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TIME Magazine Uses 959 Drones to Produce Iconic Cover Design

TIME Magazine Uses 959 Drones to Produce Iconic Cover Design

Written by Moshe Gluck
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Published on June 15, 2018
time magazine
time magazine
Moshe Gluck
Adorama ALC

In what may well have been a first for drone photography, TIME Magazine used a plethora of drones to recreate its iconic magazine cover look for its cover photo for a recent issue. TIME Magazine, although operating since 1923, is no stranger to innovation within the red borders of its cover page. But in their most recent issue they’ve taken it to the next level.

In a special issue dated June 11th, titled “The Drone Age,” TIME Magazine went in depth on the impact drones are having and will have on our lives. With articles discussing a gamut of issues including using drones to protect whales, ship vital medical supplies, and stopping poachers, it was very appropriate that the cover be photo taken by a drone.

In collaboration with Astraeus Aerial Cinema Systems, Intel’s drone team, and L.A. Drones, TIME Magazine decided to use Intel’s Shooting Start drones to hover midair in the shape of its cover page, including the traditional red border. The end image was composed of 958 of those drones hovering in the needed configuration, with as little as five feet (1.5 meters) between each drone. Their permitted flight ceiling was only up to 400 feet, so they had to keep the drones no higher than that.

Those 958 drones are not available commercially; they are Intel proprietary drones, described by CNET’s Ben Fox Rubin: “The drone weighs about as much as a volleyball, is made of foam and plastic, and carries an LED payload that can flash red, green, blue or white.” Intel uses special software to program the drones’ ascent, illumination, and positioning. The software also keeps the drones from mid-air collisions!

The 959th drone was actually a much bigger and heavier drone, tasked with carrying the camera that would remotely take the final image of the TIME cover.

This is not Intel’s first foray into illuminated drone illustration and displays; you can see takes from their 1,200 drone performance for the 2018 Winter Olympics here.

Would you like to create a drone light show? Or, more accessibly, perhaps, just use your drone to illuminate your subject from the sky? Check out the Lume Cube Drone Lighting Kit, which, when combined with the DJI Phantom 4, allows you to illuminate your subject or your drone video, even in the darkest night.

But whether you do or don’t, there’s no question that TIME Magazine is correct; the age of the drone is upon us!

Moshe Gluck is a photographer based in the Jersey Shore area, who tries not to let his desk job get in the way of his passion for photography. His first camera was from Fisher-Price, though his first SLR was the Pentax K1000. He now shoots Canon, and appreciates both the artistic and technical sides of photography. Moshe likes fine beer and fine photography (though not necessarily in that order). He can be reached at mgluck@gmail.com.