Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristofer Rafeedie.
Hi Kristofer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was a very young, I was always interested in anything remote-controlled, from rc cars to planes, even flight simulators on the computer with a real joystick. Always wanting to do more than just driving or flying, I would tape phones with low-quality cameras to these toys and wanted to do it with my planes as well. In conjunction with this, I always tried bringing an experience to life through video and editing when cellphones started getting better cameras. A lot of my field trip pictures that I’ve looked back on from around middle school, I was usually the only one with a small camera hanging around my neck. I used the most basic software to edit, and looking back now, it’s incredible how good I thought my videos and photos were, but I understand what I was going for and appreciate the effort I put in. YouTube and Google wasn’t what it is today, where there’s an abundant amount of information on how to be a pro in the photography world.
Finally in 2007, my parents who always supported my hobby bought my first GoPro Hero3+. At this point, I have seen what this new and almost indestructible camera could do, and I got hooked. I wanted to film everything I could from boy scout trips, hikes, vacations, and basically, anything I did for fun, the GoPro came with me and there was a good chance it was going to be in your face at some point if you were around me. Shortly after, I started high school, a whole new chapter that I now realize contributed a lot more to where I’m at now, and it wasn’t the education itself that was the biggest factor.
In 2008-2011, I was part of AFJROTC and Armed Drill Team all 4 years at Temecula Valley High School, and there were quite a few perks to being part of this organization. One of which we had a flight simulator that we could use during lunch and a lot of times we would use it during class when we didn’t have anything to prep for. I got hooked to it again just like I did when I was younger at home. Then, an amazing opportunity was presented where some of us were able to take a flight on a real C-17 out of March Airforce Base, along with one parent. I went 2 years in a row, one time with each parent. We were able to climb up into the cockpit and talk with the pilots. We did tactical take-offs and landings, loosening our seatbelts just so we can float up out of our seats, it was that intense and an experience I still bring up to this day. The most important factor in all this is my father. The reason being is, once I started my JROTC program, we really got into my dad’s previous line of work. He worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for General Dynamics in San Diego. He was the project manager who designed the brains of the tomahawk cruise missile, as well as the ground station for the Global Hawk, a drone capable of delivering high-resolution, real-time data anywhere in the world. He was the guy you would see in movies who figured out formulas and codes to problems he and his team would try to solve, but in the middle of a café or restaurant and write them on a napkin while he waited for his meal or drank his coffee. This was back in the ’80s to early ’90s where computers took up entire rooms. He also personally gave presentations to Vice President Quayle in the late ’80s when he started working on 3D technology, sitting him down at his very own workstation showing him how to use the machine since they were 10-15 years ahead of other technologies. Then before the company divested many of its divisions in 1992 due to the downturn in the defense industry, one of the last projects he had his hands on was the F-22, which of course was kept out of the public eye many years before anyone even knew the project existed. All these projects my dad worked on was unknowingly going to make a full circle in my life.
Now with my father’s history, my interest in tech kept brewing but I never narrowed down exactly what I wanted to do. I was still recording and taking pictures, but it wasn’t until 2019 that something in my head finally clicked. I bought my first drone! I don’t recall if the idea to get one came from online videos or seeing one in real life, but I knew I needed it and obtained a DJI Mini 2 and started flying every day. The world of technology, aircrafts, and photography finally intersected, and I got hooked! I started doing real estate pictures from Airbnbs to wineries. Then created more cinematic short movies and clips 1-5 minutes long for fun as you can see on my YouTube channel. Then I started with making my own commercials and movie previews for fun, to doing more charitable videos for organizations that I felt could benefit from my work. Now all this was essentially practice, getting comfortable with my drone and editing software. I then upgraded to the DJI Mavic Air 2, a much more capable drone, and that’s where I began marketing my business towards construction. It started off basic, with videos and pictures for simple surveys, and by 2021, quite a few general contractors had their own drones to get basic pictures and videos of their sites. So, I got more specific with my services that I offered, which is 2D and 3D mapping alongside with photogrammetry, which is being able to measure distance, counts, and more as well as volume of material from the sky. It’s amazing the reactions I get when companies find out and see the use of this technology. Progress reports save time, money, and headaches because these reports can find problems before they get too costly for the company and keep all the subcontractors work orders accurate when it comes to what they’re charging, from the amount of material needed or equipment needed to move things around and so on. This information is also able to be shared to investors and anyone involved anywhere in the world to make sure everything is up to speed and accurate.
My company is excited and looking forward to securing a few more contracts this year. Some of my work with Costco in Temecula, being the number one busiest in the company for sales (except for Hawaii due to high costs) and gas has really helped push my business forward. My last video for them was essentially a sales pitch to corporate to invest into building a second Costco down the road because the store is so overwhelmed. It seemed to have worked because that location will be opened in early August 2022, having the entire building complete in less than 100 days once they got the go-ahead due to the amazing work of W. L. Butler, who has built 80% of Costco’s. It excites me to have been a part of this store and company progress, as I have lived and shopped there at that location since I was 3 years old.
As you can see, sometimes a lightbulb doesn’t just turn on. You might be working towards something for 10-15 years without knowing it. Then suddenly one day, with all your experience, the pieces are all there and that’s when you have to open your eye just go for it, even if you don’t know exactly what you’re going to do with what you have. You just keep practicing, focus on enjoying yourself, your hobby, and eventually find a way to make your passion into a real revenue stream and that’s when you have life figured out. As you’ve heard before, when you find something you love doing, you’ll never work a day in your life. I truly understand that now, and these services we provide are extremely fulfilling because our services are a part of an industry that builds for the future, and to be a part of multiple projects where we can say we had a hand in that, is something that’s hard to match. So far, we are two generations deep into drones in a way I never imagined. This drone industry is something I will pass down to my son who will be 3 this year, as he loves watching it fly around, little does he know what kind of impact he might have on this world if he decides to follow his father’s footsteps.
Valley Drone Cinema will continue to provide the highest quality work with safety being our number one priority. We plan on slowly expanding our services in the future, including delivery, farming, emergency services, and more. We have plenty to offer now and being the leader in the drone industry is what we are working towards every day.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There is nothing smooth about starting and growing a business, especially in an area that is still fairly new. Drones are finding their way into just about every industry. They are also costly, and the software can be just as expensive. Just finding a foothold and establishing yourself in an industry where you have to educate most people on why your services are beneficial and essential at this point is the hardest part. It not just a sales pitch, every time we approach or are approached by a company, we must educate. We need to be able to show how investing in our services can save and make companies money now and, in the future, and that we are crucial for any future projects no matter how small or large it is.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We specialize in construction and inspections. We still work in the commercial and residential real estate market here and there, but our main focus is the construction and inspection industry. I absolutely love making cinematic videos till this day and look forward to possibly working on movie sets as another branch of this company, because that’s where it all started for me. Bringing an experience to an audience the best way possible has always been fun for me. Again though, having a hand in construction via drone work is something that excites me as this industry won’t be able to go without it and I enjoy watching the drone do its thing once our programs start running. I’m just so intrigued with how it moves, communicates with the software, how it all gets stitched together post edit, and so on. The General Contractors first-time reactions is something I look forward to because it’s always the same. They’re just amazed at what we can do, and what this tech can do for them in the right hands.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’ve traveled to more countries than states. My mother is from Nazareth and my dad is from Jordan, so I’ve been in most of the surroundings seas, and countries visiting family for months at a time when I was younger. I love traveling, and if only I had my drone with me, the images and videos I would have captured would have been incredible!
Contact Info:
- Website: valleydronecinema.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valley_drone_cinema
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValleyDroneCinema
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7vkJim1fD3AbKtt4uc6lYg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/valley-drone-cinema-temecula?osq=valley+drone+cinema
Image Credits
Valley Drone Cinema
