Ever wondered what Elgin might look like from above?
The Elgin History Museum Facebook page holds a drone’s view of three notable city attractions, thanks to a class at neighboring Elgin Academy.
The short videos are of Barclay House, a Queen Anne-style home on Park Street which dates to 1887, Bluff City Cemetery, which dates to 1889, and Old Main, which opened in 1856 as the Elgin Academy and which has been home to the Elgin Area Historical Society since 1987.
They were made by students in the Academy’s Class of 2016 early last school year, the school’s media arts director, John Fleener, said. Each took about 2 to 3 weeks of class time for videography students to put together.
“John is a talented guy and is a good partner to the museum,” Museum Director Liz Marston said.
The three “aerial Elgin” videos, posted in late December on the museum’s Facebook page, were shot by Armin Ward of Hampshire, who now is a freshman majoring in advertising at Iowa State University. Ward oversaw remote control for the drone’s camera, while Fleener navigated the aircraft.
“These projects are invaluable to our students, who must gather information, film locations using the drone, edit their stories, then export the finished products for viewing,” Fleener said. “The also provide a great way for the kids to learn about the Elgin community.”
The Elgin History Museum Facebook page also holds a non-drone, student-made video featuring museum educator Sara Russell discussing the importance of the Fox River to the founding of Elgin. Other drone-employed projects have included segments on an Academy-produced local news program, a zip down the Fox River and even work with and for local businesses.
Ward said that the school started working with a $500 drone his family donated to the Academy, using a less expensive mode to get the hang of how such technology works. The DJI Inspire model used to make the three historic site videos ran $3,500. Fleener noted that prices on such technology have been dropping and another drone that has been used by students was almost half the price of the Inspire.
Ward and Fleener noted that the regulations for using drones have changed since the three historic site videos were made. Now Fleener is always with students using the drone and initiates the flight.
The drone has its own built-in fail safes, too, they said, including not allowing the craft to climb to more than 400 feet without an override and not to be used near or above an airport or other “red zones.” It employs a phone app in its operation — and can be used indoors.
“They’re amazing machines,” Fleener said.
Ward said he’s been interested in videography and advertising at least since sophomore year at Elgin Academy and studying with Fleener.
“I love the creative process, and advertising is more likely where I could find a job working on the production side,” Ward said.
Already, his video studies at Elgin Academy led to an internship at Fabric Images, Inc. in Elgin. One of his projects there was to make a video showing employees how to make their own videos with their own smartphones. That’s something made easier and with better production values with a gimbal, a handheld pivoted device to which a phone is mounted that allows for smoother images, Ward explained.
Ward, who was back visiting Elgin Academy Friday on break between semesters, also noted the advantage his alma mater has afforded him as he heads down his career path.
“I work in the media department at school, and it seems Elgin Academy has more equipment than most colleges,” Ward said.
