Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Mauldin.
Hi Patrick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, sure! My wife Savanna and I started Volare Aerial Videography in Austin back in September 2016. We had scheduled a trip to Tuscany, Italy for our 1 year anniversary and had planned out several stops along the way at some picturesque places. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a high-end drone which I had always wanted so I could capture the countryside on film.
The trip went great and the videos looked amazing – we filmed everything from the vineyards we visited to the port cities of Cinque Terre. The fun we had shooting it and the beautiful videos we captured inspired us to start Volare (Volare is Italian for “to fly”) and share our passion for drone photography and videography with our own local central Texas community in the Austin area.
I studied, took the test, and got my FAA commercial drone license & we officially opened up Volare Aerial Videography for business. Since then, we’ve been blessed to film hundreds of jobs all across central Texas for a large variety of clients. Each project we work on has its own unique possibilities and challenges that make it new and exciting every time. It’s been really cool to get to meet such a diverse group of homeowners, realtors, and local business owners in Austin and learn their stories.
We still love to bring the drone on every vacation we go to capture the beauty and essence of each location. We’ve been so honored by the response to our work and have loved working with clients in all types of industries.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When we first started, I quickly realized that the industry was harder to break into than I originally anticipated. Drones have been continuing to get cheaper and more and more people are purchasing them and trying to start drone businesses. However, there is a lot more that goes into a pretty video than some people might think – and that is doubly true for drone videos. It took some time for our skill and expertise to shine through and for our portfolio to differentiate us from competitors.
Trying to figure out how to price ourselves in the market was another struggle. Eventually we were able to find our niche. While we aren’t the cheapest option in town, we have built our reputation on shooting stunning aerial photos & videos, reliability & responsiveness, and fantastic customer service.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in beautiful 4k aerial drone videos and breathtaking high definition aerial photos in the Austin area. We focus on partnering with commercial and residential real estate companies, wedding venues, and local Austin businesses who want to take their marketing materials to the next level. Beyond the local market, we’ve also been hired to film luxury resort properties in foreign countries such as Finland and the Dominican Republic.
With our technical expertise and creative eye, we try to offer each of our clients a unique cinematic experience that will impress their prospective customers. When the ceilings are high enough, we’ve even flown our drone through warehouses and manufacturing plants to get a one-of-a kind perspective you can’t see any other way!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Our advice for someone getting into the aerial drone business would be to practice your skills and build up a portfolio that will make you undeniable. You don’t need clients to create a portfolio – we honestly started by filming drone videos of our apartment complex, we asked friends if we could film their home, and we would always get videos while at the park or driving around Texas, etc. There are endless possibilities everywhere you look!
Don’t be afraid of learning from others. There are hundreds of super informative videos on YouTube that can teach you everything you need to know about your specific drone model, the settings you should use, and what extra accessories such as ND filters you need to take your shots to a professional level.
Know your worth: there will undoubtedly be competitors that offer services cheaper than you, but if you can prove that you are highly skilled, and that you are reliable, then you will find clients that will appreciate your work.
If you have any questions about getting started, then don’t be afraid to email us and we’ll be happy to help!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@volare.video
- Website: https://volare.video/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volarevideo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/volarevideo/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySuXGgFA0ZemTkYSwNAh6A
Image Credits
Volare Aerial Videography
