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Drone Motion joined JayByrd Films to provide aerial filming for The Weeknd, capturing a run of stadium shows across Paris and London from perspectives that simply aren’t possible from the ground.
The project took us first to Stade de France in Paris, followed by Wembley Stadium in London, combining cinematic drone filming, FPV and live production across two very different operating environments.
Stade de France was a particularly special one.
We spent the week in Paris preparing for the shows, working alongside JayByrd Films, local drone operators, stadium management and the relevant French authorities to make the flights possible.
Operating a drone at this level isn’t simply a case of turning up and launching. Airspace, stadium operations, police coordination, flight planning and the live production all have to come together before the aircraft ever leaves the ground.
Once everything was in place, we were able to capture the scale of the show from above, operating from the rooftop of Stade de France and flying around the stadium during the performance, including some incredible moments alongside the show’s fireworks.
The production also included FPV filming over the stage, giving the team a completely different perspective on the set and production. It marked the first time Stade de France had permitted an FPV drone to fly over its stage, making it a pretty memorable milestone for everyone involved.
The result was a combination of sweeping stadium aerials and fast-moving FPV footage that could take viewers from the scale of the venue straight into the heart of the production.
Next stop: Wembley.
For the London shows, Drone Motion and JayByrd Films operated two DJI Mavic 4 Pros simultaneously, creating complementary aerial coverage around one of the most recognisable stadiums in the world.
With two aircraft in the air, we could cover different angles and moments throughout the production rather than relying on a single aerial viewpoint.
One of those drones also became part of the live show production, transmitting its camera feed directly to the screens inside Wembley Stadium.
That meant the aerial camera wasn’t simply recording footage for later. What we were capturing above Wembley was being seen by thousands of people inside the stadium in real time.
More Than the Shot
Projects of this scale are a good example of what goes on behind the scenes of high-end drone filming.
The finished footage might only last a few seconds on screen, but making those seconds possible can involve days of planning, international aviation requirements, local authorities, stadium management, production teams, multiple pilots and carefully coordinated flight windows.
For the client, the benefit is simple: ambitious aerial coverage without the production having to worry about everything required to make it happen.
From an FPV drone moving through a stadium stage in Paris to a live aerial feed above Wembley, the aim remained the same throughout: find perspectives that add something genuinely valuable to the production.
And when the artist is The Weeknd and the locations are Stade de France and Wembley Stadium, there are worse places to spend a couple of weeks looking for them.
