Pilot Story: DJ Grick

15 January 2024

By DJ Glick

My interest in media and production took off in college when I took a few video production classes and helped with the college’s daily chapel livestream. Not only did I get great training, but I also had the opportunity to access some amazing equipment. In those days, we did everything on Final Cut 5, and I dreamed of owning Adobe Creative Suite 2.

At the time, I thought I was just taking some electives for fun. I was called to be a pastor. Video production was just a hobby. Yeah, I would occasionally make some extra money recording weddings, but it wasn’t a business I planned to do anything with.

The Accidental Media Guy

I did become a pastor, and I served for well over a decade at the same church. When I started, the church was in trouble. A few weeks in, the senior pastor resigned, and the board was talking about closing the doors.

However, the youth pastor before me came back as the senior pastor, and we re-launched the church.

One of our biggest draws was the number of relevant events we hosted for the community—especially those for young families. During one of the events, I got bored, and took out my digital camera to record a few clips. That night, I created a highlight reel from the event, posted it on Facebook, and, unknowingly, stepped into a new position in the church. I was now the youth pastor and Director of Media and Technology.

As the church kept growing, so did our production team. My title changed again, and I became operations pastor. Over the years, we regularly talked about how cool it would be if we had drone footage from different events.

Our imaginations ran wild with all the cool things we could do—until reality set in.

As we looked into purchasing a drone, we realized it was a hard purchase to justify to leadership—unless we had multiple people licensed to fly, and that wasn’t an easy task. We reviewed the FAA materials and they seemed too dense to digest.

When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

Fast forward a few years, and I stepped out to plant a new church with the blessing of my prior ministry. We announced our plans in a Zoom meeting alongside the senior pastor who was explaining the church's response to “14 days to flatten the curve."

If you didn’t guess already this was the end of March 2020. Over the next few months, everyone was talking about “pivoting,” and we did a lot of pivoting ourselves. The biggest unforeseen pivot was when the location we planned to start the church in changed terms, and was no longer a viable option. Our grand plan, schedule, and goals all went out the window.

Although we have a great team of people, after many years, we still have not been able to secure a meeting place outside homes. It’s hard to convince people you aren’t leading a cult when a church meets in your living room. Growth is slow, and even though my plan was to be a full-time pastor, the church budget didn’t agree. In the fall 2021, I realized I needed to work another job if I wanted this church to have a chance. So, I started a business, and began using my skills to help other organizations.

Starting a Business Out Of Necessity

At first, I was doing handyman projects, and even some website and software implementation. I knew I wanted to get back into media production. I had access to a few BM Pocket Cinema 4k cameras, but wanted something else to set me apart. After some work, I convinced my wife to buy me a DJI Mini 3 Pro. She agreed, but it was my birthday gift, Father’s Day gift, and Christmas gift all wrapped up in one. We went to Best Buy to pick it up, and we went out to dinner for my birthday.

That night, we found a park, and I unknowingly broke a ton of rules. That thing went beyond VLOS, higher then 400’, and hovered over my wife’s head (just to mess with her). Now, I had the tool I wanted, but I needed to be certified to use it.

I had looked at the FAA training materials a few times in the past, and I knew they wouldn’t work for me. After doing a bunch of research about training options, I signed up for Pilot Institute’s Part 107 class. I loved their way of teaching, and I felt very prepared when I took my FAA exam.

In March 2023, I completed my FAA exam. At this point, I could fly but needed a portfolio. I reached out to a few non-profits and offered my services to them for free. They got marketing materials and I built a portfolio for my business.

Soon, I had a friend who is in construction have me start coming to some of his sites to gather more marketing materials and my portfolio grew.

Growth and Development

Although I have shot and edited hundreds of videos, most of the time I was shooting indoors. We had built a little 16’x16’ studio where I did 75 percent of my recording. I always had quality lighting and the benefits of a controlled environment to record in. With most drone work, you have to adapt to the setting. I quickly needed to better understand how to capture great shots no matter the environment. I spent a ton of time watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts about composition, camera settings, and color correcting. I’m still working to grow and develop in these areas, and I don’t know if I will ever be fully content with my knowledge.

Drone #2

In October, I had a few different projects going, and, as I was flying at a golf course, I paused and let the drone hover for a moment to let a few people pass. I took my eyes off the drone for a few seconds and it chose not to say put. My little DJI Mini 3 Pro found its way into a tree, where it fell breaking the gimble and an arm. I was now in trouble, because I needed to fly again in a few days.

After talking more with my wife, we decided it was time for a backup drone. We landed on the DJI Mini 4 Pro—mostly because I wanted to add obstacle avoidance. Having the same battery platform helped a lot, too, because it allowed me to get back out flying and complete my projects as planned.

What’s Next For Six Grick Solutions

My primary focus is still church planting, but I’m so thankful for the flexibility and freedom that Six Gricks Solutions has provided for my family. I’m working to continue to grow the business with the hope that income from drone and media production can support my family while we serve the people of our community.

Although I have read that drone filming for real estate has become saturated, I’ve begun discussions with a few relator friends to offer my services at a discount so I can build my portfolio in this market.

I don’t know what the future holds, but as a family we keep praying though The Lord’s Prayer—especially when Jesus teaches us to pray “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread”. God has provided this far, and we know He will continue to do so!