OVS Robotics takes to the skies with a loud hum, a remote controller, and a VR headset. As the year began, so did the three-man drone club led by OVS junior Benjamin Scordamaglia with the goal of producing quality drone footage with unique perspectives from above.
It all started during the 6th and 7th grades when Benjamin first bought his own drone and then went on to build one during his 7th-grade science fair. He was hooked. He continued to build and learn all he could about drones.
“Since my 7th-grade science fair projects,” said Ben, “it’s escalated from there into more FPV and DIY builds, just for different purposes.”
He has built multiple drones in the years since and has flown in places such as Costa Rica, capturing some beautiful footage of the tropical beaches.
Coming to OVS upper campus, his knowledge and passion for drones led him to the robotics program. After a year in the robotics program, he had the idea of starting a separate branch of robotics focused on building drones and drone video production.
However, to see such an idea come to fruition, Benjamin had to persuade both the students and faculty to see the benefits and the future of the drone club.
OVS upper campus students Oliver Ayala and Andrew Little were both recruited to join as longtime friends of Ben and people with previous flying experience. Ben believed they could be trusted to help with the workload of a new club.
“Initially I didn’t want it to be that big just because I wanted to be able to focus on my drones and allocate my time towards helping them,” Benjamin said, “but they’ve proven themselves to be… supportive along my journey and ultimately our journey now.”
As the drone club began at the start of the school year, the team focused on a goal to produce quality drone footage starting out at the OVS campus and expanding outwards.
Early on, the team faced a few challenges, such as needing a drone license to be able to fly and record commercially. Along with figuring out the drone specifics, the team’s first semester was filled with preparation to be able to go on flights and get footage from above.
As they made their way into the second semester, all preparations were fully completed to take off for the skies.
During the second semester, the teams captured their first official video high above of the mountain range behind the OVS campus overlooking the entire Ojai Valley and Ventura County.
As the year continues, the drone club will continue to produce film and is excited to see what advancements and footage they can make.
“Ultimately, drone-wise, we just want to help out – whether it be yearbook or any other filming electives,” said Ben, “or just the school in general with whatever filming they need and then expanding off that.”