I attended the Third Annual NYC Drone Film Festival this year and I have to say I was beyond impressed with some of the work I saw. I expected a lot of cinematic, crazy drone filming type stuff, but I was glad to see that there were a bunch of categories for all kinds of different drone work that was submitted. From all this, I was inspired to keep going out there and creating the work I do and maybe even submitting something myself for next year. Here are the winners of each category, check them out and enjoy some of the work that went into all this filming!
Extreme Sports:
https://vimeo.com/202783903
Giles Campbell Longley and Kie Williams shot with the DJI Inspire 1 and Zenmuse X5. Filmed in Ibiza, Spain.
Landscapes:
Wild Pacific Media shot with DJI Inspire 1, Zenmuse X5, and X5R, First Shot on RED but all drone work is Inspire. Filmed all over Australia.
Architecture:
BIGFLY shot with Gryphon Dynamics Redback x8 1200, DJI Ronin-M, and the Sony a7s ii filmed in Paimboeuf, France.
Featuring Drones:
ThisisTilt shot with a TBS Vendetta Racing Drone on location in Oslo, Norway.
X-Factor:
Ilko lliev and Marin Kafedjiiski shot with DJI Phantom 3 Pro. Filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Showreel:
KopterCam shot with Airborne KX-8 Heavy Lift, Gryphon Dynamics X8, DJI Inspire 1 Raw, Freefly Movi M15/M10/M5, Red Scarlet/Epic Dragon, and ARRI Alexa Mini. Filmed in Austria, Azberbaijan, Estonia, Finland, India, Lithuania, Morocco, United Arab Emirates.
News and Documentary:
Shadi Rahmi Youssif Hussein shot with Canon T3i, DJI Phantom 3, and Phantom 4. Filmed at Standing Rock #NoDAPL Protest Camp, North Dakota
Freestyle and FPV:
Robert Mcintosh shot with 3" Prop Micro Quad, GoPro Hero 4 Black, and ReelSteady Stablization. Filmed in Venice Beach, CA.
Grand Prize Winner:
Mixed Motion by Ilko lliev and Marin Kafedjiiski, winning a grand prize of a Red Epic Weapon and Freefly Alta 8!
Congrats to all of the winners and I encourage everyone out there to go drone and submit their content for next years NYC Drone Film Festival!
Too bad this will probably be the last time this event happens. With all the laws coming out that continually restrict how drones can/can't be used, and after the FAA finishes going after all the winners for flying commercially without the proper permits. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Debbie Downer but these laws are downright frustrating.
I'm up in Canada. I thought our Transport Canada was an understanding bunch until recently. They've just released rules that pretty much make it impossible to fly anywhere. Even over your own property (in the event you live within 9KM [5.5 miles] of an airport). Airports include heliports, hospitals, large bodies of water (lakes) where boat planes may land. You also can't fly within 75 meters [250ft] of buildings.
They say you can apply for special permits to allow a flight but the process takes months to be approved and there still is not guarantee you'll be approved. You could wait months to hear back that you've been denied. A similar situation to the US National Parks situation.