Sure thing. Start by plotting the points you actually need to film—skip any that just add idle hover time. Use a straight‑line path that keeps the drone at a consistent speed; a sudden change in velocity is a battery‑sucker. Add a “buffer zone” around high‑risk areas so you don’t have to zig‑zag to avoid obstacles. Then run a simple cost‑function that multiplies distance by a penalty for altitude changes and camera gimbal movements—whichever path gives the lowest score is your sweet spot. If you run into a dead‑end, swap a waypoint for a “no‑action” hover, but only if the shot quality doesn’t suffer. Keep the list as short as possible and double‑check that every waypoint is essential—extra waypoints are just extra battery drain.

If your drone’s battery is around 30 Ah at 11.1 V, a 5‑point loop of about 200 m per segment plus a few turns should leave you comfortably above 60 %—give or take. The key is to weight the cost function so that each turn and gimbal pitch change adds a penalty larger than the flat speed penalty; that pushes the planner toward straight‑line, level segments and avoids sudden gimbal jerks. For smooth gimbal moves without new waypoints, set the gimbal’s rate limit to a low value and use a simple easing function—ease‑in‑ease‑out—when you command a pitch change. Also pre‑compute the gimbal angle at each segment end and let the controller interpolate. That keeps the camera moving steadily and saves battery by avoiding micro‑adjustments.

Sounds like you’re tightening the loop tighter than a knot in a parachute line. Pausing the lens under 2 m/s is a neat way to avoid pointless footage and save power, but watch out for those micro‑flaps; if you hit a gust the drone might still be moving enough that the camera’s doing work you didn’t plan. Keep an eye on the throttle spikes—if the controller starts hammering back after a pause, the battery will feel it anyway. Good luck with the river bend test!

Nice, you’re basically building a smart‑sail for the drone. Just keep an eye on that gust‑threshold—if it’s too high you’ll get false negatives, too low and you’ll start choking on every little breeze. And for the throttle check, make sure the dead‑band isn’t so wide that the pilot feels like they’re in a “fly‑or‑die” mode. Once you’ve got those nudges calibrated, that river bend will be a cinematic postcard, not a science experiment. Good luck—may the wind cooperate.

Sounds like you’ve got a neat package—just remember the last time a “clean” flight turned into a test for the battery meter. Keep your logs tight and don’t forget to check that you’re still within the 60 % window after the loop. Happy flying!

Glad you’re already on the log‑check side—makes my life easier. Keep an eye on that curve, and if the river bends get any more dramatic, just call it a “dynamic range” issue and call it a day. Good luck!