On 6 February 2021, David Guetta played a live set from the Burj Al Arab helipad, 210 metres above Dubai, with no audience. ChopperShoot filmed it with two DJI Inspire drones and one FPV drone. This is how the aerial unit worked, and why it needed a full rehearsal the day before.
David Guetta: United at Home, Dubai Edition.
The event at a glance
- Event
- David Guetta: United at Home, Dubai Edition, the fourth in his livestream series.
- Date
- 6 February 2021, livestreamed for free on his YouTube channel.
- Location
- The Burj Al Arab helipad, about 210 metres above the ground.
- Cause
- Supporting UNICEF and Dubai Cares' Education Uninterrupted campaign.
- Aerial unit
- Two DJI Inspire drones and one FPV drone.
A stage with no audience and no camera operators
The helipad hangs off the side of the hotel. On the night, David Guetta was the only person on it, with no audience and no camera operators on the platform, because of weight limits and COVID-19 protocols. The production used remote-controlled rail cameras, and the drones covered everything those cameras could not: the scale of the building, the skyline and the movement around the booth.
The challenge was to bring the energy of a live crowd to millions of people watching at home, from a stage nobody else could stand on.
Two Inspire drones for scale
The DJI Inspire drones gave the stable, cinematic shots. They circled the helipad in slow, controlled moves, showing Guetta at the booth, the lit helipad against the night sky and the Dubai skyline behind it. Two aircraft meant two angles at once: one wide on the architecture, one closer on the performance.
One FPV drone for speed
The FPV drone did the opposite. It flew fast and close, around the edges of the helipad and in tight passes over the DJ booth, timed to the tempo of the set. Those shots made the helipad feel like a place you were flying through, not a view you were watching. See our drone and FPV filming services for live and commercial work.
Rehearsing the night flights
Night flying near a landmark leaves little room for improvising, so the team ran a full rehearsal the day before. They tested the drone flight patterns, the camera angles and the lighting, and made sure the two Inspires and the FPV could share the space without crossing paths. By the time the performance began, every move had been flown once already.
- Flight paths. Each drone had its own route and altitude around the helipad.
- Lighting. The lights were tuned so Guetta, the helipad and the skyline all read on camera.
- Timing. The FPV passes were matched to the music, and the Inspire moves to the key moments of the set.
Flights near Dubai landmarks usually sit inside restricted airspace, so approvals and a NOTAM are part of the plan. See our filming permit service.
The broadcast
The set went out as a free livestream, and Campaign Middle East reported more than 58 million views of the main social broadcast in the six months after it, and described Guetta as the first musician to perform live from the helipad. For a one-hour set, the aerial footage did a lot of the work: it carried the scale of the location, and it gave a stage with one person on it the feel of a stadium show.
What this shows about filming live events
- Plan around what cannot be on set. With no operators on the stage, drones and remote cameras become the camera crew.
- Mix stable and fast. Inspires for scale, FPV for energy, each doing one job.
- Rehearse at the same time of day. Night light, wind and glare change every flight.
We have since filmed larger operations, including Armin van Buuren on the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Run 2024. Our Dubai drone filming page covers the service, and the fleet lists the aircraft.
Common questions
- When did David Guetta perform on the Burj Al Arab helipad?
- On 6 February 2021, as part of his United at Home series. It was livestreamed for free on his YouTube channel in support of UNICEF and Dubai Cares.
- How high is the Burj Al Arab helipad?
- About 210 metres above the ground.
- How was the performance filmed?
- With a mix of remote-controlled rail cameras and three drones: two DJI Inspire drones for stable, sweeping shots and one FPV drone for fast, close passes around the DJ booth and the edges of the helipad.
- Why were drones used instead of camera operators?
- There was no audience and only David Guetta on the helipad, with no camera operators on the platform because of weight limits and COVID-19 protocols. Drones and remote cameras gave the production the angles.
- Did the team rehearse?
- Yes. A full rehearsal took place the day before, to test flight paths, camera angles and lighting for the night flights.
- Can ChopperShoot film live events and broadcasts with drones?
- Yes. We plan the flights, arrange the permits and fly the drone teams for live and recorded events, from a single performer to large public events.