When visitors gather for the Independence Day 3rd Annual Drone Light Show Festival on Sunday, June 30, at Hansen Dam Soccer Fields in Lake View Terrace, they will bring blankets, chairs, snacks and drinks.
But instead of a traditional fireworks display, they will watch a carefully choreographed show of hundreds of drones going up in the air and forming spectacular animations.
The show is an elaborate effort implemented by a highly experienced team of animators who will use about 800 drones to form 12 images up in the sky.
The event is not just aesthetically pleasing, it’s a response by elected officials to address some pressing issues associated with traditional Fourth of July fireworks displays, including poor air quality, fire hazards and loud noise.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, representing District 7 in the Valley, said she decided to bring drones to the Fourth of July celebrations after watching the 2022 Super Bowl.
“I instantly thought: ‘That’s what I want to do,’” she said in a phone interview with this newspaper. “I don’t want to do traditional fireworks because I have a hard time seeing the benefit of it.”
2nd Annual Drone Light Show and Festival at Hansen Dam Soccer Fields in 2023. (Courtesy: Bluemedia).
Rodriguez was elected in 2017 and in her first year in office her district was hit hard by destructive wildfires, one of them the biggest wildfire in the city of Los Angeles in 50 years. The Creek Fire and La Tuna Fire together blackened nearly 23,000 acres and destroyed 65 homes, forcing evacuations of residents in her district.
“I’ve seen so many fires in my district, and it’s like, ‘Why don’t we do it better? We can do it differently,’” she said.
About four years ago, Rodriguez introduced the first fireworks buy-back event, offering gift cards in exchange for illegal fireworks.
The results have been striking.
“We have less fireworks in our neighborhoods,” Rodriguez said.
In 2022, Rodriguez pioneered the drone light show in the San Fernando Valley and the demand for high-tech drone shows began growing in other parts of the region.
Recently San Pedro canceled its fireworks show and replaced it with drone shows produced by National Experiential known for hosting similar shows at the Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood Boulevard. A July Fourth celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown L.A. will feature a drone show by Grizzly Entertainment company.
Rodriguez declined to provide the cost of the show — its fleet of drones has increased from 500 to 800 drones since 2022. But she said that this year, “We got more drones for less money because the technology is improving.”
The city of Rancho Palos Verdes will host its second Fourth of July drone show on Independence Day. Pictured is its first Fourth of July drone show with around 100 LED drones creating various images celebrating the holiday at the Ken Dyda Civic Center. (Photo courtesy of RPVtv)
Paul Whitney, executive producer for Bluemedia, said it takes his team about five months to prepare for the drone light show. They use software to design the program, “so there are no surprises. We show up with the show already predetermined,” he said.
The software operates every drone, giving each drone a direction on where to fly, and what images to form.
As they prepare for the show, Whitney said, the Bluemedia team uses a strict safety protocol.
For example, if one of the drones is “misbehaving” within the safe zone, the software sends it back to the base on the ground. The software also makes sure the drones are not flying in several directions during and after the show.
“The safety part of it is always our top priority,” he said.
The FAA regulations don’t allow engineers to fly their drones above the audience, bystanders or cars. Whitney said his team sets up a flight plan so drones appear close enough for the audience to see but far enough away to keep it safe.
Because Hansen Dam Soccer Fields, where the drone light show will take place, is near the Burbank and Van Nuys airports, Whitney said his team obtains all the necessary approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates air traffic control.
During last year’s drone show, a news helicopter popped up in the show’s drone flight path 20 minutes before the performance started. Whitney said his team quickly contacted the LAPD, which ordered the helicopter to move out of the show’s flight path.
“We have communications though LAFD, LAPD, executive producer of the show, our pilot and what we call ‘show control,’” he said.
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Aside from the city of Los Angeles, the team works with Fortune 500 companies and the NFL, producing shows for Super Bowls and Formula One.
Kurt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, said any event that helps prevent fires has the full support of the neighborhood council.
“We have a lot of explosions and those are horrific to the senior citizens, individuals with disabilities and animals, not to mention our veterans with post-traumatic stress,” he said. “But the main concern is fire prevention.”
Every time he sees a helicopter in his neighborhood, Cabrera-Miller said he looks up at the nearby mountain to make sure there’s no fire.
“While we will enjoy the show, we hope that law enforcement will still wrap up and be diligent about cracking down on some of the illegal fireworks, especially in the high fire severity zone,” he said.
While some families still miss traditional fireworks displays, Rodriguez said, there were no complaints about the drone show.
“It’s all choreographed with music that we’ve selected,” she said. “All the families love it.”
If you go: The 3rd Annual Drone Light Show will start on Sunday, June 30, at 5 p.m. at Hansen Dam Soccer Fields at 11658 Foothill Blvd.