AirVuz Announces Winners of the 2023 Drone Video Contest
European drone production companies aeroCircus and Skynamic take home top honors in the 2023 AirVuz Drone Video Awards.
Minneapolis, Minnesota - AirVuz, the premier platform for drone enthusiasts and aerial content creators, proudly announces the winners of the 2023 Drone Video of the Year and FPV Video of the Year. Aerial videography company aeroCircus was named winner of the Drone Video of the Year for their "SHOWREEL 2023🕹🚁🎬", while another drone filming company, Skynamic Drone, won the FPV Video of the year for their reel, "FPV Demoreel". Prizes for the event were furnished by DJI SkyPixel, the leading consumer drone manufacturer.
Drone Video of the Year: aeroCircus Takes the Crown with "Showreel 2023"
In a triumph of creativity and technical mastery, aeroCircus soared to victory with their exceptional video "Showreel 2023." This winning entry seamlessly blended stunning landscapes, intricate maneuvers, and captivating storytelling, setting a new standard for excellence in the drone video genre.
"Still speechless… Bringing the award to Munich for the second time makes me particularly humble, especially in these times for the film industry worldwide" claimed aeroCircus after finding out about their win. aeroCircus also mentioned how much the AirVuz community has meant to them saying, "Since its launch, AirVuz has offered us, professional drone pilots, content creators and aerial enthusiasts, a highly professional platform for exchange, inspiration and networking. The AirVuz community, of which I have been a convinced member for years, follows the drone video contest with enthusiasm, because we not only position our works, but also gain new impulses from the great works of other colleagues around the globe.""
For winning Drone Video of the Year, aeroCircus has won a DJI prize package sponsored by SkyPixel, that included a DJI Mavic Pro 3 Fly More Combo with DJI RC.
In addition to the 2023 Drone Video of the Year win by aeroCircus, AirVuz also awarded 3 finalists awards in this category to Bashir AbuShakra, Timelab.pro, and Florian Ledoux. As finalists, these winners will each receive a DJI Mini 4 Pro 4 with DJI RC 2 provided by DJI/SkyPixel.
FPV Video of the Year: Skynamic Drone Thrills with "FPV Demoreel"
Skynamic Drone emerged as the champion in the FPV category with their exhilarating video "FPV Demoreel." The dynamic footage and daring maneuvers showcased in this video demonstrated unparalleled skill in FPV drone piloting, earning Skynamic Drone well-deserved acclaim as the FPV Video of the Year winner.
"We feel humbled to be recognized by the AirVuz community in such an overwhelming way. said Gabriel Manz of Skynamic Drone." He goes on to say, "thanks again to the drone [community] and let's make 2024 count."
For winning Drone Video of the Year, aeroCircus has won a DJI prize package sponsored by SkyPixel which included a pair of DJI Goggles 2 and two DJI O3 Air Units.
As the recipients of the prestigious titles, aeroCircus and Skynamic Drone join an illustrious group of visionaries who have redefined the possibilities of aerial cinematography. Their videos stood out among an impressive array of submissions, reflecting the essence of innovation and storytelling that defines the AirVuz community.
Judges for this year's contest were a mixture of creators, drone pilots, directors, writers/bloggers and social media Influencers. Last year's Drone Video of the Year Winner, Reme Morales was one of those judges this year. When asked about what it was like judging instead of being one of the eligible nominees he said, "The talent in this drone production industry keeps getting better and better, and we saw that first hand with this year's AirVuz Drone Video of the Year contest."
AirVuz President and CEO Mike Israel said "picking the winning videos for 2023 was no easy task for our judges given the strength of the field. We are tremendously thankful that the AirVuz creator community continues to produce some of the world's highest-quality drone videos, and extend our congratulations to this past year's winners and finalists. Also, it was a pleasure to work for the first time with DJI Skypixel, who provided thousands of dollars of merchandise in prizes for this year's awards."
See the links below for full lists of nominees in each category:
All 2023 Drone Video of the Year Nominees
All 2023 FPV Drone Video of the Year Nominees
About AirVuz:
AirVuz is the largest online drone community, connecting enthusiasts and creators from around the world. Through a vibrant community-driven platform, AirVuz shares captivating drone content globally, with a presence on social media, as well as via Drone TV, found on free ad-supported television (FAST) and digital signage channels/ platforms.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Jacob Blaeser
Director of Media Relations, AirVuz
jacob.blaeser@airvuz.com
Judges
Reme
In the last 4 years, New York native Reme Morales has cemented himself as one of the top FPV drone pilots in the world. With a client roster that includes Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Fairmont, DJI, and Beautiful Destinations, Reme has quickly gathered world recognition for his smooth and viral-worthy FPV drone videography skills. Having experience flying all kinds of customized rigs and cameras on...
Nurk
From the moment Paul Nurkkala (aka "Nurk") received a drone for Christmas in 2014, the entire course of his life was forever changed. A trained software developer born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nurk has always loved the technical challenge of both building and racing drones. He couldn't have anticipated that his love of drones would mean he'd travel the world, including to Saudi Arabia, Iceland...
Phluxy
Chris Spangler, aka Phluxy, is a professional FPV pilot and member of BlazeAir Productions. He is a past member of the Drone Racing League, featured on ESPN and NBC Sports. Phluxy has also been a vital part of the AirVuz FPV team and co-host of the AirVuz FPV Pilot of the Month show. He was the focal point of the first season of AirVuz's Original Series "Behind the Goggles: Drones for Hire." From...
Sandrine Hecq
Sandrine Hecq is a 30-year-old female droner originally from South Africa and currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. Her passion lies in travel, and she extensively employs a drone to capture her experiences. Particularly drawn to the allure of the oceans, Sandrine takes pride in presenting the world from a perspective that transcends human eyes. With eight years of experience in drone...
Perk
Eric Perkins, better known as Perk, has been working in media for three decades. Most recently Perk can be seen hosting “Behind the Goggles: Drones for Hire” on AirVuz. Prior to that, he served as a longtime sports anchor at the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul where he won several Regional Emmy Awards and covered 5 Olympic Games for the...
Sally French
A southern California native, Sally is the social media editor at MarketWatch. She's a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia and has two degrees -- a Bachelor of Arts in German and a Bachelors of Journalism in International and Investigative Photojournalism. Also known as @TheDroneGirl, she has worked as a travel writer for NerdWallet, the NYTimes, MarketWatch. She is also a...
Chris Castor
Chris Castor is a filmmaker, VFX/motion graphics/traditional artist, and drone pilot based in Woodward, OK. Chris has quietly garnered awards and shared his drone tales at film festivals in New York City, LA, Frankfurt, AirVūz, and a few more places he never thought he'd go. He is the director and co-founder of the Thunderbird Drone Festival based in Woodward,...
MaiOnHigh
Lexie Janson is a 29-year-old Polish/Irish creator currently based in Australia. Her journey as a YouTuber started in 2015 when she decided to show her journey to ultimate freedom through videography, photography and FPV Drone racing. She is the only female flying car racing pilot in the world with Airspeeder, as well as an EVTOL test pilot, a FPV drone racing pilot, a content creator, and public...
Jay Seidel
Jay Seidel is professor and director of the Fullerton Drone Lab at Fullerton College. He has always had a passion for aviation, even as a member of the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager where he flew gliders and immersed himself in all things aviation. This, coupled with a passion for visual storytelling, is what led him to drones and to create the Fullerton Drone Lab at Fullerton College. Jay also...
SkyPixel Team
Founded in 2014, SkyPixel is a leading global community for aerial photographers and videographers. The platform has over 42 million registered users and hosts thousands of aerial images and videos uploaded daily by users around the world, with unique content reaching over 1 million...
Sam Pfeiffer
Sam Pfeiffer majored in film at Montana State University. While in dollege, and since graduation, Sam has been a DP, videographer, drone pilot, and creative on sets for HBO and MLB Network, and has also been a vocal part of marketing productions/strategies for companies such as Hard Rock Casino, Circa Las Vegas, Carnival Cruises, travel bureaus and many music festivals around the country. Sam is...
Mike Israel
Mike Israel is the founder, President and CEO of AirVuz, LLC. He is an avid drone enthusiast and RC pilot who founded AirVuz in 2015. He is also an enthusiast of geography and history, and loves writing about all of the amazing places where AirVuz community members fly. Prior to founding AirVuz, Mike was a Managing Director and co-founder of Mill City Capital L.P., a leading private equity firm...