Waldorf Astoria Miami
Downtown Miami, FL · 12,000 cu yd
The Capform edit of the same placement, cut around the formwork scope.
- Aerial
- Ground
- Capform
Miami · South Florida · FAA Part 107 Licensed & Insured
Foundation Pour Documentation in Miami and South Florida
Foundation pour documentation is aerial and ground coverage of a continuous concrete mat placement, planned before the first truck arrives because the event cannot be reshot. Drone Permission has documented more than a dozen major South Florida pours, from 1,000 to 20,000 cubic yards, across placements that ran 24 to 36 hours without stopping.
13+Major pours documented
20,000Largest pour, cubic yards
1 crewAir, ground, FPV, time lapse, editing
Part 107Licensed & insured, LAANC ready
Above: the floodlit Cipriani Residences foundation pour at the center of the Brickell skyline, Miami. Most major South Florida pours start after dark.
A foundation pour happens once. There is no second take, no reshoot, and no way to stage it again next week. The concrete goes down over 24 to 36 continuous hours, the mat disappears under the structure forever, and whatever was captured that night is the only record that will ever exist. That is why foundation pour documentation has to be planned before the first truck arrives, not arranged on the morning of. From Aston Martin Residences to the Waldorf Astoria Miami, developers, general contractors, and concrete suppliers call us because we know which moments matter and how to work an active jobsite while it is happening.
Key Takeaways
- A foundation pour, also called a mat pour, is a continuous concrete placement that often runs 24 to 36 hours nonstop, because stopping mid placement creates cold joints that weaken the foundation.
- Drone Permission has documented 13 or more major South Florida pours, including Aston Martin Residences at 13,000 cubic yards, 1428 Brickell at 12,500, and the Waldorf Astoria Miami at 12,000.
- Complete coverage combines FAA licensed aerial photo and video, ground cameras, FPV flights, time lapse across the full placement, and professional editing, all from one crew.
- One documented pour can serve every company on the job. We cut separate edits for Heidelberg Materials and for Capform from the same Waldorf Astoria placement.
- The pour is usually the start, not the end. Most foundation pour clients continue with monthly progress documentation through topping out and delivery.
The Work
Watch Foundation Pours We Have Documented
These recap videos show what complete foundation pour coverage produces: aerial views of pump booms working in sync, FPV passes over the mat, ground footage of finishing crews, and time lapse of the full placement. Our Aston Martin Residences pour video has drawn roughly 10,000 views over more than six years, and it still brings us new clients.
Aston Martin Residences
Downtown Miami, FL · 13,000 cu yd. The mat placement under a 66 story tower at the mouth of the Miami River, and the video that still introduces new clients to our work.
1428 Brickell Residences
Brickell, Miami, FL · 12,500 cu yd. A full construction documentary cut of the placement, from the first truck backing in to the finishing crews the next day.
Waldorf Astoria Miami
Downtown Miami, FL · 12,000 cu yd. The Heidelberg Materials and Supermix Concrete edit. We cut a second, separate version of this same pour for Capform.
What Is a Foundation Concrete Pour?
A foundation concrete pour, also called a mat pour or mat slab pour, is the continuous placement of thousands of cubic yards of concrete that forms the structural base of a high rise. It runs without interruption, often 24 to 36 hours straight, because stopping mid placement would create cold joints that weaken the foundation.
For a major Miami tower, a single mat pour can involve well over a thousand concrete truck deliveries, multiple pump trucks running at the same time, and hundreds of workers rotating in shifts. Everything the building will ever be rests on this one event, which is why developers treat it as the first great milestone of a project, the moment a rendering starts becoming a building.
It is also a one time event. Once the concrete is placed and finished, the mat disappears under the structure forever. If the pour is not documented properly, that piece of the building's history is simply gone.
Baccarat Residences, Brickell, Miami. Two workers watch the placement move across the rebar mat. This is what a mat pour looks like from inside it: a grid of steel disappearing under concrete, hour by hour, with the Brickell skyline behind.
The Return on Coverage
Why Should You Document a Foundation Pour?
Foundation pour documentation gives developers, general contractors, and concrete suppliers a permanent visual record of a one time event that defines the project. The footage powers press releases and sales marketing, keeps investors and lenders informed, proves the scale your concrete and pumping teams can execute, and becomes the opening chapter of the building's construction story.
Marketing and press
Major South Florida pours make the news. A 10,000 plus cubic yard overnight placement is a spectacle, and professional aerial footage announces that construction is truly underway.
Investors and lenders
Cinematic proof of progress keeps capital partners confident and informed without a single site visit, at the exact moment the project stops being a rendering.
Contractor portfolios
Concrete suppliers and formwork contractors prove the scale they can execute. Heidelberg Materials and Capform each commissioned their own edit of a pour we documented.
Project records
Time stamped aerial documentation shows site logistics, truck staging, and placement sequence, a useful record long after the mat is buried under the structure.
From Active Pours
Inside a South Florida Mat Pour
These frames come from real placements in Miami and Brickell: the wide view of a full mat, the boom pumps working in formation, the truck rotation feeding them, and the crews on the deck at three in the morning. They are here to show what the cameras actually return from a pour. Click any image to enlarge it.
![Wide aerial of a full foundation mat placement against the skyline at [WOODLAND PROJECT NAME], [CITY], documented by Drone Permission](https://www.dronepermission.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/23-Woodland_Small-2026-03-04--scaled.webp)
What Does Foundation Pour Documentation Include?
Complete foundation pour documentation combines aerial photography and video, ground level cameras, FPV drone flights through the action, time lapse covering the entire placement, and professional editing with sound design. Drone Permission delivers all of it with one coordinated crew, so you get a cinematic recap plus a full photo set without juggling multiple vendors.
| Coverage method | What it captures | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial photo and video | Full site scale, pump boom choreography, truck staging, skyline context | Press releases, marketing, investor updates |
| FPV drone flights | Dynamic fly throughs between booms, crews, and rebar | Social media, cinematic recap videos |
| Ground photo and video | Crews at work, finishing details, leadership interviews, the safety story | Recruiting, company culture, full length edits |
| Time lapse | The entire 24 to 36 hour pour compressed into seconds | Showing the full scale of a continuous placement |
| Editing and sound design | A polished recap cut for each audience | Developer, GC, and supplier versions of the same pour |
Every service is performed by FAA Part 107 licensed and insured pilots who follow jobsite safety requirements, wear PPE, and coordinate with your superintendent so coverage never interferes with the placement itself. In Miami's controlled airspace we handle LAANC authorizations in advance, so airspace is never a surprise on pour day. See also aerial photography services, video production in Florida, and drone services for construction.
How Do You Document a Continuous 24 to 36 Hour Pour?
By planning coverage windows instead of showing up once. A continuous placement has phases that matter: the first trucks at night, peak activity with every pump running, and the finishing work the next morning. We map those windows to your pour sequence with the superintendent, secure LAANC authorization in advance, and rotate crew so no critical phase is missed.
Plan the coverage windows
We map shooting windows to your pour sequence with the superintendent, before the first truck rolls.
Clear the airspace
LAANC authorization for Miami's controlled airspace is secured in advance. No surprises on pour day.
Cover night to sunrise
Most large pours start overnight. Floodlit sites against the Miami skyline often produce the most dramatic images of the whole project.
Work like a sub
PPE on, signed in, out of the pour's way. Your superintendent does not need to babysit us. We work construction sites week in and week out.
Waldorf Astoria Miami, mat pour. Crews working inside the rebar cage as the placement moves through. Ground coverage like this is why we bring more than a drone: half the story of a pour is at eye level, in the middle of it.
Cipriani Residences, Miami. Project branding on site. Every company working a pour has its own story to tell about it, and its own logo that needs to be in the frame.
One Pour, Every Company's Version
A single documented pour can serve every company on the job. We produced two separate edits of the Waldorf Astoria Miami placement, one for Heidelberg Materials and Supermix Concrete and one for Capform, from the same night of coverage. The developer, the general contractor, the concrete supplier, and the formwork contractor each got a version built around their part of the work.
This matters commercially. The cost of covering a pour does not multiply when three companies want footage of it, and each of those companies has a marketing team that needs proof of scale for its own pipeline. We have cut supplier specific versions for Heidelberg Materials, Capform, GT McDonald and CEMEX at Shell Bay Tower 200, Ozinga at 2000 Ocean, and Florida Concrete Unlimited at Park Grove.
If you are the GC or the supplier rather than the developer, this is usually the fastest way to get coverage approved: the pour is being documented anyway, and your edit is an addition rather than a new line item.
The Portfolio
Foundation Pours We Have Documented in South Florida
We have documented more than a dozen major foundation concrete pours across Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Sunny Isles Beach, and Hallandale Beach, ranging from 1,000 to 12,500 cubic yards on camera, with additional placements up to 20,000 cubic yards. The list below is ordered by concrete volume so the scale is visible at a glance.
Ten more pour films. Swipe, or use the arrows. Every video plays in place.
The Mansions at Acqualina
Sunny Isles Beach, FL · 9,860 cu yd
Oceanfront mat placement on one of the largest residential foundations in the county.
- Aerial
- Time lapse
The Estates at Acqualina
Sunny Isles Beach, FL · 8,000 cu yd
The second Acqualina tower, documented from the same oceanfront site.
- Aerial
- Ground
Flow Miami River
Miami River, Miami, FL · 7,000 cu yd
A riverfront mat pour with restricted staging and a tight site footprint.
- Aerial
- FPV
Park Grove
Coconut Grove, Miami, FL · 3,500 cu yd
A 90 second aerial cut of the transfer slab placement, produced for Florida Concrete Unlimited.
- Aerial
- Supplier edit
One River Lofty
Brickell, Miami, FL · 3,000 cu yd
Riverfront tower mat pour, cut as a milestone film for the project team.
- Aerial
- Milestone
Natiivo Miami
Downtown Miami, FL · 3,000 cu yd
Foundation placement for the downtown homesharing tower, documented in 2021.
- Aerial
2000 Ocean
Hallandale Beach, FL · 2,500 cu yd
Oceanfront foundation placement, cut as a supplier version for Ozinga.
- Aerial
- Supplier edit
Nexus Riverside
Brickell, Miami, FL · 1,700 cu yd
Riverside foundation placement on a constrained urban site.
- Aerial
Shell Bay Tower 200
Hallandale Beach, FL · 1,000 cu yd
Our most recent pour film, produced with GT McDonald and CEMEX.
- Aerial
- Ground
- Recent
| Project | Location | Concrete volume | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley Residences | Sunny Isles Beach, FL | 20,000 cu yd | Largest residential foundation pour in Florida history |
| Aston Martin Residences | Downtown Miami, FL | 13,000 cu yd | Aerial, ground, recap film |
| 1428 Brickell Residences | Brickell, Miami, FL | 12,500 cu yd | Aerial, ground, construction documentary |
| Waldorf Astoria Miami | Downtown Miami, FL | 12,000 cu yd | Two edits: Heidelberg Materials and Supermix, plus Capform |
| The Mansions at Acqualina | Sunny Isles Beach, FL | 9,860 cu yd | Aerial, time lapse |
| Mercedes-Benz Places Miami | Miami, FL | 8,500 cu yd | Foundation pour coverage |
| The Estates at Acqualina | Sunny Isles Beach, FL | 8,000 cu yd | Aerial, ground |
| Flow Miami River | Miami River, Miami, FL | 7,000 cu yd | Aerial, FPV |
| Five Park Miami Beach | Miami Beach, FL | 6,000 cu yd | Foundation pour coverage |
| Park Grove | Coconut Grove, Miami, FL | 3,500 cu yd | Transfer slab, supplier edit for Florida Concrete Unlimited |
| One River Lofty | Brickell, Miami, FL | 3,000 cu yd | Aerial milestone film |
| Natiivo Miami | Downtown Miami, FL | 3,000 cu yd | Aerial |
| 2000 Ocean | Hallandale Beach, FL | 2,500 cu yd | Supplier edit for Ozinga |
| Nexus Riverside | Brickell, Miami, FL | 1,700 cu yd | Aerial |
| Shell Bay Tower 200 | Hallandale Beach, FL | 1,000 cu yd | Aerial and ground, with GT McDonald and CEMEX |
We have also recently documented the foundation pours at Cipriani Residences Miami, The Standard Residences Brickell, and Baccarat Residences Brickell. Those films are being finalized and will be added here.
The Foundation Pour Is Just the Beginning
Most of our foundation pour clients keep us on for the life of the project. Starting at the mat means the building's story is complete from day one: the same team that filmed the first truck captures every milestone after it, through vertical construction, topping out, and delivery, with consistent angles and consistent quality.
Monthly or milestone based aerial documentation gives your marketing team a steady stream of content, keeps lenders and investors updated without site visits, and builds the archive for the final start to finish film when the project delivers. Because we already know your site, your safety requirements, and your team, adding progress documentation after the pour is seamless.
See how we cover the other end of the structure on our topping out ceremony documentation page, or read about ongoing construction progress documentation and Miami drone mapping.
Aston Martin Residences today, Downtown Miami. We filmed the 13,000 cubic yard mat under this tower years before it looked like this. That is the whole argument for starting at the foundation: the archive only exists if somebody was there on night one.
Foundation Pour Documentation FAQ
How long does a foundation concrete pour take?
Major mat pours in South Florida typically run 24 to 36 continuous hours. The pour cannot stop once it starts, because interruptions create cold joints in the concrete. Smaller foundation placements can finish in a single day, while the largest, like the 20,000 cubic yard Bentley Residences pour, run about 36 hours.
How many concrete trucks does a major mat pour require?
A 10,000 cubic yard pour typically requires well over 1,000 truckloads of concrete arriving in a continuous rotation, with multiple pump trucks placing at the same time. The scale of that logistics operation is exactly why aerial documentation is so effective: only a drone can show the whole choreography at once.
Can drones legally fly over a construction site in Miami?
Yes, when the operator is FAA Part 107 certified and has airspace authorization. Much of Miami sits in controlled airspace, so flights require LAANC approval. Drone Permission is Part 107 licensed and insured, and we secure LAANC authorizations before pour day so airspace never delays coverage.
Do you film overnight pours?
Yes. Most large South Florida pours start in the evening or overnight, and night coverage is standard for us. Floodlit sites with pump booms working against the Miami skyline often produce the most striking footage of the entire project.
What deliverables do we receive after the pour?
A professionally edited recap video plus a set of high resolution aerial and ground photographs. We can cut multiple versions of the same pour for different companies on the job, as we did for Heidelberg Materials and Capform at the Waldorf Astoria Miami.
Can you cut separate versions for the developer, the GC, and the concrete supplier?
Yes, and it is one of the most common things we do. From one night of coverage we have produced supplier and contractor specific edits for Heidelberg Materials and Supermix Concrete, Capform, GT McDonald and CEMEX at Shell Bay Tower 200, Ozinga at 2000 Ocean, and Florida Concrete Unlimited at Park Grove. Each version is cut around that company's scope, with their branding.
How much does it cost to document a foundation pour?
It depends on four things: how long the placement runs, how many coverage windows you want across it, whether you need ground and FPV in addition to aerial, and how many edited versions the job requires. A single aerial recap of a short pour and full multi format coverage of a 36 hour placement with time lapse are very different scopes. Send us your pour date and what you need and we will quote it.
How far in advance should we book?
As soon as your pour date is scheduled. Advance notice lets us plan coverage windows around your pour sequence, secure LAANC airspace authorization, and coordinate site access and safety requirements with your superintendent. Pours booked at the last minute are still possible, but the airspace request is the part that cannot be rushed.
What happens if the pour date moves?
Pour dates move constantly. Weather, concrete supply, and inspection sign offs all shift them, sometimes by days and sometimes by hours. Tell us as soon as you know. Because we plan coverage windows around your sequence rather than a single arrival time, a shifted date is usually a scheduling conversation rather than a lost booking.
Do you also document construction progress after the foundation pour?
Yes. Foundation pours are usually the start of a long term relationship. Most of our pour clients continue with monthly or milestone based progress documentation through topping out and project delivery, using the same crew and the same angles so the footage stays consistent across years.
Your Foundation Pours Once. Be Ready For It.
Tell us your pour date and the scope. We plan the coverage windows with your superintendent, clear LAANC airspace in advance, and put one crew on site for air, ground, FPV, and time lapse across the full placement.
You get a finished recap film and a full photo set, plus separate edits for every company on the job that wants one.
CHECK AVAILABILITY FOR YOUR POUR DATEOr call 305-878-9689
Background: sunrise over an active South Florida jobsite at Grand Hyatt, Miami Beach.