Philanthropic Cinema

Greetings all! I’m pretty excited to share about a drone cinema project I’ve been invited to participate in!

This particular blog post is a landing page where potential bidders for the auction event benefitting The Wildlife Center of Virginia can preview samples of my existing cinema works. Long-time center volunteer Bill Sykes will be donating his services for a drone flight mission package, and I have been invited to edit what he captures. Bidders can see how my editing touch on a final video can turn out by viewing my YouTube channel. Their video will be privately hosted on my YouTube Channel with an exclusive link that they can share however they wish. Password protection is optional, yet available, for an added sense of privacy.

Bidders: Click/Tap this link to PREVIEW MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL VIDEOs

Once you land on that page you can choose the VIDEOS menu item to scroll through my works.

An auction item entitled an ”Eagle’s Eye View… of YOU” will be a collaborative aerial cinema production filmed by FAA certified drone pilot Bill Sykes, and edited by me. The silent auction is an annual fund raising event benefiting The Wildlife Center in Waynesboro, VA. They host an annual Black-Tie Gala Event to raise awareness (and funds, of course) in support of their mission to rehabilitate injured wildlife, all while educating the public on how humans can actively prevent many injuries to the area’s precious wildlife. The works their organization does is nothing short of amazing and has impacted / influenced activities at national and federal levels.

So… How did I come to be invited to participate in the 2022 Gala Auction? One of my fellow drone pilots (and RC Aircraft Pilot) Bill Sykes has been a long-time volunteer at The Center and will be donating a drone services package, thematically named in the spirit of one of the center’s top rehabilitated winged friends; the eagle. In turn, he then invited me to put a “JJ-spin” on things and post-produce an edited cinematic video memory after he shoots the mission for the winning bidder. No hesitation on my part! I am humbled and excited to participate!

I met Bill in 2019

When I visited one of Virginia’s AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) fields in Fluvanna County, VA. I was flying a fleet of three cinema drones back then, and I proceeded to capture a Tethered Aircraft Flight Battle that occurred that day, and after piecing together a fun edit for their RC (remote control) Club’s memory closet, I had sent it off to Bill. We’ve remained in touch ever since, and I join him and his bride for brunch once in a while at an amazing local Parisienne Bistro in Nellysford, VA called Basic Necessities.

Here is the aforementioned On-the-Spot video I created from my visit to the AMA field

(Quality of playback through the site will be influenced by the signal strength of your media device). This is a high-definition production.

While the value of such a collaborative production can range from $2000-$5000, the goal is to let the bidder request what they wish, keeping safety and professional flight parameters in mind. Bill will outline all the mission details for the bidder, and whatever it ends up being, it will be from a viewpoint of a soaring eagle – how apropos for a fund-raising mission benefitting this premier wildlife organization who has rehabbed and released so many feathered friends since its inception in 1982.

Visit a few of the links above to participate in the Gala Auction, or straight out donate to the Center. The Gala will be virtual for a third year in a row now.

Cheers and thanks for stopping by!

Kindest Regards,

JJ

Jo Lynn Kelley