Skier Emil Granboom catches a FPV drone at Finland’s Ruka Ski Resort after Luke Bredar films a shot for The Bunch’s short film Sensus [2023]. The short battery life of FPV drones requires quick takeoffs and landings. Photo: Alric Ljunghager

Straight Line

Full Immersion

The Rise Of FPV

A reel announcing Matchstick Productions’ annual ski film, The Land of Giants, exploded across Instagram in July 2023. The 10-second clip, with no music and a simple graphic at the end, had seemingly captured the entire ski industry’s attention. The shot follows Sammy Carlson from the side as he bombs down a line in Alaska, panning underneath him as he airs off a spine and then quickly pulling away to show the full scale of the face. Three different camera angles tie into one seamless package. Rather than shrinking the terrain, which some traditional forms of POV footage have the tendency to do, the FPV (short for first-person view) drone allows the viewer to be immersed in the true difficulty and scale of Carlson’s line.

Taken by 23-year-old FPV pilot Luke Bredar, that clip is indicative of the ways in which FPV drone technology has begun to alter action videography. While traditional drones capture a bird’s eye view of the skier, FPV drones can fly much faster and closer, a style of footage that feels more akin to the third-person view from a video game. “The rate at which things happen while filming [FPV] feels really close to doing the sport itself,” says Bredar.


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