2019 New York City Drone Film Festival Winners

The NYC Drone film festival has become an annual celebration of drones. It's great to see quality piloting and cinematography being recognised on an international stage. We find the competition both exciting and inspiring in equal measures! Now in its 5th year, we take a look at the winning images and videos across the expanded categories of the NYC Drone Film Festival.

What is the NYC Drone Film Festival?

The 2019 New York City Drone Film Festival is a two day event held at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center (3rd March) and the Liberty Science Center (4th March) in New York city. Penned as 'the world's first event exclusively dedicated to celebrating the art of drone cinematography', it is an opportunity for drone filmmakers from around the world to come together to share their best work and network with other creators. The prizes are pretty special, last years winner taking away a Red Epic-W and a Freefly Alta8! Beyond the competition, there are a series of drone related panels, a drone racing experience and educational presentations covering all elements of the drone filming business. If you only watch one video from this article, make it this promotional advert for this years event! https://youtu.be/KlOGGSkFVTU

What is new for 2019

Amongst the new categories for 2019, Cinematic FPV is probably the one to watch. Incredible content has been created thanks to high level pilots mixing the latest stabilised Go Pro cameras with ludicrously powerful small drones. Interested to see how far things have come? Why not check out our article covering the 2017 event. You can learn more about this years event and see the full list of winners on the official website here.

2019 NYC Drone Film Festival Winners

Lets take a look at our favourites from this years winners:

MOABLASTR2

WINNER CINEMATIC FPV CATEGORY & ALSO BEST IN SHOW 'Take an epic ride through the landscapes of Moab, UT and watch out for the unforgiving nature of the desert.' - Airblastr https://youtu.be/RHRiMQL7ZRE This short video links some incredible freestyle flying clips around Moab Utah National Park whilst a storm rolls in. This high speed exploration of the landscape at such a low level gets us really fired up and we feel it is a worthy winner! These shots would be nearly impossible to capture without the powerful almost 'gymnastic' performance that such a drone provides.

A Difference Perspective

WINNER : LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE CATEGORY 'I want to show how i see the world, through the lens that is. For two years i've been shooting this project Trying to hit the right whether conditions.' - Marcus Möller https://vimeo.com/309773798 This is one to watch on a big screen TV. Shot in 4K with the Inspire 2 (utilising both the X5 & X7 cameras) as well as a Mavic Pro 2, Marcus has captured some incredible landscapes throughout the year. We love how the pilot appears to have saved flight paths, recreated shots across seasons and mask-transitioned them together. His use of reflection and pacing are particularly noteworthy, as are his grading skills.

Lux Noctis

WINNER : STILL PHOTOGRAPHY CATEGORY 'Lux Noctis is a series of photographs depicting landscapes unbound by time and space, influenced by ideas of planetary exploration, 19th century sublime romantic painting, and science fiction. We are overwhelmed everyday by beautiful images of the familiar. I imagine these scenes transformed into undiscovered landscapes which renew our perceptions of our world.' - Reuben Wu [caption id="attachment_7985" align="aligncenter" width="749"] LUX NOCTIS by REUBEN WU[/caption] If you've ever wondered why there are so many people attaching hulking great LED spotlights to drones on youtube, this is what is possible! Whilst this lead image is very special, you absolutely have to check out the entire series on this website here. The images are truly breathtaking and we hope he offers them to buy as prints very soon!

I am drone

WINNER : NARRATIVE CATEGORY 'An edit I made for the RAMPAGE event that went down this past weekend (shout out to everyone who went! GOOD TIMES ). Cheers to great folks and friends.' -  Tommy Tabijia https://youtu.be/9MxHkON7vsg A slightly obscure video (with a narrative personifying the drone itself!) but one showcasing just how flexible a freestyle drone can be these days. From flying inside abandoned buildings, cutting through skyscrapers to chasing high powered sports cars on mountain roads. This guy can really fly!

Only. Going. Up

WINNER : SHOWREEL CATEGORY 'Any creator has battled with the process of making something interesting. Each shot in this film has its own story of struggles and successes in that effort. We are grateful to have the opportunity to create content with a talented crew all over the world, and we're especially grateful to all the clients that have had us along.' Jordan Overman (Override Films) https://vimeo.com/310026583 Its difficult creating a showreel so its nice to see a passionate narrative to mix things up. This mixes some beautiful shots with some heartfelt storytelling in one of the more varied showreels we have come across; A worthy winner.

Washed Up

WINNER: DRONIE CATEGORY 'Taken in Reynisfjara, Iceland on my DJI Mavic Pro. The water was 43 degrees.' - Ani Acopian https://vimeo.com/238460429 Lastly, a very short clip, but perhaps the ultimate dronie? We love the contrast, not to mention the dedication to be taken out to sea in 6 degree waters!

We want to see what you can do!

We’re always interested to see what our readers and customers get up to with their drones.  If you have been involved in any interesting or innovative projects with your drone, tag us on social media or drop us a line in the comments below, we’d love to check it out.

RC Geeks : Drone Enthusiasts

If these videos have got you inspired to have a go yourself, why not pick up a drone today? We sell basic drones with cameras from as little as £40 right up to the £3000 DJI Inspire 2 used in some of the above films!