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dino-sours · 7 years ago

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Much about The Lost World: Jurassic Park

I recently rewatched The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and reread Michael Crichton’s novel on which it was (loosely) based. I first saw and read both when I was 9 - basically the perfect age to be swept up in the whole marketing phenomenon that occurred in 1997. Since then, my memories of the book and film have been more than a little rose colored, so revisiting them both together has been full of surprises. Read on for far too many words...

The Book is Not Great

There are many things to like about Crichton’s The Lost World. I dig the basic premise: a team led by Ian Malcolm discovers InGen’s secret behind-the-scenes island, where they hid the unsightly process of manufacturing dinosaur embryos on an industrial scale. There are some great action sequences. My favorite has to be Sarah Harding and Kelly Curtis on a motorcycle, chasing down a Velociraptor that has inadvertently snagged some important keys. Dodgson’s disastrous visit to the Tyrannosaurus nest is another standout.

Other aspects of the book are less impressive. I don’t write fiction and I don’t know much about narrative design, but I sense a problem when all the major secrets and reveals occur before the half-way point. 150 pages in, we’ve learned why Site B exists, why dinosaurs are still roaming free there, and how it had been kept secret for so long. The only major reveal Crichton saves for the end of the book is the nature of the mysterious disease InGen had to contend with (prions from sheep extract!).

There’s also a minor plot thread where paleontologist Richard Levine periodically ponders the not-quite-right appearance of a predator that attacked him early in the book. Later it turns out to have been a Carnotaurus with extremely precise color-changing abilities. This is a cool idea, but the payoff is extremely underwhelming because all the Carnotaurus ends up doing is standing around until it is driven away by characters turning the lights on and off.

One of the weirdest parts of The Lost World is the chapter where Dodgson invites Sarah Harding to join him on his boat, only to throw her overboard before they reach the island. Harding’s struggle to dry land is suitably intense, but the scene feels completely out of place. Dodgson is a jerk, sure, but his actions are always deliberate and rational. There’s just no point in him trying to kill Harding, or for that matter, inviting her onto his boat in the first place. What’s more, nobody mentions this attempted murder ever again. Harding never tells her compatriots that Dodgson tried to kill her, and in fact doesn’t even bring up the fact that she had to swim to Isla Sorna. In fact, she seems utterly at ease as soon as she arrives at the trailers, even taking time to lecture Kelly about how most adults are full of shit.

Malcolm’s periodic lectures require some attention, in part because Crichton seems to have used them to voice his own thoughts on various subjects. Some of the didactic moments aren’t bad – Malcolm’s explanations of evolutionary arms races and the history of naturalists’ understanding of extinction are pretty on point. Elsewhere, however, Malcolm/Crichton goes off the rails a bit. There’s a fair amount of half-baked nonsense about the role of belief in science, for example.

Then there’s Malcolm’s recurring thesis that dinosaurs went extinct because they collectively changed their behavior in a non-advantageous way. The idea is introduced in the Prologue, and Malcolm gradually lays the groundwork for the idea as the book goes on (behavior is overlooked in paleontology because it doesn’t fossilize, populations routinely exhibit self-organization, etc.). But if there was meant to be a payoff, I must have missed it. Malcolm/Crichton never gets around to delivering the knockout evidence for his behavioral extinction hypothesis that the book seemed to be building toward.

The Film’s Story is Better

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is an uneven film, to say the least, especially from a storytelling perspective. It’s also nearly unrecognizable from the book it’s based on. Screenwriter David Koepp kept intact the core premise of a second, behind-the-scenes island where dinosaurs have been roaming unchecked for some time. He also kept the idea of two competing teams journeying the island and coming into conflict. Malcolm is the main character in both versions, and there is a surprising amount of dialogue from the book sprinkled around the film, even if it is delivered by different characters in different contexts. Typically, changes made for film are made to simplify the source material for a lowest-common-denominator audience, to the detriment of the story. The book is always better. In this case, however, I’d argue that just about every change Koepp made was an improvement.

In Crichton’s version, Team A is a research expedition arranged by Malcolm and Levine. Dodgson leads Team B, with the intent to commit industrial espionage by stealing dinosaur eggs. Dodgson is dependent on Malcolm and company insofar that he only finds the location of Site B by tapping their phones, but the teams’ missions are otherwise completely separate. In the film, Hammond sends Team A to document the dinosaurs and generate public goodwill. This is done specifically to undermine Team B, which is an effort by the new InGen CEO (Peter Ludlow) to round up dinosaurs to exhibit in a new mainland Jurassic Park.

Already, the film works better because the two teams are diametrically opposed. Team A wants to preserve the dinosaurs in their natural habitat, Team B wants to destroy that habitat and display the dinosaurs for profit. They cannot both succeed, so there is drama. On top of that, rounding up live dinosaurs is more dramatic, and generally cooler, than stealing eggs. It also plays into one of the film’s greatest strengths: safari vehicle porn. The RV-and-trailer mobile lab created by Crichton and carried over into the film is cool, but the film also adds a fleet of up-armored jeeps, hummers, and the like designed for encounters with multi-ton animals. They’re all awesome, and it’s a shame they all get destroyed so quickly!

Then there’s Malcolm. In the book, Malcolm was apparently content to keep quiet about the events of Jurassic Park, per InGen’s wishes. He’s also more than happy to go back to a dinosaur-filled island, and even waltz directly into a T. rex nest (minutes after somebody just got eaten, no less). Frankly, I don’t buy it. The Malcolm we met in Jurassic Park (book or film) couldn’t keep quiet if his life depended on it. Of course he would be the one to go to the press. And of course he would have deep-seated reservations about ever going near a dinosaur again. The film is far more believable on both fronts. Movie Malcolm is motivated by the opportunity to redeem his shattered reputation (which follows from what we know of him from the first outing) and the fact that people he care about are in danger (which is new, more on that in a bit).

Plot Holes

The Lost World: Jurassic Park feels like a film that was butchered in the editing room. It actually reminds me of Alien 3, which was notoriously carved up and partially reshot by anxious studio executives. Like Alien 3, TLW:JP has characters that appear without introduction, characters that are forgotten along the way, and inexplicably out-of-character moments that are never mentioned again. It feels like a bad cut of a longer, better film. The problem is, Steven Spielberg directed TLW:JP. And Spielberg clearly has enough clout to get final cut of his films. He’s also notoriously efficient, only shooting what he needs and leaving little on the editing room floor. So I’m at a loss to explain why TLW:JP was released in such a messy state.

Whatever the reason for them, here are the plot holes that drive me crazy (and no, I don’t really care about how the T. rex killed everyone on the ship and then returned to the hold):

· Sarah’s jacket. Sarah Harding is one of the few competent characters in the film (and the book). She’s no stranger to working with wild animals, she’s used to rugged conditions, and she’s a font of knowledge on dinosaur biology and animal behavior. If anyone can survive Isla Sorna, it’s her. That is until the brief moment when we see she inadvertently led the Tyrannosaurus parents to the campsite by leaving her blood-soaked jacket out to dry AND leaving a bunch of unwrapped chocolate bars in her tent. This is especially absurd given that Harding specifically lectured the others about leaving no traces earlier in the film. Basically, this scene is stupid and not worthy of Harding’s awesomeness.

· Where does Hammond live? In the film, we see Malcolm on the New York City subway, followed by his arrival at Hammond’s home, which is a large, multi-story mansion (or so it would seem, we never see the outside). Presumably Malcolm took the subway to see Hammond, but that raises the question of where a house like that would be that is also subway accessible. Long Island, maybe? Relatedly, where does Malcolm live? In the book, he lives in the San Francisco area. In the film, we see him in New York and then driving his red convertible (which is exactly the sort of car Malcolm would drive, so props) around San Diego. So which side of the country does he live on? Did he travel all the way to New York to visit Hammond?

· What is InGen? As far as we know, InGen’s only product was Jurassic Park, which was a complete loss. Nevertheless, the company is still in business four years later, and holds extremely valuable waterfront property in San Diego. What exactly is that waterfront complex for, and how does the company afford it? And if they have those facilities, why does InGen hold board meetings in Hammond’s house? In the film, we see Ludlow and the board members from the cut boardroom scene coming down the stairs in Hammond’s house. Two men mutter something about having no choice, and Ludlow is given papers to sign to make him CEO. All this implies that the boardroom scene was meant to take place immediately before that…in Hammond’s house. Without Hammond himself attending. Huh?

Setting and Dinosaurs

This will be brief. Mad props for the choice to shoot on location in Northern California, and to set the dinosaurs against the coniferous backdrops they actually lived in. It makes no sense for a Costa Rican island to be full of redwoods, but I don’t care. It looks cool.

Also, The Lost World: Jurassic Park has the most believable looking dinosaurs I’ve ever seen committed to film. Obviously they are not completely accurate, and are even less so now than they were in 1997. But whatever those animators and compositors were doing in 1997, it worked. These dinosaurs move and behave like animals. They look like they belong in their environments. They look real. I don’t know what is going on with CGI today but it doesn’t hold a candle to what they were doing 20 years ago with less computing power than an iPhone. And that’s to say nothing of the incredibly subtle performances of the puppets and animatronics, the highlight being the T. rex sticking its snout into the tent. That thing is breathing and alive and it’s incredible.

The Scripts

The last thing I want to bring up are David Koepp’s scripts for The Lost World: Jurassic Park, because they’re much better than the film as released. Let’s start with the 1995 script. This draft is most famous for including the Pteranodon attack finale instead of the San Diego sequence, but what’s really interesting to me is that it reads like an ensemble story. In the final film, Malcolm is absolutely the star of the show. In the 1995 script, other characters – especially the Team B characters - get a lot more time to shine. Roland and Ajay are introduced in Kenya, before we get to the island (this scene was shot and is on the dvd, of course). Dieter Stark has an off-island introduction, as well. Ajay and Dieter have much more dialogue, and Ajay has an on-camera death scene. Roland is memorable in the film because Pete Postlethwaite is a badass, but Ajay and Dieter fade into the background. It’s hard to know after seeing the film so many times, but I imagine 9 year-old me would never have known either man was a named character if not for their respective action figures. In the 1995 script, all three characters are well-rounded and even sympathetic.

Malcolm is presented rather differently in the 1995 script, mostly because he and Sarah Harding are not romantically involved. Here, Malcolm’s motivation for going to Isla Sorna is all about sticking it to Ludlow and InGen for ruining his reputation, getting his tenure revoked, and robbing him of his livelihood. It’s only when his daughter Kelly is in danger that he learns to be a protector, and he is eventually redeemed for his history of being a bad dad. In contrast, Malcolm in the final film is a heroic family man from the start. This never sat well with me because Malcolm was not a very nice person in the first Jurassic Park. He’s an egotistical, smart-alecky academic asshole. It’s hard to reconcile the man who said he’s “always looking for the next ex-Ms. Malcolm” with the family man we see in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. In the 1995 script, Malcolm ends up there, but he has to earn it over the course of the film.

By the time Koepp wrote the 1996 script, Malcolm and Harding are an item and the Tyrannosaurus gets loose in San Diego at the end (I think the San Diego sequence was a necessary change, because you just can’t have a movie about Ludlow trying to start a mainland dinosaur zoo without him learning the consequences firsthand). Roland, Ajay, and Dieter still have much larger roles, however, and there are a number of great moments that I wish had made it into the final film.

We’ve got Malcolm discussing the consequences of Gambler’s Ruin. We’ve got Ludlow accidently breaking the baby tyrannosaur’s leg. We’ve got InGen vets accidently killing hadrosaurs with a tranquilizer overdose. There’s a neat bit of dialogue where Burke explains that predators wiped out Isla Sorna’s ankylosaurs, effectively rendering them extinct for a second time. And there’s a really cool sequel-teasing ending, where Malcolm and Harding realize that Hammond’s dream of keeping the dinosaur ecosystem intact is now their burden, and it’s going to be much harder now that world knows about it. I shit you not, the last line is Malcolm telling Sarah, “Brace yourself…things are about to get weird.”

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#The Lost World: Jurassic Park #Jurassic Park #film #Michael Crichton #too long #dinosaurs

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gabrielawbin-blog · 4 years ago

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Oragadam real estate

The lodging industry is one of the oldest businesses to exist in this world. It has been around ever since people started travelling from one place to the other for trade and other purposes. What began as the need of the hour (rest and shelter during long journeys) soon turned into an industry that offered comfort, convenience, even luxury, to their boarders. For example, The Greeks built thermal baths that allowed their guests to rest and recuperate. Romans constructed palatial mansions for travelers, while Caravanserais along the famous Silk Road from Turkey to China offered shelter not just for men but also their beasts.

In the 21st century, hotels have evolved into a flourishing business that has become an inseparable part of the travel industry. The styles range from flamboyant properties to bare-bone youth hostels, and all-inclusive honeymoon resorts to quaint country inns.

However, as competition grew and hotels started offering standard services across the chain, there was need for Oragadam companies something innovative in the market. People, tired of impersonal services, started moving towards smaller hotels that offered personalized attention and unique experiences.

And thus was born the darling of the hospitality industry - boutique hotels. Today, they are the most sought after stay option for leisure travellers and the ultimate name in exclusivity. More and more people are choosing to stay in boutique hotels, because they're almost always guaranteed to have a good time and get great value for their money

Given the popularity they enjoy, it's worthwhile taking a peek into the fascinating history of boutique hotels and trace their evolution over time.

History of Boutique Hotels

The earliest boutique hotels appeared in the early 1980s, the first two of them being The Blakes Hotel in South Kensington, London, and the Bedford in Union Square, San Francisco. The term 'boutique hotel', though, appeared much later in 1984, coined by Steve Rubell. He compared his own establishment, Morgans Hotel, to a small boutique, obviously wishing to highlight its exclusivity and set it apart from other hotels that were cropping up everywhere, much like the monolithic department stores.

This is not to say that boutique hotels are a modern invention. There are plenty of documented instances of similar lodging experiences dating back to the 13th century when staging posts were set up for travellers in Mongolia and China.

Here are a few more examples of one-of-a-kind boutique hotels that were popular back in the days:

In 1705, César Ritz opened a boutique hotel at Place Vendôme, which earned him high praise from King Edward VII who called him "king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings". In 1822, Venitian artist Giuseppe Rubino transformed an old palace into a gorgeous hotel and called it "il Rubino". In 1880, the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George (in the state of New York) became the first to provide electricity in each of its guest rooms, creating no small stir among visitors in those times. In 1900, Edouard Niiermans, known as the 'architect of palaces' transformed Emperor Napoléon III's summer residence - Villa "Eugenie - into a beautiful and niche hotel. In 1919, Barcelona inaugurated a stylish hotel that was equipped with hot and cold water in its bathrooms. As you can see, there have been numerous occasions throughout the history of the lodging industry when hoteliers applied creativity and offered top-notch services to stay ahead of the competition and offer something extraordinary to their visitors. Boutique Hotel of the 21st Century - Characteristics that Set It Apart

Today, the term 'boutique hotel' is used to describe small establishments with around 150 rooms. They are privately owned, or part of a small group of hotels, and are best known for iconic, memorable and, at times, eccentric design themes. The concept of boutique hotels became a trend after hotelier Ian Schrager and French designer Philippe Starck used unique designs to build their hotels. And now, it has become a flourishing industry of its own, complete with unique traits and qualities.

Here's looking at some of the more important ones.

Size Does Matter

Boutique hotels are generally considered small, but they're not in the same category as Bed and Breakfast hotels or homestays that have less than 10 rooms. Boutique hotels can have up to 150 rooms, which does make it appear smaller when you compare it to most chain hotels.

However, it is this intimate scale that helps create a home-like ambiance with peace and privacy aplenty. These cozy properties often have a communal "living space" where the guests can sit and interact with each other.

Personality Speaks Volumes

Since boutique hotels are independently owned and not affiliated to any big chain, they are a brand in themselves. They have a distinctive vibe to them that sets them apart from the others. It is their unique personality and absence of cookie cutter solutions that guests find refreshing, thereby drawing more and more people towards boutique hotels.

Design by Desire

Boutique hotels are known for their intriguing interiors, which are very often created by leading designers and architects. Generally speaking, these niche hotels tend to maintain an upmarket look, combining historic elegance with chic details. The décor conveys a progressively forward style and the overall design could range from contemporary and quaint, to homely and artistic. Each guest room is decorated individually, complete with exclusive amenities and upscale linen.

It's All in the Charm

You know how you walk into a big hotel, but nothing really spectacular or interesting jumps out at you? Boutique hotels will have none of that and the first thing that grabs your attention is their eccentric personality. They are funky, trendy, and offbeat. For instance, the Hotel Monaco in Washington D.C. will bring a goldfish in a bowl to your room, if you don't have a pet of your own.

Lovely Location

While there aren't any hard and fast rules about where a boutique hotel should be situated, it's no coincidence that the best of them have a great location going for them. When designing boutique hotels, most hoteliers choose the hippest and most happening places to set them in. You may even find them in high-end neighborhoods, removed from the hustle and bustle, but still close to the attractions and highlights of the city. Yet another popular choice for boutique hotels would be in areas that are far removed from the city, in the lap of nature and surrounded by lush greenery.

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itswomanswork · 7 years ago

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How to Make Money with a Drone: Up to $200 an Hour on the Side

Today’s contribution comes from Josh Boughner, who turned his birthday present drone into a money-making machine.

Hooked after his first paid drone-flying gigs, Josh now runs SoldByAir.com, the largest real estate drone network in the US. The site has over 1000 registered pilots (at least one pilot in every state), and connects those drone operators with jobs across the country.

Take it away, Josh!

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I’m one of those tech guys who loves his toys. My wife realizes this, so for one of my previous birthdays she bought me a drone.

Nick’s Notes: Nice wife! Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are usually equipped with a camera to take photos or video. They look like miniature futuristic helicopters and you fly them via remote control.

A few weeks later a realtor in the family asked me to take aerial photos of a property they had for sale. And they were going to pay me.

Make money flying a toy?

I was in!

When you consider the costs, starting a drone business is cheap. Why not put a drone to work and make some extra cash? Drones are a perfect fit for a fun and profitable side hustle.

What Are Some Ways to Make Money With a Drone?

Real Estate Photos & Video

The first place most drone pilots try to drum up work is in the real estate market. It’s easy and familiar.

Realtors need attractive photos to help market properties online, and drones can provide an elevated vantage point to show off different features of a house or property.

Personally I prefer doing real estate because I love seeing amazing properties. Not every house needs drone photos, but high end listings purchase drone photos more often.

There have been times where I get to a shoot and no one is there but me and I have to stop and just stare at the house in amazement.

There are these incredible mansions I didn’t even know existed near where I live. I love it.

Roof Inspections

It costs money for insurance companies to send someone up on a ladder. Drones are often much cheaper.

These jobs can be quick and easy. They often come in large quantities and then dry up quickly directly after large storms.

Stock Photography/Video

If you like traveling and documenting amazing sights you can try your hand at selling stock photos/video.

You’ll have to amass quite a bit of footage before you can expect to see much from sales but if you are good there are a number of websites where you can list your work.

Get Creative and Technical

Drones are so new that there are many industries still learning how to utilize them. If you are creative there is the potential to find or create your own niche. Some industries using drones are more technical than others. Cell tower inspection, thermal imagery, high end video productions are a few examples.

Once your name gets out in your area you will get requests for drone jobs that don’t really have a specific category. I did a job for a contractor who was bidding on a job to create a walking trail.

The job was basically to fly the drone down a few miles of a potential walking path and take video of it that they could show to the potential client. It was relatively easy work, and jobs like this are a ton of fun as they help to keep things interesting.

Other Potential Ways to Make Money with a Drone

Aerial reconnaissance and surveillance

Delivery and disaster relief

YouTube

Hotel and resort ads / videos

Wedding videos

Structural or building inspection

Agricultural or environmental inspection

Marketing at events (think low-flying billboards)

How Much Money Can You Make With Your Drone?

The amount you charge is really up to you. This is a new and exciting market so nothing is set in stone.

If you go into some of the more complex verticals like cell tower inspection or thermal imagery you can charge a lot more for your services. However, working in the higher dollar areas require technical knowledge, more expensive gear and quite often having connections to people in those industries.

Since the real estate industry is where most people start, let me use that as an example.

Pricing is generally in the range of $75-200 for drone photos, though it varies based on local market conditions. For real estate video you can charge more.

I’ve found it’s difficult to charge extra just because it’s an expensive house, but you can charge extra for houses on large plots of land. Acreage simply takes more time to fly with a drone.

Most drone pilots start out on the lower end of pricing and increase their rates as their skill level increases and they build their portfolio.

For example, I did my very first job for $50. At the time I thought it was awesome.

I quickly realized I wasn’t charging enough, so I added $25 to my price.

When no one complained, I added $25 again. I did that and raised my prices until I started hearing people say they had other cheaper options.

I didn’t go back down to the cheaper guys’ prices, but I had now found a fair market price to set my fees for my area.

The Costs of Starting a Drone Business

Starting a drone business is relatively cheap. All in, you are looking at around $1500-$2000 to have a minimum viable drone business up and running.

If you hustle and push hard you can have that paid off quickly (we were profitable in a few months).

The startup costs include:

The drone (duh)

Extra batteries (have at least 3 total)

ND filters for videography

Photo and video editing software

An FAA drone pilot’s license (seriously!)

Which Drone is Best?

You can get a high quality drone for less than $1,500.

There are many drones on the market, but the best are all made by DJI. They dominate the drone market for good reason as they always seem to be a step ahead of the competition.

The exact drone you buy really depends on the type of work you plan to use it for.

For entry level drones you can use professionally, look at the Phantom 4 Pro and the Mavic Pro Platinum.

The Phantom has the better camera but the Mavic is much quieter while in the air. Each have their place. I give the slight edge to the Phantom as the camera is a pretty significant jump up (+8 megapixels).

Photo and Video Editing Software

Drones have become fairly advanced very quickly. They have automated flight patterns and are extremely steady in the air. Flying the drone and taking pictures/video is one of the easiest parts of the job.

Still, you are going to want to familiarize yourself with photo and video editing software. You don’t have to be an expert at Photoshop but you will want to learn the basics.

Some valuable techniques/topics to study up on include:

Sky Replacements

HDR Photography

Color Correction

The Magic Eraser and Clone Stamp tool

On the video front, you can use something like iMovie before upgrading to Adobe Premiere or After Effects. Practice on your own videos first to learn how the software works.

Because the cost of entry is so low, there is competition in the field. Post production is something that can set you apart from the kid down the street.

Your Drone License: FAA Part 107

In order to make money with a drone you are required to be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

To get licensed you have to pass a test that seems more geared towards general aviation then it does to drones.

Don’t be intimidated by the test — it’s not very difficult and has a 91% pass rate. The FAA provides all the study material you’ll need, and there are many study guides and training classes available for those who need some extra help.

The test itself costs $150 and is good for 2 years. I personally studied for about two weeks and passed it easily.

Where to Find Drone Pilot Jobs

Now that you’ve got your drone, it’s time to re-coup your initial investment and start making some money.

So how do you find the work?

Luckily there are websites you can join that specialize in drone pilot jobs. They will usually take a percentage of the payment in exchange for sending you the job.

These marketplaces include:

SoldbyAir.com (my site)

Dronebase.com

DroneJobs.org

VideoToOrder.com

If you just want to fly and not deal with cold calling or finding customers, these sites may be right for you.

If you prefer to be a little more proactive, you can reach out to realtors, their agencies, or insurance companies themselves to offer your services.

Nick’s Notes: This is freelancing and we’ve seen tons of creative ways people have marketed their freelance services.

Advertising in local Facebook groups can help. Try to think of places where the customers are and go there. There are various real estate gatherings that can get you in front of realtors. Think outside the box.

I’ve also been known to stop at open houses from time to time.

Before You Fly – Verify the Legal Requirements

As with everything else, there are laws you have to abide by when flying drones.

Are you near any airports? Airmap is a cool little app to show you what the local airspace is like. Busy airports require authorization to fly nearby. There is a process the FAA is implementing to speed up authorization requests but for the time being legally flying jobs near airports can be very difficult.

It’s also illegal to fly drones in national parks.

State laws and local ordinances vary. While the FAA has ultimate authority over the skies, they seem to avoid getting involved in drone disputes at local or state levels so it’s best to follow your local and state laws even if they seem more restrictive than what the FAA has on the books.

Your First Paying Drone Job

Planning is key to a successful shoot.

Make sure to schedule when there’s no rain or strong winds in the forecast. Be sure your batteries are charged and don’t forget the SD card.

A common mistake new pilots make is to fly too high. If you are flying real estate the goal is to sell the house, not show off the roof.

Keep the entire house in the frame of the photos and provide a variety of photos showing off different angles and key points of interest for the property. Show off the location of the property relative to areas of interest such as golf courses, shopping centers, waterways or similar.

Over time you will want to come up with a repeatable process. Plan to take the same set of photos at every shoot to speed up the work. When I first started, I might spend 45 minutes to an hour at a property. Now I am in and out in 15 minutes if there’s no one there to talk to.

Are You Spying on My Daughter?

The media has painted drones as scary spying devices. Some people think drones are awesome technology and will talk your ear off asking questions the entire time you fly. Others are paranoid about them.

If you do enough jobs you will eventually get someone asking you, “Hey are you spying on my daughter?”

They’re usually half joking/half serious.

Be friendly; let them know why you are there and you shouldn’t have any problems.

I remember one particular occasion vividly. I was on a weekend shoot and brought my son with me, since he likes drones too. It was a vacant large plot of farmland so I assumed that we wouldn’t run into anybody.

I was wrong.

Just as we’d finished and were packing up, a guy in his minivan comes driving down down the lane with his hand out the window recording us on his cell phone.

He starts the conversation by saying. “You are lucky I didn’t have my shotgun handy or I would have shot that thing out of the sky!”

Calmly I pointed to the realtor sign on the plot of land and explained to him that we were just there to get photos of the farmland for sale. I showed him one of the photos and he calmed down dramatically. He even asked if he could fly the drone!

Post Production

Drone video is obviously more complex than photography but it doesn’t have to be hard.

The general rule of thumb is to keep your videos short — hardly anyone watches videos online for longer than a minute.

Take short clips and splice them together. Any jerky movements should be edited out.

Drone video can be sold to a variety of customers. Not only do realtors want video of the house being listed, but they sometimes want video of the town that the house is in they can re-use in future listings. You can charge a premium for reusable video.

Businesses like drone videos for commercials or Facebook ads. We’ve even have people request aerial video of private parties/events.

Video is less forgiving than photos as you can’t just photoshop objects out of it. Make sure to get much more footage than you think you’ll need as it’s much easier and quicker to cut out a bad clip then it is to fix it.

Track your Mileage

Drone work is much like other ‘gig’ work. Once you have a steady stream of customers you’ll be driving around from job to job.

Save yourself a headache in the future and get a process in place for tracking your mileage. I recommend MileIQ. Even though it has an annual subscription it quickly pays for itself in tax savings.

In Conclusion

There are days when I’m out flying my drone at a customer site and I think to myself, “I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this!”

It is extremely fun and pretty exciting to be involved in a cutting edge field. To be fair there’s not really enough work yet to easily make it a full time gig, which is actually a great thing for those looking for a cool side hustle!

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For more info, be sure to check Josh out at SoldByAir.com.

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ancient-egypt-o0o-blog · 8 years ago

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Best Of Egypt Taba, – holiday 2017: holidays, tours,Taba

Taba, in the eastern Sinai promontory of Egypt, denote the area of the southern fringe going amongst Egypt and Israel, adjusting explorers coming into Egypt and the Sinai by means of Eilat. The town has grown up around the fringe intersection and offers essential courtesies for voyagers - significantly improved by the Taba Heights advancement around 20 minutes ride facilitate south. Taba is an inside for Red Sea plunging.

Get in Taba

Guests to Taba arrive either north from Israel, south from Egypt or via air to Taba International Airport. On leaving Israel, a takeoff assessment of 106NIS (as of October 2015) is charged at the fringe, in spite of the fact that on the off chance that you pay this ahead of time at Eilat's primary mail station on HaTmarim Street, you will pay 5 NIS less. You can pay with charge card for an extra 5NIS. For entering Egypt, most nationalities can get a free Sinai allow permitting 14 days inside Sinai itself. You should have a propel visa on the off chance that you wish to continue out of the Sinai (if not sorted out ahead of time expect a USD$35-85 charge if the neighborhood go specialist can come to keep in touch with you one - you can get their contacts from the Egyptian fringe control officers). Regardless of whether you have a visa or not, you'll be charged 105EGP (as of Oct 2015) as "Sinai expense". (The assessment is gathered at a checkpoint 1 km from the fringe.) When crossing the outskirt, there are 150 meters between the Egyptian terminal and Israeli checkpoint. Touts may offer you the utilization of trucks to convey your sacks, however will charge (approx. 2EGP) for this administration. There is no charge on the Israeli side for trucks. Because of late drops in tourism you could conceivably observe these touts. On the Egyptian side, long-remove taxis anticipate at the movement hover, simply past the fringe crossing. These are generally shared taxicabs, and they have the notoriety of ripping off visitors. But the typical wheeling and dealing, putting on a show to go take the transport (from the transport station, additionally not far off on the left side) normally inspires them to consent to a sensible value (45EGP to Dahab at 3PM as of Oct 2015 and 20EGP to Nuweiba). Arrangements will get you a private navigate to Dahab for 250-400EGP (March 2016) which takes around 2.5 hours.

On the Israeli side, neighborhood Egged transport #15 associates with Eilat's Central Bus Station about once a hour on the half hour (5 NIS, plan recorded on the Egged site) or take a taxi. The Taba transport station is on the left hand side of the fundamental street around 1 km from the fringe. Search for the East Delta sign with a major rock fix before it. (There might be transports stopped there to make thinking that its less demanding.) The transports to Cairo leave at 10:30AM and 4:30PM and it costs 50-70EGP (Sep 2012), contingent upon the time at which it clears out. The main transport to Dahab leaves at 3PM (March 2016) and costs 45LE. Cautioning: as of March 2016, outsiders are (still) BANNED from taking the transport from Taba to Cairo (they should make the any longer and more costly trek to Sharm to start with, then Cairo, for around 85-105EGP). This transport ride will change in time contingent upon how frequently check guides choose toward load up the transport and assess everybody's documentation. At present there are security checkpoints going all through all towns. The excursion takes no less than 7 hours. Additionally it likely just stops once for a washroom break, at a dusty and frail roadhouse that has a place in a Mad Max motion picture. The transport is for the most part a not too bad new-ish demonstrate, an indent or two beneath a Greyhound in the states. There is ventilating however perhaps not as much as you'd need. Seating is unassigned. (Abstain from sitting close to the can.)

On the off chance that you are originating from Eilat, be cautioned that there could be a period change when coming into Taba, since Israel watches Daylight Savings Time while Egypt does not. You'll experience considerable difficulties a check in Taba revealing to you what time it truly is. The fundamental impact of the time change is that in the mid year, the transport to Cairo may appear to leave a hour late. Most outsiders need an Egyptian visa to go to Cairo. Dissimilar to touching base in Cairo via air (where a visa can be bought upon entry), you have to mastermind your visa ahead of time (at an Embassy or Consulate), before you get to Taba. On the off chance that you don't have the best possible visa, you'll be expelled from the transport at one of the checkpoints AFTER you have paid your visitor impose (120 EGP as of Oct 2016) at the principal checkpoint. Originating from Cairo there are four transports leaving from the Tugormen transport station (AKA the Cairo Gateway Mall) in Cairo making a beeline for the Taba fringe crossing. Two in the morning: 6AM and 9:30AM and one at night: 11:30 PM (Dec. 2011). The cost is around 90EGP (Sep 2012). On the off chance that you require help finding the transport station there is a traveler data remain in the primary Cairo prepare station, they communicate in English and are for the most part accommodating. See that this administration is right now inaccessible (Dec. 2012). Take a transport to Dahab (90EGP) and get another transport there. It is not fitting to talk about further venture arranges, as in going to Israel, so anyone might hear or with different voyagers as this may inspire undesirable consideration. See that when the transport lands at Taba, the transport conductor will request an additional 5 EGP to take you to the outskirt itself from the transport station. Stay away from the sham and walk those 600m by foot. Take note of: that the excursion over the guests Taba to Eilat to Aqaba, back to Eliat lastly Taba once more (so toward any path) should be possible with no stamps being set in your identification. No additional charges are brought about and all stamps are put on discrete cards given to you by migration officers. You should request this pleasantly, yet the technique was straightforward and brisk with little bother.

It will show up (once you toss out the cards) that you have never left your beginning nation. Finished with Canadian Passports in January of 2014, however it gives the idea that nationality had no bearing at all to the officers. Another involvement in late January 2014 saw the Egyptian authorities unwilling. Your mileage may differ.

Things to see in Taba

The outskirt crossing offices are pleasantly arranged on the Egyptian side. The intersection doesn't see a great deal of activity—apparently more staff than voyagers—so if all your printed material is all together you'll presumably wisk directly through. The main thing you'll find in Egypt is the luxurious Hilton clubhouse inn. The outskirt zone at Taba is a fake air pocket reaching out for one kilometer and comprising of minimal more than two mammoth resort lodgings, the Hilton and the Movenpick, and a little town supporting them. Past one kilometer, there is a checkpoint where outsiders are required to pay a travel assessment of around 105EGP, so on the off chance that you are sitting tight for the transport, you are successfully caught in the outskirt zone until the transport comes. (The duty will be gathered from you on the transport.) Over the road from the transport station is a building checked "Taba Museum", yet there is no sign on the outside if and when it is ever open. Around two squares behind the transport station is a rough shoreline on the Red Sea, where you can look through the fence at the to some degree more pleasant shoreline at the Movenpick resort. Perfectly clear water, however any sand is likely trucked in by the resorts.

Things To Do In Taba

The principle purpose behind Taba's presence is the clubhouse at the Hilton. Visit administrators sort out outings to additionally intriguing spots close-by, including Mount Sinai and even Petra (in Jordan). Mansion Zaman, 25km Taba-Nuweiba Rd, Taba, Red Sea and Sinai, South Sinai, Egypt, ☎ 0020182140591,. open 12PM. East of the Sinai Peninsula, ignoring the Gulf of Aqaba, this amazing landmark orders an emotional uneven perspective of four nations. The correct site connotes a point of interest on the antiquated street interfacing St. Catherine's Monastery with Jerusalem. Château Zaman offers an impeccable and liberal cooking. Meat and fish are simmered to flawlessness with a variety of new vegetables, flavors, dates and figs gradually arranged in earth pots. Arrangement takes 1-3.5 hours, time happily spent by the pool, investigating the underground fortune room, or tasting crisp coctails by the bar. (Not youngster well disposed, WiFi accessible) alter

Purchase in Taba

In the region of the transport station and the Museum, there are two or three small supermarkets. In the event that you are keen about wheeling and dealing, you'll get less expensive costs than in Israel.

Sleep in Taba

Bir Sweir, a range found only approximately 30 km south of Taba, on your approach to Nuweiba, offers loads of little shoreline camps. All have an eatery segment, and bamboo straw cabins, where the Stars sparkle however during the evening. The camps are specifically on the shoreline, with probability to just mull over the shoreline, close to the ocean. Figure on US$20/day including nourishment and beverages. Aquarium camp The Good Life Al Tarek Diana Beach Camp Sabah Camp Baraka Splurge Taba Hilton - totally unmissable at 11 stories tallness, emerges like a sore thumb from whatever remains of the Taba scene. Incorporates a jumping focus. Expect Hilton costs. It is important anyway you can remain at the Hilton Taba from £20 GBP a night, £29 GBP including breakfast and supper. This may at present be somewhat steep for explorers, however is significantly less expensive than the costs of a Hilton in Tel Aviv or Eliat. Useful for in the event that you are sick and need an en-suite, or simply need a night of solace!