ok so ive been flying for about 8 months now and my footage is... fine i guess? like technically its in focus and the exposure is ok but it just doesnt look like the stuff i see on youtube. everything looks kinda jerky and just drone-y if that makes sense. not cinematic at all.

i shoot mostly landscape stuff, wide open spaces, some coastline near where i live. im using a mini 3 pro if that matters. i have d-log m turned on because i read thats what you're supposed to do but honestly i dont really know what to do with it in editing. i use davinci resolve which i downloaded because its free but i barely know how to use it.

is it a settings thing? a flying thing? an editing thing? probably all three lol. any tips would be really appreciated, even just pointing me in the right direction would help

honestly the biggest thing that changed my footage was just slowing down. like physically flying slower than feels natural. most beginners push the sticks too fast and you get that jerky look you're describing. try cutting your normal speed in half and see what happens, the footage just immediately feels more intentional.

the other thing for d-log m is you need to apply a LUT in resolve to get a baseline before you do anything else. DJI actually has free official LUTs you can download from their site for the mini 3, just search for it. drag it onto a node, drop the opacity of the node to like 60-70% and then grade from there. its not perfect but its a starting point that isnt that flat washed out look d-log gives you straight off the card.

also check if you have ND filters. shooting in bright light without them means you're probably at a really high shutter speed and that makes motion look harsh instead of natural. the 180 degree rule is worth looking up if you havent already.

the flying slower thing is real, seconding that. also something nobody really talks about is the actual move itself needing a clear beginning middle and end. like dont just randomly start recording mid-movement, give yourself a beat at the start where things are still, then move, then hold still again at the end. makes editing so much easier and it looks way more deliberate.

for resolve honestly just watch one of the Casey Faris beginner tutorials on youtube, dude explains color grading in a way that actually sticks. took me way too long to find good resolve content that wasnt overcomplicated