Drone Video of the Week - 2020 Winners

Top AirVuz contributor Eaglewood Pictures brings us this marvelous drone tour of an island archipelago off the Norwegian coast.  Træna is a municipality which consists of about a thousand (mostly) tiny islands, of which only four are inhabited.  Lying well to the south of the better-known Lofoten Islands, Træna is part of a historical region known as Helgeland which is essentially the southern portion of Nordland County, the southernmost of the three counties of Northern Norway. 

Epic indeed. That is definitely the most appropriate adjective to describe this DVOW Finalist piece from Iceland by new AirVuz contributor Gaui H Pic. Some of the locations featured in the video include Kirkjufell Mountain on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula west of Reykjavik (:27), th volcanic craters around Lake Blahylur (:35), a massive glacier field (1:05), and the great rock arch of Dyrhólaey near the town of Vik (1:20).  You'll also see some of the country's famous waterfalls, its black sand beaches, and much more.  

Check out this jaw-dropping drone video of holiday-festooned Moscow, Russia by new AirVuz contributor pushkinflyteam.  The video opens with an epic shot of the Kremlin and the adjacent St. Basil's Cathedral, the aesthetic heart of Europe's largest city.  The focus of much of the rest of the video is in and around Red Square, the city's largest public gathering place.  Located just north of the Kremlin, the square takes on an almost other-worldly look during the Christmas season, replete with a giant ice-skating rink.  

Contributor and DVOW winner Boyanoo is one of the top content creators on AirVuz, and also one of the most well-traveled.  In this stunning piece, he put together a fabulous aerial collage of his travels around the world in 2019. Highlights include footage from the tiny North Atlantic Faroe Islands, the Portuguese island of Madeira, the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, the fabled Greek Aegean Sea island of Mykonos, the storied Tuscany and Sardinia regions of Italy, the Philippines, and more.    

MV Agusta is one of the most storied names in motorcycles.  Based in Milan, the company collaborated with two-time Drone Video Award winner Timelab.pro to produce this magnificent piece from the mountains of northern Italy.  You'll aerially follow an Agusta bike through some of the world's most beautiful scenery, and then do things no bike will ever do, like soar through the peaks of the Dolomites, or skim over shimmering alpine lakes.  Filmed in the Fall, the video is expertly color-graded in the vaunted Timelab style.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor Makhorov brings us this DVOW-winning piece from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far Eastern region, between the Sea of Ohotsk and the Bering Sea. Opening with some epic shots of the peninsula's stunning coastline, most of the video was shot in the largely volcano-covered interior of the region. The video includes footage of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the highest Eurasian volcano with a peak elevation of about 4.75k meters above sea level (roughly 15.6k ft.). 

AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Tobias Hägg is regarded as one of the world's top travel photographers; his AirPixels Instagram account has well over a half million followers as of early 2020.  In his fabulous 2019 drone reel, you will be taken over some of the most beautiful natural landscapes on earth. In addition to scenes from his native Scandinavia, you'll fly over the karst mountains of Southeastern China, the vast Arabian Desert, and the stunning peaks of the Italian Alps. This video won DVOW in February 2020.

For his second upload to AirVuz, new contributor Tom Rad brings us this magnificent reel featuring aerial highlights from his travels around the world.  Opening with a shot from the South Pacific island nation of Vanatu, you'll then be taken over the medieval Croatian city of Dubrovnik, a pod of whales somewhere in the Pacific, the Croatian island of Hvar, and Italy's Amalfi Coast. Other spots include some Australian beaches, the Croatian town of Makarska, and much more.  The footage was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone.  

Award-winning contributor Florian Ledoux used some of his best drone footage from earth's polar regions to put together this outstanding piece which won DVOW in February 2020. He skillfully uses the backdrop of shrinking glaciers and melting icebergs to remind us how these eco-systems - which hold the vast majority of the earth's freshwater - are to global climate change. The video features jaw-dropping footage from Greenland, Antarctica, the Canadian province of Nunavut, the Svalbard Islands of Northern Norway, and Iceland.

Brand-new AirVuz contributor expeditionsouth hit a "bullseye" with this spectacular drone video from Bolivia. He spent two months criss-crossing this landlocked South American country with a Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle and a DJI Mavic Pro drone. The DVOW winning video features footage from both the portion of the country covered by the Andes Mountains system as well as the northern portion, which is part of the Amazon River Basin. Check out the amazing aerials of the Uyuni Salt Flats, the "train cemetery", the Altiplano, and much more.  

Check out this magnificent round-the-world drone reel by top AirVuz contributor FrameworkFilms.  The video features highlights from ten years' worth of aerial videography work from Europe and North America, including (in order of appearance) San Francisco's Bay Bridge, downtown Manhattan, southern Iceland, the Shiprock formation in the Southwestern USA, downtown Los Angeles, Mexico's ruins of Chichen Itza, the Chicago River, the Seattle Space Needle, the Faroe Islands, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and more. This video won DVOW in March 2020.

Ravaged by the worldwide Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, Italy went into a virtual national quarantine in mid-March, 2020. The emergency actions, desperately needed to stem an outbreak claiming hundreds of lives a day, effectively closed one of the world's most beautiful countries to international and even domestic travelers. To help us all remember what awaits when the epidemic recedes, new AirVuz contributor Ale_headshot brings us this wonderful aerial collage of Italy before the epidemic took hold here. This video won DVOW in March 2020.

Top contributor and pilot haussmannvisuals brings us these eerie aerial views of the German financial capital of Frankfurt in the latter part of March, 2020, as the worldwide Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic caused a virtual shutdown of activity across much of Europe.  As the German case count mushroomed from just over 100 at the beginning of the month to nearly 20,000 in just three weeks, the state and federal governments took increasingly active measures to impose social distancing as a means to control the spread of the disease.  

Check out this magnificent video from the Portuguese island of Madeira, compliments of Drone Video Award winner videobros. Shot just before much of Portugal went into lockdown to combat the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic, the video plays upon the cloudcover which prevented the creator from hiking to the top of Pico Ruivo, the island's highest mountain. "Behind the Clouds" is a metaphor for the uncertainty faced by humanity as the deadly virus disrupts the lives of billions around the globe.  This video won DVOW in April 2020.

Check out this DVOW winning international travel reel by brand-new AirVuz contributor Lancelot.Tintignies. Shot over the course of a year, the video features footage from France, Iceland, Faroe Island, Brazil, Hong Kong and Australia.  Some of the highlights include the famous Hallgrímskirkja Church in Reykjavik (Iceland) at the :23 mark, a great sequence of top-down shots starting at :38; some shots of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris starting at 1:04, a nighttime view of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor (1:20), and more.

Drone pilot Rickdebenedetto shows the great city of Buenos Aires, Argentina under a nationwide quarantine to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020.  While the country didn't reach its first 100 confirmed cases until the third week of March, a nationwide quarantine was declared on March 19.  With most of the confirmed cases concentrated in and around the national capital, one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in South America came to resemble a virtual ghost-town.  This video earned a nomination in the Lockdown category at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Prepare to be blown away by these wintertime drone views of Iceland, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Siggizoom.  Despite the vanishingly short winter days, the North Atlantic island nation has a surprisingly mild winter climate given its northern latitude.  This is particularly true in its coastal areas, which is where most of the footage in the video was shot.   The DVOW winning video features jaw-dropping aerial views of this winter wonderland, which is virtually devoid of tourists during the winter months.  

Top AirVuz contributor Ghadir Shaar, a Finalist for the Drone Video Awards for his video from the United Arab Emirates, created this DVOW winning piece from a different Middle Eastern country: Jordan. Created in collaboration with the Jordan Tourism Board, the video opens with footage from the other-worldly Wadi Rum Desert. Other highlights include the Citadel of Amman at the :47 mark, the shores of the Dead Sea (:55), the great Petra ruins complex in the Arabah Valley (1:30), the amphitheater ruins at Jerash (1:42), and more.  

Prepare to be blown away by this stunning 60-second dronelapse piece from Florence, Italy, compliments of top contributor iDrone Aerials.  This DVOW winning video opens with epic footage of the most well-known landmark in this city: the Florence Cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo.  This is followed by a magnificent shot looking over the Arno River, the main waterway in the city which gave birth to the Renaissance.  Other highlights include a great shot of the Basilica of the Holy Cross at the :23 mark and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge (:50).

Check out this DVOW winning demo reel from new AirVuz contributor and professional aerial videographer Corey BNC.  His drone video footage has appeared on numerous TV shows including "Dickinson" and "Little America" on Apple TV, "The Loudest Voice" on SHOWTIME, and "Paradise Lost" on Spectrum TV.  The reel features an excellent mix of urban, landscape, and action shots, ranging from the skyscrapers of downtown Denver, Colorado to some incredible bridge shots to some incredible car racing footage; it's well worth a watch.  

Award-winning contributor and pilot Bachir_Photo_Phactory brings us this DVOW winning reel from Dubai, the most well-known of the seven emirates that make up the Middle Eastern nation of the United Arab Emirates.  The video opens with some great footage of some of the natural landscapes which surround Dubai's namesake capital, including the Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary.  Heading into the great city itself, you'll be treated to aerial views of sights as varied as a helicopter landing, an amusement park, pleasure boat traffic, and more.  

Panvelet is one of the top contributors in the AirVuz community; his video of Shanghai called "24 Hours" won the "Originality" category at the second annual Drone Video Awards, and he's since been picked as a Drone Video of the Week Finalist multiple times.  All good reasons to check out the stunning drone reel uploaded by this very talented creator.  Expertly edited, the video features a mix of shots from various countries around the world, ranging from the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, and Los Angeles to a partially-submerged submarine.  

Several-time Drone Video of the Week Finalist Makhorov brings us this stunning drone video from Russia's Altai Mountains, home of some of the world's most remote and beautiful scenery.  The range, which runs through southern Siberia and also covers portions of China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, has peaks as high as 4.5k meters above sea level (14.8k ft.).  Sparsely populated and studded with a number of giant lakes, the Altai's are famously difficult to access (particularly from within Russia) due to a lack of passes.    

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Beemflights brings us this breathtaking drone video from one of the most iconic sites in the Netherlands.  The location is near the town of Zaanse Schans in the province of North Holland, just west of the city of Amsterdam.  Part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, the area is famous for its collection of Dutch windmills.  The windmills of Zaanse Schans are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands. This video won DVOW in June 2020.  

Check out this absolutely magnificent drone video of Chile's Atacama Desert, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot nevinxavier.  The Atacama runs in a north-south direction for a length of about 1k km (around 600 mi.) along Chile's west coast, with small portions in Peru and Bolivia.  Covering an area of roughly 105k square km (a bit over 40k square mi.), it's considered part of the Andes system.  In terms of aridity and lack of temperature variation, it's considered the most "perfect" desert.  This was a DVOW Winner in June, 2020.

Prepare to be blown away by this drone video from the republic of Dagestan in Southern Russia by Drone Video of the Month Winner DiamondSky.  With its eastern border on the Caspian Sea, most of the Muslim-majority Federal Subject (essentially, province) is covered by the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, which divide Europe from Asia.  The focus of the video is Dagestan's interior, whose rock formations, canyons, waterfalls, and other features make for some of the finest natural scenery in all of Russia.  

AirVuz contributor inigui is one of the top content creators on AirVuz, with multiple Drone Video of the Week Finalist spots to his name.  Not surprisingly, his latest compilation reel is a cinematic experience to behold.  The video features footage from around the world; in just the first half-minute, you'll be treated to some epic footage of a flock of flamingoes on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the idyllic beaches of Palawan in the Philippines, the skyscrapers of Mexico City, and an epic shot of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.  

Top contributor vitaliy.karpovich garnered another DVOW Finalist spot in July, 2020 with this stunning drone tour of Bruges, Belgium.  The capital of West Flanders, Bruges is connected to the North Sea via canal.  Founded in 1128, it went on to become one of the world's most important cities, serving  as the hub through which the northern Hanseatic League towns traded with the ports of Southern Europe.  Eventually losing its position to Antwerp, its fortunes revived in the 1800's as one of the world's first tourist destinations.

AirVūz contributor DroneProduction.ru spent two weeks in the North Atlantic island nation of Iceland, capturing an astonishing 2 terabytes worth of video footage.  She then used this raw material - captured with a DJI Inspire 2, a Mavic Pro 2, and a Sony a9 ground camera - to create this stunning video of some of the world's most beautiful scenery.   The video, which won the Drone Video of the Week contest and earned a nomination at the 6th annual New York City Drone Film Festival, features truly epic shots from across the island.

Multiple Drone Video of the Week nominee and winner Mauro Pagliai created this remarkable aerial film of Italy's capital city of Rome, an early epicenter in the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. In this incredible production, this talented aerial cinematographer reveals the gentle re-awakening of the historic city from the quarantining and lockdown measures enacted due to the devastating outbreak. His incredible edit of these slowly filling streets was not surprisingly crowned as the Drone Video of the Week winner in July 2020. 

Check out this DVOW Winning video from Norway, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Jan Barančík - DronistaCZ.  The video was shot over thirty days of exploring this Scandinavian country, home of some of the world's most beautiful natural scenery.  Featured locations include Preikestolen (aka the "Pulpit Rock"), Trolltunga, Geiranger Fjord, the Lofoten Islands, Nigardsbreen, Månafossen, Senja, Jotunheimen National Park, Trollstigen, the Vøringsfossen Waterfall, Atlantic Ocean Road, Tromsø, and more.  
 

Get a comprehensive aerial tour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in this fantastic drone video by top AirVuz contributor el gringo rojo.  This DVOW winning video was shot over the course of a five-week stay in Brazil's second-largest city and cultural capital.  The video features footage from hikes to the Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue, Pedra Bonita, and Dois Irmoas.  You'll also be treated to footage of the aqueducts in Lapa, the Museum of Tomorrow, Parque Lage, and Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao De Azucar), as well as some of Rio's famous beaches. 

Prepare to be blown away by this action reel by Skynamic, a company founded by several top German drone pilots and camera operators.  The video is full of cinema-quality drone footage, all of which has been paired with some equally impressive production.  The video's focus is technically complex action shots, such as battle scenes (including some incredible footage of racing tanks), car races, exploding vehicles, and more; there's even a shot of what appears to be a DHL delivery drone. This video won the Showreel category at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Prepare to be blown away by this magnificent drone video of Mexico's ancient city of Teotihuacan, compliments of award-winning contributor Postandfly.  Located about 40 km (around 25) northeast of central Mexico City, Teotihuacan was the center of a Mesoamerican civilization which pre-dated the Mayan and Aztec civilizations by centuries and the Spanish arrival in the Western Hemisphere by over 1,500 years.  At its height around 500 AD, the city was the largest in the Americas and one of the half-dozen largest in the world.  

The Lakes District of North West England is home to some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the United Kingdom.  Much of the area is covered by the Lake District National Park, which covers almost 2.4k square km (around 900 square mi.) and is the second-oldest of the UK's National Parks.  Using his DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Sony a6300, AirVūz contributor Marian Peciar was able to capture timelapse and aerial footage of one of England's most popular travel destinations; this video was a Drone Video of the Week winner in August, 2020. 

With multiple Drone Video of the Week/Month wins to his name, Muhamad AbuShakra is one of the top content creators in the AirVuz community.  That alone should make this video he created from Iceland worth a watch.  Spending a week on this North Atlantic island nation during August, 2020, with tourists few and far between due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it's a masterpiece.  Among the many highlights are stunningly cinematic shots of the Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfall, the famous Fjadrargljufur Canyon, volcanic fields, and more. 

Check out this stunning captioned tour of Slovakia by top contributor HikeTheWorld.  Combining drone and ground camera footage, the video by the multiple DVOW Winner features footage from 30 top destinations in this Central European country, including Ľubovňa and Bojnice Castles; the town of Banská Štiavnica; the Súľov Rocks; the Western Tatras; the city of Bardejov; Devín Castle; Lednica Castle; the High Tatras; the Little Carpathians; Spiš Castle; the cities of Bratislava, Kremnica, and Košice; Orava Castle; Čachtice Castle; and more. 

Prepare to be both inspired and amazed by this DVOW winning video from the Alps Mountains, compliments of top AirVuz contributor BashirAbuShakra.  The former Drone Video of the Month Winner has spent three years exploring some of the most remote reaches of the great chain, home to some of the world's most beautiful mountain scenery.  Some of the most amazing footage includes shots of himself, which he uses to demonstrate the scale of these gigantic peaks.  It's an amazing piece, one that is certain to activate your wanderlust.  

Italy's Dolomites are a dream for ambitious first person view (FPV) mountain surfers - relatively accessible, their spectacular jagged peaks are made for cinematic video capture via FPV mini-drones.  That's exactly what contributor Drone My Life did in making this incredible piece.  The video combines footage from a gimbal-stabilized aerial videography platform with some adrenaline-drilled FPV footage.  Featuring some of the best Dolomites mountain surfing shots we've seen, this video made the FPV Pilots to Watch and won DVOW in September, 2020.  

Check out this amazing aerial tour of Florence, Italy by top AirVūz contributor Alta Movie srl.  The video opens with an excellent shot of the Ponte Vecchio, one of the world's most famous bridges, which crosses the Arno River in the heart of the Tuscan capital.  From there you'll fly past the great tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, followed by the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the adjacent Giotto's Bell Tower, concluding with some night shots of the city. This video was picked as the Drone Video of the Week in October 2020.
 

Former Drone Video Award Winner panvelvet brings us this spectacular DVOW winning video from Shanghai, as the great city was lit up by a massive laser show to celebrate the 70th birthday of the People's Republic of China.  Part of the video was shot from the Bund on the western side of the Hunagpu River looking toward the skyscrapers of the ultra-modern Pudong district on the river's opposite side.  Other parts were shot from Pudong itself, with some magnificent footage of some of the world's tallest skyscrapers lit up by lasers.  

Two-time Drone Video Award Winner and 2020 New York City Drone Film Festival Multi-Finalist Timelab.Pro brings us this masterpiece from western Switzerland.  The video features stunning footage of spots throughout the region known variously as Romandy and French-Speaking Switzerland.  Opening with shots of the mighty Bernese Alps, the piece then takes you to the giant glacier-fed Émosson Dam, the great Chillon Castle on (the also glacial-fed) Lake Geneva; from there you'll head to the lake's namesake city; the de facto regional capital . 

The geography of Romania is largely defined by the Carpathian Mountains.  The great range dominates the landscape of the northern and central parts of the country, defining the boundaries of the region of Transylvania.  The various sub-ranges of the Carpathians in Romania also offer some of Europe's most captivating alpine scenery.  To see what we mean, check out this fantastic drone video of the Romanian Carpathians by top AirVuz contributor and pilot Eaglewood Pictures.  This video won Drone Video of the Week in October 2020.

Top AirVūz contributor and drone pilot AndriThor created this amazing aerial tour of Iceland, home to some of the world's most remarkable natural scenery.  Watch it and you will immediately understand why this small North Atlantic island nation has become a top destination for drone pilots around the world.  See the waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, and miles of pristine landscape in this aerial film. This video was picked as the Winner of the Drone Video of the Week contest in November of 2020. 

Check out this drone video from the heart of German-speaking Switzerland, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot Dronescapes by Atellani.  The video was filmed around a trio of spots near Lake Interlaken in the cantons of Bern and Oberwalden: Hasliberg, Meiringen and Engstlenalp.   The video from the former Drone Video of the Week Finalist features footage of mountain passes such as the Susten Pass, Furka Pass, Neufen Pass and Grimsel Pass, as well as mountains such as the Eiger and the Mittelhorn.   

Brand-new AirVuz contributor and pilot GTDRONE brings us this DVOW winning demo reel from Poland.  The reel features a great mix of landscape and action shots from across this giant Central European country.  It contains footage from the length and breadth of Poland, ranging from the sand spits of the country's northern coast on the Baltic Sea, to the plains which cover much of northern interior Poland, to the snow-covered peaks of the Carpathian Mountains in the southern part of the country.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Dronographer brings us this stunning drone video of Austria's Wachau Valley.  Crossed by the Danube River, the Wachau is one of the most popular destinations in Lower Austria, the northeastern region of this Central European country.  The video, which won Drone Video of the Week, features footage from the following locations in Wachau, which has been inhabited since Prehistoric times: Krems an der Donau, Melk, the Benedictine Göttweig Abbey, Weißenkirchen in the Wachau, Dürnstein Castle, and more.  

Contributor davidaguilar is one of the top content creators in the AirVuz community; as of November, 2020, he's won the Drone Video of the Week on three separate occasions, and his piece "Magic Iceland" was the People's Choice winner at the second annual Drone Video Awards.  All good reasons to watch this magnificent video he created from the French and Swiss Alps.  Shot with a DJI Mavic Air drone at the height of the Fall color season, the video provides epic glimpses of some of the world's most beautiful scenery.  

In this DVOW winning video, Tempostudio takes you on an aerial tour of the giant Eastern European country of Ukraine.  The video opens with some beautiful shots of a river coursing over the plains which dominate much of Ukraine, followed by a view of a gold-domed temple in the village Zhornivka in the Kiev Oblast.  Next, you'll head to the capital city of Kiev for some stunning views of the St. Sophia's Cathedral.  You'll see some great bird footage at the :52 mark, the Carpathian Mountains (1:15), rolling farmlands (2:15), and more. 

Multiple DVOW Winner haussmannvisuals has compiled some of his best footage from traveling around the world, featuring the following locations (in order of appearance): Frankfurt, Germany; the Big Island of Hawaii; the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia; Hohenzollern Castle, Germany; Hong Kong; Eltz Castle, Germany; the Faroe Islands; Iceland; Großer Feldberg, Germany; Troina, Sicily; Cochem, Germany; Croatia; Appenzell, Switzerland; Lofoten, Norway; the Dolomite Mountains, Italy; Senja, Norway; Maui, Hawaii; Syracuse, Sicily; and more.

Prepare to be amazed by this spectacular drone reel from brand-new contributoe Johnny Copter.  The video features footage from four continents: North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.  You'll be treated to epic mountain shots from the mighty Andes to the rocky peaks of the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, interspersed with shots of landmarks like Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavaria region of southern Germany.  Other shots feature deserts, waterfalls, karst hills somewhere in Southeast Asia, and a flock of flamingoes.