Drone Pilot Scotland / Fat Toad Films Ltd

Drone Pilot Scotland, part of Fat Toad Films Ltd, is fully qualified to fly drones weighing up to 25kg, holding a GVC and Operational Authorisation, and the A2CofC certificate. We hold public liability insurance up to £1m, which can be increased if required on a project-by-project basis.

Lead pilot Patrick Steel has been flying drones commercially since 2018 and has flown for a wide variety of clients including National Railway Museum, ONA Studio, Transport Scotland, and architecture firm Collective Works.

Drawing on his cinematography background, he flies with an eye for light, framing and cinematic movement, aiming to achieve a filmic look for all of our projects. The drone can be used to achieve jib, and dolly moves when flown closer to the earth as well as spectacular general views at height.

All of our projects are fully risk assessed and, where possible, we will attend a site recce to ensure a smooth flight on the shoot day. We like to work in collaboration with the client to achieve the best looking shots to serve the project and can advise on all technical aspects, take off and landing sites, camera moves and optimal weather and light conditions.

Examples of more complicated operations that we have risk assessed and flown include flying within the Flight Restriction Zone of Edinburgh Airport, which required permission from air traffic control, flying near the live rail at the National Railway Museum, for which we liaised with Network Rail, and flying near Easter Road football stadium, which required us to contact DJI to unlock the geofencing on that location.

We can also supply crew and equipment for ground filming. Lead pilot Patrick Steel is also a lighting camera operator shooting with a Sony FX6 and a range of prime and zoom lenses, which can be matched easily to both the Inspire 2 and the Mini 4. We can also supply gimbals, dolly track, teleprompter, Eye Direct, and a range of soft and hard lights. For larger productions, we can assemble a team from the network of crew we regularly work with across the UK.

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, we are available for work across the UK and worldwide.