Interviewed on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at the GSSI Office & Shop
It Started With A Christmas Wish
It’s not every day that you meet someone who is a Guinness World Record Holder, let alone someone who has the official title at such a young age! So let us introduce you to local Brownie Girl Scout Louisa, recently dubbed the “youngest drone videographer in the world.” Louisa’s path to being a record holder began two years ago around Christmastime when, as a young science lover, she asked for a drone with picture and video capabilities so that she could view hard-to-reach environments and dangerous plants up close. With the support of her parents, this was able to happen!
Now, a couple of years after that Christmas wish, Louisa has become an award-winning videographer and Guinness World Record Holder. Luckily for us, she was happy to accept an invitation from Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana (GSSI), the council she is a proud Girl Scout with, to sit down for an interview with a staff member about her story. So, in mid-June, Louisa came into the GSSI Office with her family and drone in hand to talk with our staff member Hannah.
The Interview
GSSI Hannah: Let's get into the thick of it! The reason you are here is that you are the world's youngest drone videographer. So, to start off, what originally made you want to get into drone piloting and videography? I know that you are a big science enthusiast and that you like being able to see inaccessible plants in different environments, so why did you choose drones over something like dressing head-to-toe in full protective gear to see dangerous plants*?
Girl Scout Louisa: With drones, versus protective gear, it is a lot easier to just fly it, rather than actually have to get close and touch it. It’s just a lot easier to fly, and you can also get it in different angles that you actually couldn’t even with a protection suit.
*Louisa specifically likes to steer clear of poison ivy.
GSSI: That’s cool! So, what did it take to be able to legally fly your drone? Do you have an official license to fly?
Girl Scout: Yeah. You had to take a drone safety test*, which I did, and I passed, so I can fly a drone.
*The drone safety class and the required test are through the Federal Aviation Administration.
GSSI: So then, the video editing part of this, did you have to take courses for that or, I’m assuming you don’t have to have a license to edit a video, so what did you do for that?
Girl Scout: So, we have a computer, and [my family and I] just get the drone footage off of the drone and then edit it with the computer.*
*Louisa’s parents help with some of the editing process, but piloting the drone is all her!
GSSI: Did you take a course on how to use the video editing software? Or did you do what I like to do, which is just figure it out myself?
Girl Scout: Yeah, we just do it ourselves.
GSSI: Now, from what I've heard, you've created several films already with your drone videography skills. How many films have you made now?
Girl Scout: Well, so most of the ones that we do, about like 80% or so, we do a bunch of drone filming, and then we put it together and post it on our YouTube channel, and it's called “Lulu Traveling the World!” So, we've done quite a few!
GSSI: And they're all on your YouTube channel?
Girl Scout: Yeah. The ones that are edited are on my YouTube channel.
GSSI: I've also heard that you've submitted some of your films to film festivals. How many have you gone to, and did you win any awards?
Girl Scout: So, I got accepted to a Thunderbird Drone Festival in Oklahoma. It took 12 hours to drive there. It was very long. And I got a medal for that even though I technically didn’t win the category, it was under 18. I got accepted to the Bloomington Film Festival, which I sadly couldn’t go to because I was in Australia, and then also I got accepted to an Arizona drone film festival, and I got an award there because I won in my category.*
*Louisa’s film, “Dangerous Plants,” was one of 30 entries screened in 2023 at the Thunderbird Drone Festival. The film won the “Best New Pilot” award at the Arizona DroneFest Film Festival last October – which made Louisa stand out to the Guinness World Records judges – and was featured at Bloomington, Indiana’s International Film Festival this past April.
GSSI: Well congratulations on that! Do you have any plans right now to submit more films to festivals?
Girl Scout: Yes, so we have a lake house, and thinking about the Thunderbird Drone Festival for next year, we could do a lake house thing for the video.
GSSI: That’ll be nice! So, you have officially been given the title of the “world's youngest drone videographer” by Guinness World Records. So, how did you achieve that? And how “young” is young?
Girl Scout: So, I met the criteria and I achieved it by getting that award from the Arizona drone film festival.*
*The criteria require a person to create a professional-grade video, get it attested to by professional videographers, and win an award at an international film festival.
GSSI: Who was the person who held the title before you? How young were they?
Girl Scout: Well we kind of created our own category. There wasn't really anyone before us, but when I met the criteria, I was 8 years and 258 days.*
*Guinness World Records’ YouTube channel features videos of drone-related world records, including one of a 13-year-old boy using his drone for mapping. Those videos inspired Louisa to set her mind on being recognized by Guinness World Records.
GSSI: That is very precise! Let’s go to a fun question just about your filming: what's the coolest place or thing that you've gotten to film, and what was your favorite?
Girl Scout: I liked filming Australia.
GSSI: And why is that?
Girl Scout: Because it looks really cool, and there's a lot of stuff you could film.
GSSI: Did you go to the Outback at all?
Girl Scout: No, we went to the small part that actually has cities, and we went to the biggest of those cities, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and Cairns, because we swam the Great Barrier Reef.
GSSI: Do you have any dream films that you want to create or a dream place you want to go to and get footage of?
Girl Scout: [My family and I] are trying to go to all seven continents because we've done a few. We've already done Europe, Australia, and North America, [and also Asia]. So, we're trying to get all seven!
GSSI: Where do you think is next on your list, then?
Girl Scout: Well, I'd probably want to go to Antarctica, so we could see and get drone footage of it. That would be really cool because it could be us on top of a high mountain of ice.
GSSI: Alright, I'm going to ask you some things about the future. You’re really into science and want to be a scientist in the future. What type of scientist do you want to be? In what field?
Girl Scout: I want to be a zoologist.
GSSI: And why is that?
Girl Scout: I just like animals, and I like studying them and finding new species, and stuff like that. I like studying animals.
GSSI: Now with your interest in zoology, do you think that you'll continue to use your drone and film skills in the future, especially to help you with going in that direction with science?
Girl Scout: Probably.
GSSI: Do you think you might want to make films capturing animals?
Girl Scout: Yes, I would really like to make films of animals!
GSSI: Do you think other kids could learn to be drone videographers like you, and do you think it's going to be harder or easier for them in the future to do that?
Girl Scout: Yes. It is hard at the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier.
GSSI: Okay, let’s talk Girl Scouts. When did you join Girl Scouts?
Girl Scout: Well, I did it in kindergarten at another school and then stopped, but then I started it again in second grade.
GSSI: And so far, what's been your favorite part of being a Girl Scout and doing things with Girl Scouts?
Girl Scout: I really like all the badges you get to earn, and I really loved the axolotl theme this year, because I just really love axolotls!*
*Fun fact: Louisa has a pet axolotl! Its name is Pedro.
GSSI: Lastly, what would you say to any other girls or Girl Scouts who may be interested in flying drones or even just creating films like you? What advice would you give them about doing that? Or even just following their passions, like you followed your passion to this?
Girl Scout: If you ever have a passion, always follow it, and, also, if it gets hard, just keep trying because it will get better!
Her Drone Keeps Flying
If you have the chance, head over to Louisa’s YouTube channel to watch this record holder’s array of videos and films. You’ll find one titled “My Hometown” that features sites around Evansville and Newburgh, Indiana, several that highlight some of her international travel to Europe and Australia, as well as videos of her siblings playing soccer and basketball and her family wakeboarding on the lake. And make sure to keep an eye out for this rising filmmaker and aspiring scientist, because while she doesn’t plan to break any more records right now, you may get the chance to see one of her drone films on the big screen someday!
You can visit Girl Scout Louisa’s YouTube Channel to see her drone films and more videos of her travels at LuLu Traveling the World!
If you would like to support local girls by donating to Girl Scouts, please visit www.girlscouts-gssi.org/donate .
If you or a girl you know may be interested in joining Girl Scouts, please visit www.girlscouts-gssi.org/getinvolved to learn more and sign up today!
