The New York City Drone Film Festival (NYCDFF) is probably one of most important events for the aerial filmmaking community. Here is a selection of some of the best videos which have been awarded since the first edition in 2015.
"Candide Thovex Quattro 2": Extreme Sports Category Winner (2018)
When a French extreme skier decides to ride snowless slopes.
"Mexico City International Airport From Above": Audience Choice Award Winner (2015)
When you fly your drone legally in the middle of the traffic of an international airport.
"Muscle Up": Freestyle FPV Category Winner (2018)
An incredible flying performance with impossible shots filmed in a unique long take via a micro-drone.
"2D Run Mixed Motion Project": X-Factor Category Winner (2017)
An original run that follows an athlete performing various stunts.
"Family Island": Dronie Category Winner (2017)
Yes, drones have their selfie equivalent, but they are much more interesting.
"Afterglow": Best in Show Winner (2016)
Glowing free-riders at night.
"Superman With a Gopro": Narrative and Best in Show Winner (2015)
A GoPro camera mounted on Superman with better VFX than the original movie from the 80s.
https://vimeo.com/121669160
"Drone Parkour": Extreme Sports Category Winner (2017)
Don’t try this at home.
"Drone Star Wars": Narrative Category Winner (2017)
George Lucas would approve of this performance.
"I Wont Let You Down": X-Factor Winner (2015)
An impressive choreography.
https://vimeo.com/121681931
The next edition of the festival will take place in March 2019. Submissions are open until January 7.
The dronie was cool but there's some post production trickery going on here :) It's not flown in one continuous backwards shot. Can't say exactly but it looks like he's done a combination of flying backwards, taken a photo, zoomed in, flown backwards out of the house and then used video... or something like that! Great work none the less :)
Seems like trickery but I assure you that its all skill. Once he gets out of the house its pretty simple drone shot but the combination of all of the challenges makes it epic. The filmmaker, Florian Fischer, has made many epic dronies in the past. ;)
Yeah I agree, lots of skill but mostly in post production and planning rather than flying in this particular video. I'm just saying, this wasn't flown in one shot as it would seem at first.
Awesome inspiring videos. Although to be honest I was surprised to see the Mexican airport video there. IMHO it was not well filmed - lots of hard turns; and the lighting conditions were everything but interesting.
But the rest of the videos - hats down. My favorite is the Audi ad.
It's true that this video is clearly behind in technical terms (it's also from 2015, a century ago for drone technology) but the appeal comes from the fact that the pilot was able to fly very close to active airliners. It's a unique point of view. In any case, this is just a personal selection.
Yes, I know but my point is that if you’re gonna grant someone a free flight pass, wouldn’t you want to pick someone with experience who can shoot smooth? But you’re right, it is very unique to see planes from that POV.
On a different note, one day I talked to a self employed photographer in my town who was flying a drone taking pictures for his client at like 2 PM with very harsh sun. Seems crazy that someone gets paid for shooting in less than favorable conditions. I’m not a professional but even I know when it’s better not to shoot. Oh well, what the hell do I know. Nice post. Always nice to see great drone footage.