DroneCam Blender Addon (Fly a Camera like a Drone using a Controller)
DroneCam is a free Blender addon that lets you control the camera like you would a real-life drone using an Xbox 360 gamepad as input.
Compatible exclusively with Windows, DroneCam enables you to add a drone to a scene, click record, fly around, and render the final footage that closely mimics IRL drone videos. The plug-in is a fork of Erindale’s XinputReader – which manages all gamepad inputs – and relies on a physics simulation made in Geometry Nodes to handle the flying of the drone that the camera is attached to.
Download DroneCam: https://globglob.gumroad.com/l/dronecam-blender-addon 14
Code: https://github.com/globglob3D/DroneCam 4
If someone wants to change the input system to port to linux and mac, please do so! I’m too busy at the moment with other projects.
It could also evolve into more than just flying like a drone. Some ideas for other modes:
Helicopter/Plane
Crane/Boom/Dolly
Car Rig
Controlling the camera in real time this way is very liberating and fun, and it gives that little human touch that is hard to get with a normal camera animation workflow (at the cost of less control).
Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/blender/comments/1hmmeqn/damn_bro_you_still_animate_the_camera_manually/ 1
80LV article:
https://80.lv/articles/free-blender-add-on-for-controlling-the-camera-like-you-would-a-drone/ 1
The Xbox360 controller mod (surprisingly good for increased control):
