Real estate & property media

Show the building before it's built

Aerial panoramas and a site model captured at the real heights and positions, so the rendering of your future building sits in the real neighbourhood with the real view.

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What this covers

Why renderings need real aerial capture

A rendering of a building that doesn't exist yet is only convincing if everything around it is real: the street, the neighbours, the trees, the water, the mountains. The most reliable way to get that context is to fly a drone to where the building will stand and photograph it.

Aerial panoramas are 360° images captured at chosen heights over the site. Taken at the future floor levels, they show buyers the actual view from a suite before the building exists, which is often what sells a presale. Hero views are photographs from the angles the marketing will use, into which the rendering studio places the design. A site model built by photogrammetry gives the rendering team accurate terrain and neighbouring buildings to model against.

The drone work is done by our pilots; the renderings, films and interactive tours are made by our sister studio, BDM3d Studios, and managed as one project. Developers, architects and marketing teams get the capture and the renderings on one project record.

Why renderings need real aerial capture: Illustration

What you receive

Capture for a rendering project

360° aerial panoramas at the floor heights you choose, with the height and position recorded for each
Hero photographs from the approved marketing angles, at the time of day the renderings will show
A photogrammetry model of the site and its neighbours for the rendering team
An orthomosaic for the site plan and landscape design
Renderings, films and view studies from BDM3d Studios, when ordered

How it works

From the architect's model to the presale

Share the design

The architect's model or plans give the building's footprint, floor heights and key views.

Plan the positions

We set the capture points: panorama heights over the footprint and the marketing angles. Airspace and nearby people are checked in the site survey.

Fly in the right light

Panoramas and hero views are flown at the time of day the renderings will show, often late afternoon or twilight.

Render and review

The rendering studio builds the design into the real context. Everyone comments on the same images in review and approve.

Use it everywhere

The same capture feeds the sales centre, the website and the brochure.

From the architect's model to the presale: Illustration

What goes wrong

Where rendering projects lose time

Stock context

A generic sky and made-up neighbours look fake, and buyers notice.

How we handle itReal capture of the real site at the right heights. →

Wrong heights

Panoramas taken at a guessed height show a view the suite will never have.

How we handle itHeights taken from the architect's floor levels and recorded for every image. →

Files everywhere

Capture, drafts and comments spread across email and shared folders.

How we handle itOne project record for the capture, the renderings and the approvals. →

The people around the job

Who needs the capture

Developer

They need from you: Presale material that sells the view.
You need from them: The approved design and the marketing brief.
On the DroneLink record: Capture and renderings on one record. See developers.

Architect

They need from you: The design shown accurately in context.
You need from them: Floor heights and the model.
On the DroneLink record: Panorama heights set from their levels. See architects and designers.

Marketing and sales

They need from you: Images for every channel on the launch date.
You need from them: The angles and the deadline.
On the DroneLink record: Hero views planned against the campaign.

City planning

They need from you: An honest picture of the building's impact.
You need from them: Accepted view studies.
On the DroneLink record: Views from agreed public positions, captured and documented.

Questions

Can you capture the view from the 20th floor before the building exists?

Yes, as a panorama flown at that height over the footprint, within the altitude rules. Near an airport or in controlled airspace this needs authorization, which an Advanced-certified pilot requests through NAV CANADA.

Do you make the renderings?

Our sister studio, BDM3d Studios, makes renderings, films and interactive sales tours. The capture and the renderings are run as one project.

How accurate is the height of each panorama?

The drone's recorded altitude is checked against the site's elevation so each panorama matches a floor level closely. We record the height with every image.

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