Mr Smith Aerial

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Mr Smith Aerial

Welcome to Mr Smith Aerial, the website of aerial film and photographer Andy Smith. I have worked with and supplied footage and photography for various clients.

Welcome to Mr Smith Aerial, the page of drone pilot, aerial filmmaker and photographer Andy Smith. I am a CAA approved UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) pilot with A2 CofC and GVC licenses. I am able to operate in both the open and specific commercial drone flying categories. I have spent the last 16 years working as an Art Director and Creative Director in Design and Advertising agencies. You can see

more of my experience in that field over at my other site www.mrsmith-creative.com

I use two great drones. The Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom. A great pair of nimble, flexible, high tech machines. Both shoot film in 4K and stills in RAW. I try to approach every aerial project with an Art Directors' eye. I am interested in making beautiful films, capturing extraordinary points of view and perspectives, and composing stunning images. I enjoy working with directors, or directing myself.

01/12/2025

I’ve been flying over Fringe by the Sea since 2021, capturing everything from early morning calm to packed festival nights. What I love most is showing how the festival sits within the wider landscape. Bass Rock, the harbour, North Berwick Law. It all plays a part in the story.

One of the shots from 2021 ended up winning the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest for Best Drone Photography and became a British Photography Awards finalist. Since then, the footage has appeared across TV, press and social media.
The festival keeps changing, and there’s always something new to capture.

Read the case study: https://www.mrsmith-aerial.com/fringebythesea

If you’re planning an event or need standout aerial photography or video, I’m available for drone shoots across Scotland.

28/11/2025

Drone Case Study Page

I’ve started pulling together a full page of drone case studies. A mix of favourite projects from the past seven years, including work for Universal Resorts, Epic Universe, Fringe by the Sea, LNER, Buccleuch Estates, Teenage Fanclub, Visit East Lothian, On Path Energy, Stagecoach and the Dunard Centre. The first nine are now live.

Kicking off with this one. Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein on Netflix. The story of how I got this job is a strange one.

https://www.mrsmith-aerial.com/case-study-frankenstein

More on the way.

11/11/2025

A lot of cool new stuff to share with you all in the Mr Smith Drones world. In the meantime, I had to select three images for a recent grant application, and chose these. :-)

07/10/2025

‘It’s ALIVE!’

Finally, I’m allowed to talk about an amazing project I got involved in 19 MONTHS AGO.

Guillermo Del Toro’s mega movie Frankenstein is a new telling of Mary Shelley’s 1818 masterpiece. I read the original in Higher English back in 1997, so this story has always had a place in my heart.

How I came to be involved is an unlikely tale in itself. It started with a personal project, an experimental video I shot at a local private beach Seacliff, with kind permission of the owners. I went early on a beautiful, but absolutely freezing Monday morning in April 2023 and videoed the sea, sand, rocks, natural and man-made features in as many different ways as I could imagine, to test out a new drone. I shot it all in a high frame rate, and in a new colour profile.

The result was a short video, which I’ll share in the comments. As I don’t want to override the movie trailer. But I digress.

A VFX studio from Canada and a U.K. Production Company just so happened to be scouting for locations for Frankenstein and had selected this very beach. They found my video on Vimeo and got in touch to ask me to shoot some drone footage for them.

I knew I needed high end, cinema grade kit, and also some big screen experience. So I brought in my friend, expert camera operator Hazel Palmer to help me with the epic two-person DJI Inspire 3 drone. I would fly it. She would operate the camera.

Together, and with the help of Hazel’s parter Graeme Leak, we spent several days videoing the beach in February 2024. The weather was challenging, the temperature was freezing, and flying the £30K full-spec Inspire 3 was a bit stressful. I felt like Dr Frankenstein trying to control my very own monster. But it was amazing.

We brought in photographer Maxime Ragni to shoot stills and textures too. A dream team!

The trailer is now live! Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aulMPhE12g

Those first two shots, I believe, under all the cool VFX, are Hazel and mine! Here are some behind the scenes images.

06/10/2025

Chasing geese!

Out on a shoot for near Butterdean Wood in Tranent, I caught this flock flying in formation above the autumn fields. The timing was perfect – golden light, changing colours, and the unmistakable sound of geese passing overhead.

It’s one of the things I love most about filming and photographing East Lothian from the sky: you never know what’s going to appear in the frame. Sometimes the land gives you a gift.

01/10/2025

Some behind the scenes shots courtesy of the superb .ragni . Thanks pal!

Tonnes, and tonnes (and indeed - tonnes!) of existing new stuff to share with you all in the world of drones at Mr Smith Aerial. I'll get on to it as soon as possible and flood your feeds with drone stuff VERY SOON!

Cheers!

30/09/2025

is now in Photoshop! Here's my first experiment.

29/09/2025

Woo Hoo!

My drone permissions have been approved for another year, that's 8 years of Civil Aviation Authority approved commercial drone operating.

I can fly in both the Open and Specific categories.

Hiring a drone operator who is qualified, assessed and approved, with public liability insurance gives you peace of mind, protection and confidence.

If you need something photographed or videoed from the sky. I'm your guy!

20/08/2025

📷✨ Rare aerial footage of Grangemouth Refinery in its final days.

Opened in 1924, it processed its last crude oil this year. I captured the site from above as Scotland’s last refinery shut down — a powerful mix of scale and poignancy.
High-resolution stills and 4K video are available now for licensing.

👉 Enquiries via www.mrsmith-aerial.com

19/08/2025

Rare drone images of Grangemouth Refinery’s final days.

Grangemouth has been a defining part of Scotland’s industrial story for more than a century. This year, it processed its last barrel of crude oil before closing as a refinery.

I was able to capture this moment from the air, creating a striking record in both photographs and broadcast-quality 4K footage.

These images and videos are available for licensing. Perfect for editorial, news or documentary use.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1111338804?fl=pl&fe=vl

Contact me for access and licensing details: www.mrsmith-aerial.com

17/08/2025

Up for a sunrise personal project shoot this morning. Different subject matter from my usual material.

It started with an hours drive in the pre-dawn, then eerie low lying mist, deer and the first rays of the new rising sun.

Then a 2.8KM walk to get close to my subject on public land.

Then a visual treat of something quite controversial…

Pics and videos coming soon.

07/08/2025

Tents of Fringe by the Sea

I first photographed a tent in 2021, almost by accident. It was my first shoot of the festival. I arrived at sunrise, sent the drone up to get my bearings, and ended up flying over the big top just to see what looked good from above.

Looking straight down, I realised the tent looked amazing. Completely different from that perspective.

Later, I entered the image into the drone categories of the and the Photography Awards. I was delighted to be a finalist in the first one, and completely blown away to win the Smithsonian Awards, out of 35,000 entries.

Since then, I’ve returned and repeated the same shot with different tents. I love the abstract shapes and bright colours. So much fun to shoot.

See more from above at: www.mrsmith-aerial.com

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Mr Smith Aerial - Film and Photography by drone

Welcome to Mr Smith Aerial, the page of aerial film and photographer Andy Smith.

I am a Civil Aviation Authority approved drone operator with a PFCO licence, and Personal Liability Insurance.

I have spent the last 15 years working as an Art Director and Creative Director in Design and Advertising agencies. I try to approach every aerial project with an Art Directors' eye. I am interested in making beautiful films, capturing extraordinary points of view and perspectives, and composing stunning images. I enjoy working with directors, or directing myself.

Please have a look around and drop me a line if you have any questions.