequences, our FPV drone services cover chase shots, tracking sequences, and dynamic perspectives that traditional rigs can’t match at any budget. For productions that need helicopter-level stability with drone-level access, we have the platform options to bridge that gap.
Flying in New York City
Most productions that come to us for film and TV work are shooting in New York, which means airspace restrictions, permitting requirements, and site-specific rules at virtually every interesting location in the city. Our team has direct experience coordinating with the FAA, NYPD, and New York City Parks Department, and we understand which locations require advance agency coordination, which can be cleared quickly, and where the hard no-fly lines are. For productions on tight timelines, that knowledge prevents the kind of delays that come from discovering a permit problem on the morning of a shoot.
We’re also authorized to operate commercially in Class B, C, and D controlled airspace throughout the tri-state area, including airspace around JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International, locations that many drone operators simply can’t legally access, and it’s what keeps our New York City aerial cinematography crews working in spots most competitors get turned away from.
Productions We Support
Our aerial work spans commercials, narrative film, documentary, music videos, live broadcast, and episodic television. For productions that need a single aerial unit on a specific shoot day, we integrate cleanly into existing crews. For longer-form projects that need ongoing aerial support across multiple shoot days or locations, we build the workflow around your production schedule.
What This Drone Filming Company Delivers On Set
As an aerial filming company, Xizmo Media covers most of a production’s aerial needs across three service lines: cinema-grade aerial cinematography, FPV, and live broadcast. Each is staffed by the same core crew, so booking more than one still means a single point of contact.
Aerial Cinematography
Standard drone coverage for wides, establishing shots, and moving reveals, shot on RED and ARRI-compatible payloads so the footage cuts in without a color match fight. If you want the full breakdown of how our aerial cinematography workflow fits into a shoot day, from pre-production flight planning through delivery, our drones for film and TV page walks through that process step by step, and our drone videography services page covers the same crew for branded and marketing work outside a production schedule. This page is about the company behind the aircraft: who’s flying, what they’ve flown before, and why productions keep calling us back.
FPV
For chase sequences, whip-pans through doorways, and one-take tracking shots a traditional drone can’t pull off, our FPV pilots fly acrobatic, first-person-view aircraft at up to 100mph. It’s the same crew, so FPV coverage gets scheduled alongside standard aerial work on the same shoot day instead of requiring a second vendor and a second safety briefing.
Live Broadcast
Our team has flown live, on-air coverage for network broadcasts including ABC’s Good Morning America and Nik Wallenda’s Volcano Live, which means we understand the discipline of flying to a director’s cue in real time with no second take. Our live broadcast drone services cover sports, news, and event coverage with redundant links back to the truck.
Equipment and Camera Systems
As a drone video production company, our fleet carries cinema payloads up to RED and ARRI Mini bodies, matched with the same lens packages a DP would spec for ground-based coverage. When a shot calls for movement a drone can’t safely deliver indoors or at close range to talent, we bring in supporting rigs from the same crew rather than subcontracting to a separate operator.
Our MotoCrane gives us vehicle-mounted stabilized moves for chase and process shots, and our Techno Crane handles long telescoping arm moves for sweeping reveals. Pairing these with our aerial unit means one crew covers ground, air, and hybrid coverage instead of three separate departments.
Credits
A partial list of productions our crew has flown on: ABC’s Good Morning America, Volcano Live with Nik Wallenda, the drone documentary National Bird, and commercial and episodic work across New York and beyond. Our aerial work has also been covered editorially by the New York Times, Popular Mechanics, and ABC News.
What Shapes the Cost of a Drone Filming Day
We quote every drone filming job individually because the same three factors change the number every time: the camera payload, the permitting complexity, and how many shoot days the aerial unit is booked for.
Camera Payload
A standard cinema drone carrying a compact camera costs less than a heavier aircraft flying a RED or ARRI Mini body, since the larger payload needs a bigger airframe, a second pilot as visual observer, and more setup time between shots.
Permitting and Airspace
A shoot in open airspace under a straightforward FAA waiver costs less than one inside Class B, C, or D airspace near JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark, or one that also needs an NYPD permit for a specific borough or landmark.
Crew Size and Shoot Days
A single shoot day with one aircraft and one pilot is priced differently than a multi-day production that keeps the aerial unit on call across several locations, since the second case gets built as a dedicated production schedule rather than a one-off booking.
How Booking Works
1. Discovery Call and Quote
We scope the quote to the shot list, location, and shoot date, sized to the aircraft, crew, and payload the job needs.
2. Permitting and Flight Planning
We file FAA and NYPD permits where required and build the flight plan around the location’s airspace before the date is locked.
3. Shoot Day
Pilots arrive with the flight path already planned around the shot list and coordinate directly with the DP and gaffer.
4. Delivery
Footage is delivered in the codec and color space your editorial team specifies.