Drones

[Lucy Draper]

The use of drones is now at the forefront of football game filming technology. What high school football teams in the state of Indiana are currently using drones to film their games?

[Bobref]

39 minutes ago, Lucy Draper said:

The use of drones is now at the forefront of football game filming technology. What high school football teams in the state of Indiana are currently using drones to film their games?

I was at Crown Point last Friday, and they were using a drone.

[Impartial_Observer]

Every game I’ve been to this year has had a drone. They’ve basically replaced the EZ pole cam. 

[HoopsandWings]

Almost everyone in the EIAC has a drone. 

[First_Backer_Inside]

16 hours ago, Lucy Draper said:

The use of drones is now at the forefront of football game filming technology. What high school football teams in the state of Indiana are currently using drones to film their games?

The same teams that were using it last year when you asked the exact same question.

[Lucy Draper]

Just now, First_Backer_Inside said:

The same teams that were using it last year when you asked the exact same question.

So you don't think there are any teams that purchased a drone for filming since last year?

You are behind the times and the game is going to pass you by, like it did to an old coach/chef friend of mine many years ago. 

[First_Backer_Inside]

1 minute ago, Lucy Draper said:

So you don't think there are any teams that purchased a drone for filming since last year?

You are behind the times and the game is going to pass you by, like it did to an old coach/chef friend of mine many years ago. 

No I don't because my guess is they all already had them last year. You are behind the times.

[Lucy Draper]

1 minute ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

No I don't because my guess is they all already had them last year. You are behind the times.

How will we know whether this is accurate or not if no one researches this trending phenomenon? I'm out here doing the Lord's work and you're lobbing criticism from the cheap seats. I aim to get to the bottom of the drone film revolution with, or without your support sir.

[Punttheball]

It is all good to use in the regular season. The IHSAA does not allow the use of drones during the tournament.  It is asinine, but try to talk to Robert about moving the game forward, and he will look at you and basically call you stupid.

[Punttheball]

The real question is, how do you convince the IHSAA to move forward as fast as technology does? They will just reply with, "It is an insurance issue".  I brought it up at the board of directors meeting this past Spring.  None of the board officers thought the IHSAA would ever budge. 

Another more relevant question is, how many can stream the drone footage directly to their sideline during the game?

[JustRules]

We've had a couple schools share drone footage with us in their game video. Each has had the traditional EZ camera as well. It's a great view for us to watch mechanics and line action.

[tango]

2 hours ago, Punttheball said:

It is all good to use in the regular season. The IHSAA does not allow the use of drones during the tournament.  It is asinine, but try to talk to Robert about moving the game forward, and he will look at you and basically call you stupid.

Well, "that's they way we've always done it" has always been an effective strategy, right? 

[Muda69]

Give me a 100% silent drone and maybe it would be ok.  Oh, and make it invisible as well so you can't see it moving/bobbing around. 

 

 

[oldtimeqb]

1 hour ago, JustRules said:

We've had a couple schools share drone footage with us in their game video. Each has had the traditional EZ camera as well. It's a great view for us to watch mechanics and line action.

What's the ruling if a punt hits a drone mid-flight?  I guess it could be a pass or kick off as well. 

[5GetsYou1]

1 minute ago, oldtimeqb said:

What's the ruling if a punt hits a drone mid-flight?  I guess it could be a pass or kick off as well. 

The drones aren't allowed on the field of play, they are typically flown behind and to the side the uprights. 

[Titan32]

Gibson Southern has one I believe.

[tango]

We have a homemade Sky Cam. The design is loosely based on a bicycle-powered railroad handcar. The problem we've run into the first few weeks is that the cables are attached to the grandstand at Enlow Field, which has a little give, so there is some slack. When the operator gets to pedaling too fast, it tends to bounce and flip upside down. With effort, he can get himself flipped back over (similar to a turtle). Despite typical parochial volunteer pay ($25 per game and dispensation from Sunday mass that week), we've had trouble keeping the position filled. On the bright side, we have some phenomenal shots of the Big Dipper.

[MDAlum82]

31 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Give me a 100% silent drone and maybe it would be ok.  Oh, and make it invisible as well so you can't see it moving/bobbing around. 

 

 

Why would it need to be "100% silent"?  Do your fans only use the "golf clap"?  😅  Most drones are sufficiently quiet as to be muffled by the typical noise coming from even the most conservative and dignified crowd; "Bravo Reggie, GOOD SHOW!, old boy" 

 

[MDAlum82]

5 minutes ago, tango said:

We have a homemade Sky Cam. The design is loosely based on a bicycle-powered railroad handcar. The problem we've run into the first few weeks is that the cables are attached to the grandstand at Enlow Field, which has a little give, so there is some slack. When the operator gets to pedaling too fast, it tends to bounce and flip upside down. With effort, he can get himself flipped back over (similar to a turtle). Despite typical parochial volunteer pay ($25 per game and dispensation from Sunday mass that week), we've had trouble keeping the position filled. On the bright side, we have some phenomenal shots of the Big Dipper.

Have you tried putting an old baseball card on one of the spokes to give you an auditory warning of the "speed" via the "flap, flap, flapapapapapapa" sound as it speeds up? 

Edited September 9, 2025 by MDAlum82
text

[btownqbcoach1]

24 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

Gibson Southern has one I believe.

I have been trying to look into one... EZ cameras are expensive. 

1 hour ago, tango said:

Well, "that's they way we've always done it" has always been an effective strategy, right? 

 

2 hours ago, JustRules said:

We've had a couple schools share drone footage with us in their game video. Each has had the traditional EZ camera as well. It's a great view for us to watch mechanics and line action.

 

3 hours ago, Punttheball said:

The real question is, how do you convince the IHSAA to move forward as fast as technology does? They will just reply with, "It is an insurance issue".  I brought it up at the board of directors meeting this past Spring.  None of the board officers thought the IHSAA would ever budge. 

Another more relevant question is, how many can stream the drone footage directly to their sideline during the game?

Great question... Hudl is starting their own EZ camera designs, but that it requires an ethernet cable all the way to the Endzone pole, crazy. 

4 hours ago, Punttheball said:

It is all good to use in the regular season. The IHSAA does not allow the use of drones during the tournament.  It is asinine, but try to talk to Robert about moving the game forward, and he will look at you and basically call you stupid.

How does the license stuff work for using them? I have been told commercial vs. recreational?

4 hours ago, Lucy Draper said:

How will we know whether this is accurate or not if no one researches this trending phenomenon? I'm out here doing the Lord's work and you're lobbing criticism from the cheap seats. I aim to get to the bottom of the drone film revolution with, or without your support sir.

Ignore these fools

4 hours ago, HoopsandWings said:

Almost everyone in the EIAC has a drone. 

Do you have any info... how do they make the battery lives work? anything to pass along would be nice. 

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, MDAlum82 said:

Why would it need to be "100% silent"?  

Because their constant buzzing is annoying. 

 

1 hour ago, MDAlum82 said:

 Do your fans only use the "golf clap"?  😅  Most drones are sufficiently quiet as to be muffled by the typical noise coming from even the most conservative and dignified crowd; "Bravo Reggie, GOOD SHOW!, old boy" 

 

You haven't been to a Frankfort High School game recently, have you?  "Pin drop" comes to mind for the sparse crowds.

 

[tango]

1 hour ago, MDAlum82 said:

Have you tried putting an old baseball card on one of the spokes to give you an auditory warning of the "speed" via the "flap, flap, flapapapapapapa" sound as it speeds up? 

We thought about it, but the concern is it may throw off what is already a precarious stability issue.

[First_Backer_Inside]

19 hours ago, btownqbcoach1 said:

Do you have any info... how do they make the battery lives work? anything to pass along would be nice. 

Are you talking like how long the battery lasts? We have about 3 we take out during the game with the battery charger as well. I don't know for sure, but I think a battery fully charged should easily last you a quarter. Usually land it swap out a battery every quarter or half. We also have the charging station there to charge the battery from the first quarter if we need it for the last quarter. The shot you get from a drone vs. end zone camera is night and day. I would push for one as soon as you can. If you use hudl on the sidelines you can get adapters to hook the drone footage directly to your hudl focus like you would with an end zone camera to see right there on the sidelines.

[btownqbcoach1]

11 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

Are you talking like how long the battery lasts? We have about 3 we take out during the game with the battery charger as well. I don't know for sure, but I think a battery fully charged should easily last you a quarter. Usually land it swap out a battery every quarter or half. We also have the charging station there to charge the battery from the first quarter if we need it for the last quarter. The shot you get from a drone vs. end zone camera is night and day. I would push for one as soon as you can. If you use hudl on the sidelines you can get adapters to hook the drone footage directly to your hudl focus like you would with an end zone camera to see right there on the sidelines.

we don't have hudl focus, just regular hudl and the hudl sideline package or whatever. 

What about the commercial/residential license thing? I have had two different people bring that up to me. 

Last thing... this seems like it's a one main job in itself, on game night, yes? 

Edited September 10, 2025 by btownqbcoach1

[First_Backer_Inside]

19 minutes ago, btownqbcoach1 said:

we don't have hudl focus, just regular hudl and the hudl sideline package or whatever. 

What about the commercial/residential license thing? I have had two different people bring that up to me. 

Last thing... this seems like it's a one main job in itself, on game night, yes? 

I don't know much about the license thing. I would have to look into that for you. 

Easy one man job, the drone flies itself. Just need to adjust the camera view from time to time, but the actual drone itself shouldn't have to move too much. Set up before the game is half the time it takes to set up an end zone camera. The only reason we still have an end zone camera is because we can't fly them during the playoffs.

The sideline package is what I meant not focus, my apologies.

Edited September 10, 2025 by First_Backer_Inside