We were lucky to catch up with Tony Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
Our mission is to help people capture their businesses, sport, or event with an elevated production level they can feel proud of sharing with others. High-quality drone photography and production are expensive, Airborne Perspectives puts people before price by providing discounts for non-profit organizations and female / minority-owned businesses. By breaking down the cost barrier of creating compelling digital content, we can even the playing field for those who don’t have big marketing or photography budgets to share their story.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I define myself as a journalist who loves to create visual storytelling. For the past decade, I have worked in the advertising industry helping build creative strategies that turn into digital, out-of-home, and television advertising. Today I am proud to say that I provide my clients with the experience used to create Fortune 500 ad campaigns into their content.
My interest in visual storytelling started by uncovering my editing talents while putting together consumer insight videos. Part of my job as a brand strategist is to help companies uncover how they can connect to a consumer need through focus groups or in-depth interviews. I loved working in the editing studio and turning dozens of hours of film into short two to three-minute clips that told a provocative story. Eventually, my work life bled into my personal life as I was always the documentarian on vacations, birthday parties and social events who created short videos on YouTube for friends and family to enjoy. It wasn’t until I was scrolling through social media one day that I saw an ad to become a licensed drone pilot. With a history in aviation as an Air Force veteran, I was eliminated with thoughts of combining my visual storytelling talents with my passion for journalism to help showcase a new perspective for businesses and people.
Airborne Perspectives was founded in 2020, providing aerial photography and cinematography with creative post-production services for a social media generation. We focus on short form content and photography with a core focus on ensuring everyone has access to an affordable production service to help your story become famous. Currently, Airborne Perspective’s work is featured on ESPN+ and can be seen on Hulu for Minnesota Whitecaps home games. We also recently covered the demolition of a building for the new V3 Center (a nonprofit organization) and the ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Mayor of Minneapolis and the Governor of Minnesota.
Everything about my business comes from a passion to help turn your story into a cinematic piece of art that you will want to share with the world.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I first launched AirbornePerspectives.com I thought the money would roll in overnight and it would be easy to find clients. Unfortunately, my confidence was a little too high and I soon realized that in order to find new work, you have to hustle and roll your sleeves up. There are a lot of drone companies all trying to recruit the same clients, so I like to think outside of the box about what untapped markets are available. This has helped me build relationships and not only find work, but plant the seeds for people and businesses who will remember me in the future.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Although I was in the Air Force, I had no pilot credentials of any sort before purchasing a drone. My go-to resource was an online school that helped me prep for my Part 107 pilot test called Drone Launch Academy. Through their videos and learnings, I was able to ace my test and acquire my pilot’s license. They also have a lot of great resources that taught me how to not only fly but take cinematic-quality videos and award-winning photography. In an era of working from home, this was a very convenient way for me to sharpen my knowledge, I often will reference their website for specific missions I have or projects I’m working on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.airborneperspectives.com/
- Instagram: @airborneperspectivesdrone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirbornePerspectivesDrone
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airborne-perspectives/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSfyOR7xX47S4P0jRRu8Wng
Image Credits
Tony Smith AirbornePerspectives.com