Sky Elements Drone Shows: Preston Ward ('06 BBA) and Brian Geck ('09 BFA, Art)

Tell us about yourselves.
Preston Ward ('06 BBA): I grew up in North Richland Hills and currently live in Keller. My wife, Tara, and I are high school sweethearts. She is a UTA alumna ('11 BSIS).
Brian Geck ('09 BFA, Art): I grew up in Houston, Texas, moved to Arlington to attend UTA, and am currently located in Fort Worth, Texas. I am married with two kids. I met my wife, Laura, through a mutual friend while attending UTA.

Why did you choose to attend UTA?
Preston: I chose to attend UTA because it allowed me to have it all - staying close to home while getting the college experience and a quality education.
Brian: UTA had a good film/video program. The reason I chose this program is because it was based in the art school rather than communications.

What did you study at UTA? What attracted you to those fields?
Preston: I received a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis on Information Systems. I have always had a love of technology and computers but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Information Systems allowed me to have skills that would fit into a variety of industries.
Brian: I studied film and video with a focus on animation and visual effects in film. I always wanted to be a filmmaker when growing up. Ever since I can remember I’ve always been enthralled with special effects, trying to learn as much as I can about how those effects were accomplished on film. While in college I narrowed my focus down to animation, motion graphics, and visual effects/compositing. 

Describe your UTA experience. How did UTA help prepare you for your career?
Preston: UTA is where I learned to challenge myself and learned what I could do when I put my mind to it. I completed my entire degree in two and a half years, which prepared me to transition into law school, where I was the youngest in my class. Being able to handle daunting workloads helped me in my legal career as well as the fast-paced world of drone shows. I met so many wonderful people at UTA, including my business partner, Brian.
Brian: I really enjoyed my time at UTA. The professors were great and allowed us the freedom to explore the craft while providing guidance. The camaraderie among students within the film department was inspiring for an introvert like me because I learned very quickly that you can’t make a film alone. Everyone was always eager to help; it was a community. Some of the most memorable times were late at night in the computer lab or on a set with dozens of classmates pulling a project together. One of the most important lessons I learned was to bring in the right people on your project and trust their work. This applies everywhere, from class projects to building your own business.

What is your current professional position? What do you do in this role?
Preston: I am the chief pilot and general counsel for Sky Elements Drone Shows. As the chief pilot, I oversee all aspects of the drone show operations including FAA permissions and notification, compliance, training our other pilots, and troubleshooting show issues. As general counsel, I oversee the development and execution of contracts, interpretation and implementation of FAA regulations, and other legal matters. Having both the skills of a drone pilot and a legal background, I have been able to take a collaborative approach with the FAA to strengthen and adjust rules for the drone swarm space.
Brian: I am currently the creative director for Sky Elements Drone Shows. I work with clients to help bring their vision to life in the sky using drones. I lead a team of animators to create the animations and paths for the drones. It is my job to make sure the client’s vision comes through the best way possible and that the show is safe to fly. I am also a UAV pilot and fly shows occasionally.

"Keep pushing boundaries and keep an open mind. You may end up in a space that hasn’t even been invented yet, or maybe you will invent a new space yourself."

Describe your path to your current position. What do you do in this role?
Preston: Brian and I became friends while at UTA and have always maintained mutual hobbies, one of them being animated Christmas light displays. The skills we had from developing the Christmas light displays allowed us to venture into our first business together, fireworks. We founded a professional firework business together where we quickly became one of the leading names in professional fireworks in Texas and created award winning displays. From there it was a natural transition to drone light shows, which combined my love of technology with Brian’s love of animation. Along the way, we’ve learned that we do a great job of playing off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can have a little fun while running a successful company.
Brian: Preston Ward and I met in my freshman year at UTA; we both drove the same car, so we met through that car club and just started hanging out, playing pool at the UC between classes. I spent 12 years out of college working for the North Central Texas Council of Governments doing communications and public outreach where I worked my way up to a management position leading a small team of creators. I’ve also freelanced a bit here and there, often hiring former classmates. My UTA contacts gave me a great network of highly skilled workers. I’ve worked with Preston on a few small side businesses/projects over the years where he would handle the business side of things and I would handle the creative side. For several years we ran a small pyrotechnic company and through that business we saw drone light shows coming up and were both enthralled and excited by the potential. We found two other partners, and all jumped in with both feet.

How did you prepare for you Guinness World Record-breaking Fourth of July show? How do you hope to continue to grow Sky Elements Drones following this achievement?
Preston: One of my skills is seeing a vision and pushing to get that vision brought to life quickly. We knew the Fourth of July was the perfect time to do the Guinness World Record show. Brian and I sat down with our other partners and put together a plan on how we could pull it off in the midst of our busiest time of the year. We already had 40+ shows planned over the Fourth of July weekend, so we reached out to one of our city partners to be the host. A lot of testing, logistics, sweat, and a few tears went into getting this show ready. Executing this show to the scale that we did, in the short timeline that we did, allowed us to push our limits and have some fun with our talents. Since that show we have flown several shows over 1,000 drones with some really awesome clients. Accomplishing that world record was a magical moment and it has fueled our fire to do some really cool stuff, and even more is coming down the line.
Brian: One of the things we have always wanted to do with Sky Elements was to make sure we give back. We just love bringing joy to people and wherever possible we like to fly shows for charities like Make-a-Wish or others. We also have a great love for the DFW metroplex and want to simply do cool things that bring the spotlight back home. Setting a Guinness World Record was a bucket list item for us, and we thought no better place than Preston’s hometown of North Richland Hills. The design for the show was a true team effort with lots of thought and planning. Animation for that show took hundreds of hours and setup on the day-of took over 40 people the entire day. This world record was a great launching point to help shine a spotlight on our ability to perform high quality, high drone count drone light shows. We are constantly pushing the boundaries of what drone light shows can be, and we want to bring that to the world.

What's one lesson you learned at UTA that has stayed with you still today?
Preston: Push your limits. Graduating from UTA at such an accelerated pace taught me that if you push yourself to the limits and believe in yourself, anything is possible. This applies both personally and professionally.
Brian: People are key. Yes, you get a great education at UTA and will know the ins and outs of your field, but the connections you make with your peers and those not in your discipline will be what helps propel you throughout your career and life.

Your success came full circle at the MavGrad celebration, presenting a show for graduating Mavericks in May 2023. What has been the most rewarding part about your experience and what message do you have for the next generation of UTA graduates?
Preston: I wish I had a drone show at my graduation. I’m a little jealous they got to see something so cool in such a milestone moment, but I’m so happy that I was part of the team that was able to make it happen. Something I would want to instill in the graduates is that when I graduated UTA, drone shows didn’t even exist. Drones weren’t even a thing then. Yet here I am now getting to pioneer an industry that we have barely scratched the surface of. Always keep your mind open and be looking at all the possibilities, even the ones people have not thought of yet. You never know when you will see or think of the next thing that will change your life.
Brian: Designing and flying the MavGrad celebration drone light show was such an honor for us. I’ve always loved the spirit horses, and getting to make one in the sky with drones was a personal dream come true. We hope to make that a new annual tradition! Also, it should be noted, the animator who created the show, Chase Cochran ('22 BA, Art),  a recent UTA graduate. So that show was completely designed, animated, and flown by UTA alumni. Seeing how the campus has changed and progressed over the years brings me a lot of pride. My message to the next generation of UTA graduates is to keep pushing boundaries and keep an open mind. You may end up in a space that hasn’t even been invented yet, or maybe you will invent a new space yourself. You are gaining an excellent foundation at UTA, but you have to keep learning and keep exploring the rest of your life.

Anything else you would like to share?
Preston: Take a look around you, the possibilities are endless. The people you meet here just might be with you for the rest of your life, and together create the greatest achievements.
Brian: A huge thank you to our entire team that worked on the world record show - it took over 60 people and many long, hot hours to pull that off. An eternal thank you to my wife for supporting me and putting up with the long hours and late nights.