The details below come mainly from the DJI Mini 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro user manuals, DJI's official MasterShots tutorial and from Heliguy's QuickShots guide for the Mini 4 Pro. Other models in DJI Fly behave much the same, but the set of moves, the limits and the menus can differ, so check the manual for your drone.
QuickShots: six short moves
QuickShots records one short clip of a single move around a subject. The Mini 4 Pro manual lists six of them:
- Dronie: the drone flies backward and upward with the camera locked on the subject. According to Heliguy, you set the maximum flight distance first.
- Rocket: the drone climbs with the camera pointing down. You set the maximum height.
- Circle: the drone circles the subject. You choose the direction, and the radius is simply the current distance to the subject.
- Helix: the drone climbs and spirals around the subject. You set the maximum radius and direction. Heliguy describes the path as a golden spiral that circles the subject once, starting from the current distance.
- Boomerang: the drone flies an oval around the subject, climbing as it moves away and descending on the way back. Its starting point is one end of the oval's long axis.
- Asteroid: the drone flies backward and upward, takes several photos and then returns. The finished video starts with a panorama from the highest point and then descends to the subject, which gives the "tiny planet" look.
Two moves that need a lot of room
Boomerang and Asteroid are the ones to plan for. According to both the Mini 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro manuals:
- Boomerang needs at least 30 m of clear space around the drone and at least 10 m of clear space above it.
- Asteroid needs at least 40 m of clear space behind the drone and at least 50 m above it.
Fifty metres of height is easy to underestimate when you are standing next to a tree line. Asteroid also has its own limits on the Mini 4 Pro: it is unavailable when the wide-angle lens accessory is fitted, it doesn't support vertical (portrait) shooting, and video subtitles aren't recorded in this mode.
Starting a QuickShot
Heliguy's guide begins with a step that is easy to skip: set the flight mode switch to N mode. Then, following the Mini 4 Pro manual:
- Take off and hover at least 2 m above the ground.
- Tap the shooting mode icon, choose QuickShots and pick a move.
- Drag a box around the subject in the camera view.
- Set the move's parameters, such as distance or direction, and tap Start. The drone records the clip and then flies back to its original position.
If you are trying a move for the first time, Heliguy suggests starting with a shorter distance and see the path before using the full range.
MasterShots: a whole sequence in one go
MasterShots is the longer version. Instead of one move, the drone flies a series of them while keeping the subject in the centre of the frame, and the app can then cut the footage into a short edited video.
The Mini 5 Pro manual says the drone selects a preset route based on the type of subject and its distance. DJI's MasterShots tutorial names three routes:
- Portrait, used when a person is in the frame. The app can recognise the person and you confirm with the plus icon, or you drag a box yourself.
- Proximity, for a subject that is relatively close.
- Landscape, for a subject further away.
For scenery, the drone works out the distance when shooting starts and chooses Proximity or Landscape on its own.
To get a sense of how much the drone does in one MasterShot, this is the Proximity sequence shown in DJI's tutorial: Dronie, Circle (far), Pitch Up and Fly Forward, Circle (close), Circle (medium), Rocket, Camera Down and Fly Forward, Camera Down and Circle, Camera Straight and Descend, and finally Camera Down and Descend. That is ten moves in different directions and at different heights around one subject.
Setting the flight area
After you confirm the subject, the map view shows the estimated route and the area the drone will use. DJI's tutorial shows that you can change the width, length and height of that area. VicVideoPic, a photographer who documents these modes on several DJI models, describes each of the three as Small, Medium or Large, with width covering how far left and right the drone goes, length the maximum distance from the subject and height the difference between the lowest and highest points.
Two practical points from the same source:
- The estimated flight time appears in the app and depends on the moves and settings. In his experience it is usually 2-3 minutes.
- He keeps Height on Small, because if the drone hits the maximum allowed altitude, the MasterShot is cancelled.
The Mini 4 Pro manual adds the check that matters most: look at the estimated range and route on the map and make sure there are no tall buildings in it before you tap Start.
On the Air 3S and Mavic 4 Pro there is an extra Start Point setting, according to VicVideoPic.
When not to use either mode
The manuals list the same situations for QuickShots and MasterShots. Don't use them when:
- the subject is blocked for a long time or out of line of sight,
- the subject is similar in colour or pattern to its surroundings,
- the subject is in the air or moving fast,
- the light is very low (under 300 lux) or very high (over 10,000 lux),
- you are close to buildings or GNSS signal is weak, because the flight path becomes unstable.
For QuickShots, the Mini 4 Pro manual adds that the subject shouldn't be more than 50 m from the drone. The Mini 5 Pro manual adds subjects in large single-colour areas such as snowfields or deserts.
Both manuals also say plainly that there should be no people, animals or other obstacles in the flight path, and that you should follow local privacy laws when filming people.
How the shot stops
There are three ways to stop a shot in progress on the Mini 4 Pro:
- Flight Pause button on the remote controller. The drone brakes and hovers.
- Stop icon on the screen, with the same effect.
- Moving a stick. The manual warns that touching a control stick by accident exits QuickShots and the drone hovers in place. Know this before you hand the controller to someone else in the middle of a shot.
After a pause in QuickShots, tapping the screen again continues the shot.
The drone can also end the shot itself. According to Heliguy, shooting stops if the drone gets too close to a restricted or altitude zone, or if the sensing system is triggered.
Obstacles
The obstacle behaviour is not the same in both modes. In QuickShots, the Mini 4 Pro manual says the drone brakes and hovers when it detects an obstacle. In MasterShots, it does so only when the lighting is good and the environment is suitable for the vision system. Dusk, and thin objects such as tree branches and power lines, which the manual lists among the vision system's limits, are exactly the cases where you shouldn't rely on it.
VicVideoPic recommends setting obstacle avoidance to Brake or Bypass before using MasterShots, and points out that the DJI Flip, unlike the other models he tested, has no omnidirectional sensing, so the space around it needs even more care.
Getting the edited video
After a MasterShot, open playback, select the clip and tap "Create MasterShots" to get an automatically edited version. DJI's tutorial shows that more templates are available. For QuickShots, Heliguy describes the same path: playback, Create, preview, then the download icon to save the video.
VicVideoPic adds a few details worth knowing. The raw MasterShots footage is recorded at the resolution you set, such as 4K, but the generated short film is 1080p and usually 30-40 seconds long. With the DJI RC 2, which has a built-in screen, he has to move the files to a phone or tablet with DJI Fly using Quick Transfer before he can apply the templates. He also prefers manual exposure, because in auto the brightness jumps whenever the sky enters the frame.
Before you press Start
- Switch to N mode and hover at least 2 m up.
- Look around in every direction the move will go, especially up for Rocket, Helix and Asteroid, and behind for Dronie and Asteroid.
- For Boomerang, check 30 m around and 10 m above. For Asteroid, 40 m behind and 50 m above.
- In MasterShots, check the route on the map and keep Height small near the altitude limit.
- Make sure nobody walks into the flight path, and keep the drone in sight for the whole shot.
- Keep a thumb near the Flight Pause button and keep the other hand away from the sticks unless you want to end the shot.