Prakash Gandhi Natarajan is a Texas-based smartphone filmmaker who is the founder of Dhara Visual, an independent production company. In the following interview, Gandhi talks about combining smartphone and drone footage in the making of “Diwali & Pongal,” a mini-doc about India’s festival of lights (Diwali) and harvest festival (Pongal). The mini-doc was the co-winner of MobileMovieMaking’s Holiday Video Contest.

MMM: What were your experiences using the drone?

Gandhi: The DJI Spark is so tiny you can carry it in your hand bag or backpack. There were a couple of times my DJI Spark got disconnected from my iPhone X and started flying on its own and it ended up coming back to the home point safely. Also one time, the gimbal got stuck in mid air and I had to restart it.

MMM: How did you control it.

Gandhi: I used my iPhone X to control my DJI. That approach is more than enough for beginners. But after reading reviews I realized that DJI Spark’s own remote controller is the best option. Among other features, it enables the “sports mode,” which makes the drone fly faster than normal mode.

MMM: Did you use any special gear when shooting with the iPhone?

Gandhi:  I used the Osmo Mobile Gimbel.

MMM: How about editing?

Gandhi:  I used the Apple iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil, the Luma Fusion App, and did finishing touches on my MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro.

MMM: Are there any tricks that you use in combining smartphone and drone footage?

Gandhi: For the first time, I edited in Apple iPad Pro 12.9” and Apple Pencil. Best editing experience and faster rendering and export compared to my MacBook pro with faster processor. I used the app Luma Fusion in iPad pro. Apple iPad Pro + Apple Pencil + Luma Fusion app – combination of these three is a beast especially if you shoot your videos in iPhone. The videos are readily available in iPad pro because of iCloud. So no time was wasted in import. Rendering and exporting 4K was also much faster in iPad Pro compared to working on the MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro. Overall, the  iPhone + drone + iPad is an amazing combination for shooting movies.

MMM: Did you go to India primarily to shoot the festival?

Gandhi: Yes, after I got my iPhone X I was excited to shoot a travel film.

MMM: Can you tell us about your next projects.

Gandhi: Last year I went to Italy and I’m working on multiple travel films from that trip. I’m also working on another India travel film and might travel again to India in the next couple of months to shoot more.

MMM: Any advice for people just starting out in smartphone filmmaking?

Gandhi: Everyone has a story.  Technology is out there. Are we willing to take our story from our minds to the public? Let’s do it together.

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“Diwali & Pongal” was chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week by the editors of MobileMovieMaking.com.