Thanks to drone technology, Binghamton University’s new online aerial tour of campus features a bird’s-eye view of the Brain, Glenn G. Bartle Library and the Nature Preserve.

According to Ryan Yarosh, ‘09, the director of media and public relations, the availability of drone technology at BU made it a good time to create the video. The technology stabilizes the camera for a smoother shot and is able to capture images up to 11,000 feet in the air.

Yarosh designed the concept and provided direction during the shooting and editing phases, while Casey Staff, a video producer for BU, shot and edited the video with Jonathan King, ‘15, the enrollment management digital video designer for BU.

Staff wrote in an email that the team wanted to ensure that the University’s video differed from the the typical aerial tour.

“We noticed that most of the aerial tour videos on YouTube were similar to one another and we wanted ours to stand out,” Staff wrote. “We chose a high-energy music track and that set the pace and the movement to our visuals. We did our best to travel along a path, so the video would also appeal to those already familiar with the campus.”

BU’s first aerial tour was shot over eight years ago, when aerial video was costly and countless hours were spent on the postproduction process, Yarosh said. This year, the video was shot over six weeks near the beginning of the semester. Jim Johnson, a carpenter and former Physical Facilities employee, shot the last aerial video by using a quadcopter, a device similar to a drone. Johnson frequently shoots aerial video clips, some of which were included in the new video.

With over 500 likes and 22,000 views, the aerial video has racked in more likes and views than any other video on BU’s Facebook page. According to Yarosh, the team might try a similar project again, but only if there is a new way to visually tell BU’s story.

King wrote in an email that the video was intended to provide easy access to a tour of campus, especially for international prospective students, but not just of the typical campus sights.

“I think this was a great project to show the beauty of the campus from angles that are rarely seen,” King wrote. “Casey and I worked hard on planning just the right shots to give the viewers the best viewing experience. I am extremely pleased at the positive response the video has gotten from students, parents, alumni and the community.”

Randi Traison, a freshman majoring in nursing, said she was outside the Marketplace while the droned filmed overhead, and said the video provided a good resource for out-of-state students like herself.

“I am from Michigan, and when I was deciding on where to apply all I wanted to do was see a video like that one,” Traison said.