so ive been flying for about 8 months now and i feel like every time i go out i just kind of... wing it? like i take off, fly around, do some orbits, maybe a reveal, and then come home and look at what i have and its just a bunch of disconnected clips that dont really tell any story. my edit ends up being like 90 seconds of random pretty shots that dont go anywhere.

i watched a ton of youtube tutorials about cinematic drone shots and i know the names of like 20 different moves but when im actually out there flying i forget half of them or the location doesnt really suit them. does anyone have like a process they go through before a flight? do you scout on google maps? make a shot list? or is this just something that comes with time and experience

also im shooting in 4k on my mini 3 pro if that matters, and i mostly do landscape stuff, no clients or anything just personal projects

honestly the google maps scouting thing changed everything for me. i spend probably 30-40 minutes looking at the location in satellite view before i even leave the house, figuring out where the sun will be, what features are worth orbiting, where a good reveal might work. then i actually write down like 5-6 shots i want to get. nothing elaborate, just notes in my phone. something like "low hyperlapse along the ridge" or "high altitude push toward the lake." you dont always get them all but having that list stops you from just aimlessly hovering around waiting for inspiration.

the other thing that really helped me was editing first in my head. like before the flight i ask myself what do i want this video to feel like when its done, and i pick music before i go out, not after. sounds weird but if you know the tempo and mood of the track youre going to use you naturally start flying to match it. your clips end up having the right pacing and energy. took me a while to figure that out but now i cant imagine doing it the other way around.

im kind of in the same boat as you tbh, only been at it a few months longer. what helped me a little was just committing to one "hero shot" per outing. like i pick the single most interesting thing about the location and i make sure i get at least 3 or 4 versions of that one shot before i mess around with anything else. that way even if everything else is garbage i have something usable. the random footage problem never fully goes away i think but at least you have an anchor for the edit