Andre Messina - Cinematographer wanting to put some eggs in another basket.

Origin: I’m a cinematographer who works in narrative filmmaking and with NFL Films. I’m also a licensed drone pilot. The NFL has an off-season of about six months, and the narrative film scene has yet to recover from multiple strikes. I have done some side gigs using industrial drones, like the Mavic 3 Enterprise and Thermal. For context, I own both of these drones. I don’t want to fully rely on film, given that it has been so slow recently.

Desired Future State: I’ve enjoyed these industrial jobs and believe they could be a potential side hustle or supplemental income. My idea is to create a company that creates hurricane preparation documents for Louisiana homeowners. After a hurricane many homeowners find themselves in a constant fight with the insurance company to prove whether or not certain damage was done from a storm, or was already there before hand. This process becomes a lengthy one with insurance adjusters coming to houses multiple times, etc. It also becomes a game of whether or not you have the money to wait out an insurance company while they send over their first two low ball offers. Many people have to accept these because they do not have the funds to wait them out.

My idea would be to provide homeowners these “Hurricane prep” documents of their homes, in their current state, using drone imaging along with thermal if they opted for that service too. These documents would include photos of the roof, the home, the surrounding area, like sheds and fences. There would be orbits of the house at different altitudes, both photo and video to give a view of the house from every angle. These images and videos would be timestamped and offer irrefutable evidence as to what the house looked like on a certain date. My thought is that this service could speed up any insurance claims process for not only a homeowner but also the insurance companies. This service could also cater to roofing companies who want to protect themselves from any liability with proof of their work.

Why: I live in Louisiana and have been around hurricanes all my life. I’ve seen how stressful the insurance claim process can be and would love to help the local community be prepared if they ever have to go through that process. I already travel a lot during the nfl season and would really rather spend much of the off-season near my family. I want to be close to them while making enough money during the off-season to not skip a beat. Right now each off-season my work falls off a cliff and I don’t want all my eggs in one basket.

Fears: I don’t know if I have “fear” per se because I don’t really have to put much money up front to try this out. I own the two drones already. My bigger concern is does this business model make sense at all and how to go about gaining these clients. Though I’m a freelancer who has made it 11 years living that way, I’ve never set up or managed a business like this one. To those able to see this objectively, what’s your opinion. Does the idea seem to be worthy of the time and how would you go about building this if so?

My one other question has to do with the fact that I work with a company that serves as a “middle man” between companies/clients looking for a service and finding pilots for those services. I can either do this myself or could try and pitch them on this idea and have them advertise it as a service they offer and pick up those jobs if they take the bait. Where I live there are two main pilots that work with them and I am one of them.

I appreciate your time and any input you have!

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