• Intelligent modes automate complex shots — Features like QuickShots, Orbit, Tracking, and Waypoints help you capture cinematic footage with less manual control, making professional-looking shots more accessible.
• QuickShots (DJI) or One-Shots (Skydio) — These pre-programmed flight maneuvers (like Dronie, Rocket, and Boomerang) are great for quick, shareable videos or building variety into your edits.
• Orbit / Point of Interest mode — Automatically circles a selected subject while keeping the camera locked on it—perfect for showcasing real estate, landscapes, or people.
• Tracking and Spotlight mode — Let your drone follow a moving subject or keep the camera fixed on a subject while you fly manually. Great for action footage but be mindful of obstacle avoidance limitations.
• Waypoints allow repeatable flight paths — Ideal for time-lapse projects or capturing the same shot over time. Great for documenting progress, like construction or seasonal change.

Bonus tip: Always practice pausing or exiting intelligent modes safely—you can always take manual control back.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to unlock the full creative potential of your drone. Many drones come with what are called intelligent or automated flight modes, and learning how these modes work will give you more flexibility in the way you capture video footage. I’m talking about things like tracking moving subjects, flawlessly orbiting around a subject in a perfect circle, and using pre-programmed flight paths to get a variety of shots.

Of course, not all drones have the same lineup of flight modes or intelligent features. So in this lesson, you’ll learn about some of the more common options you’ll see, why you might use one over another, and how to use these modes creatively.

Let’s jump in.

First, I have one quick safety tip. When something automated is happening with your drone, you always have the option to pause or cancel that automation and take back over the controls. And this is something I want you to practice.

You might find yourself in a situation where you’ve programmed a flight path, and maybe your inputs were a little off, so you’ve got that drone about to automatically fly toward power lines or trees. Not good.

So, as I show you how to access and use these modes, definitely practice pausing or safely exiting or canceling the mode to take back over the controls as well.

OK, let’s get into the fun stuff.

QuickShots / One-Shots

Alright, the first intelligent flight mode I’d like to highlight is what’s called QuickShots in DJI and Autel models, and these are called One Shots in Skydio models.

QuickShots are really fun and simple movements. These are great for quick videos with family and friends and can certainly be used cinematically as well. Here are some examples of each of the common QuickShots: Dronie, Rocket, Helix, Boomerang, and Asteroid.

Some DJI drone models even have what’s called MasterShots mode, where your drone combines multiple QuickShot movements automatically into one polished compilation. It’s a fantastic way to let your drone do the work in getting you a variety of shots.

Orbit / Point of Interest

Orbit mode, also called Point of Interest mode, is my favorite intelligent feature in a drone.

In this mode, you set a specific “point of interest”, or focal point, by tapping or tracing a box on your screen around a person, a building, a tree or any subject you want to focus on. Your drone will then automatically fly a perfect circle around that point of interest. And the great thing here is your camera faces your subject continuously as it flies around, which is a very very hard thing to do if you were just flying manually with both joysticks and controlling the camera at the same time.

Now, while the drone is circling, you can control things like the speed, the direction, the radius, or distance from that point of interest, the altitude, and, of course, your camera angle. And I really encourage you to experiment with all these variables. This is a very powerful and creative mode, and it’s easier to set up and use than you might think.

Point-of-interest mode has a variety of cinematic use cases and can also be helpful when showcasing real estate properties by orbiting a home or a unique landscape feature like a pool or garden.

Tracking / Follow-Me

The tracking technology and obstacle avoidance sensors in drones have gotten really powerful in recent years, making it much easier to automatically track moving vehicles like cars or boats as well as track people who are running or biking.

And, similar to Orbit or Point of Interest mode, where you have to select the subject you want the drone to focus on, you’re doing the same thing here. You’re first selecting a subject you’d like to track or follow.

And then, well, there are variations in the software, depending on which drone you have. But essentially, once you're tracking a subject, you can control various factors, like your drone’s distance from the subject, the altitude, whether or not you’re flying directly behind the subject vs. tracking it from the side—things like that.

One variation of tracking I like to use is SpotLight mode, which keeps the camera locked onto a subject while you can still manually control the drone and have creative control.

A quick safety tip—some drone models have omnidirectional obstacle avoidance sensors, where the drone can “see” in all directions and avoid running into things, while other drone models can only sense obstacles in specific directions. So, sometimes when you’re in tracking mode, the obstacle avoidance sensors might be turned off or just not available if the drone is flying in a direction that it cannot see. So, definitely consult your user manual to learn about the specific nuances of each mode so you don’t run into things. And, I recommend practicing these tracking features in a wide open area to learn how the drone reacts to your inputs and the movement of the subject.

Waypoints / Route Planning

Now let’s look at Waypoints. You can use waypoints to plan complex, repeatable shots that would be difficult to execute manually. With Waypoints, you fly your drone to a specific spot and mark it with a waypoint. Your drone saves the GPS coordinates of that spot, and by doing this with multiple spots, you can program your drone to fly from waypoint to waypoint. This means you can get your drone into the exact same positions in the sky over multiple flights, so you can use waypoints to capture consistent shots over time, such as documenting the progress of a construction site or the changing seasons in a landscape.

Final Thoughts

I hope this lesson helps you better understand how these intelligent features work and how to think about using them yourself. One mode we didn’t cover in this lesson is Hyperlapse mode, but you’ll see that covered in a separate lesson in this course.

Alright, that’s it, folks. Don’t let these flight modes intimidate you. Hop in there and start playing around, if you haven’t already. Let us know if you have any questions, and I’ll see you in the next lesson!