The Aerigon aerial remote camera platform, outfitted with a Red Dragon camera, was used by the Natural History Film Unit to capture some of the sweeping overhead images for the latest Taylor Swift video, Wildest Dreams. Staged as a period piece film shoot on the African Savannah, the richly produced music video incorporates stunning aerial scenes of wildlife, thanks in part to the stability and lift capacity of Aerigon, which allows filmmakers to use the cameras and lenses they need for their shots, including full in-flight camera controls.
“We used Aerigon to capture nature shots for the video,” said Brad Bestelink, director and producer at NHFU, based in Botswana. “We shot some great zebra and elephant material from the UAV over a two-day period.” While most of the aerials were captured from a helicopter, the Aerigon footage can be seen at the beginning of the video.
Directed by Joseph Kahn, Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams has been viewed over 90 million times on YouTube. Swift is donating proceeds from the video to animal conservation efforts through the African Parks Foundation of America.