Drone Video of the Week - 2019 Winners

Top contributor Muhamad AbuShakra used a DJI Mavic Pro 2 to create this spectacular aerial video of some of the most beautiful alpine scenery in Europe.   It was shot in the course of a weeklong trip through the Northern Limestone Alps of Bavaria in southern Germany and Tyrol in western Austria.  These peaks, which reach up to about 3k meters (about 10k ft.) are as spectacular as the taller mountains of the Pennine and Graian Alps to the south and west. This was a DVOW winner in May, 2019.

This fantastic showreel by al_ca_la features a wide variety of scenes and shots, showing he put his DJI Inspire2 and ZenmuseX7 to good use. He includes underwater scenes, close-ups and wide shots of sleek cars, hyperlapses of cities and skyscrapers including the infamous strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, beautiful waterfalls, flamingos, people, and more. The editing techniques keep the pace moving while the shots speak for themselves.

Shot on the ever popular and always impressive Mavic Air drone, this four-minute tour of the Pacific island nation of Japan by contributor nauj is fantastic. The country's origins trace back to pre-historic civilization, seeing it with modern technology is quite the treat! From the volcanos to the snowcapped forests, towering Buddhist structures to the sea's endless horrizon, you get a miniature tour of the amazing country in this drone video, which was a Nominee for the Drone Video of the Week and Month.

Check out this amazing drone video of a small but ecologically important island of Panama in Central America, which won Drone Video of the Week in March 2019.  Isla Escudo de Veraguas lies off of Panama's eastern (Caribbean) coastline, in the Golfo de los Mosquitos.  Only a little over 4 square km (about a square mile), the tiny island is the only known remaining natural habitat of a rare fruit bat called Thomas's fruit-eating bat and an equally rare Pygmy three-toed sloth.   Both species are considered to be critically endangered.  

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Seven Roads Media said he wanted to create a video without a narrative so each viewer could be inspired however they chose to be. The stunning top-downs, breathy still shots, and exciting angles will certainly leave you feeling inspired to fly, travel, and more.  With locations ranging from the Faroe Islands to the Southwestern USA, and filming sequences ranging from landscapes to epic action shots, it's no wonder that this video was picked as a Drone Video of the Week Winner in April, 2019. 

When you hear the word “Tuscany” you are immediately flooded with thoughts of rolling hillsides, miles of Italian Cypress trees, historic cities with red rooftops, and (of course) wine. You’ll see all of those Tuscan images in this drone video by iOlti Films. Shot in cinematic, 4K quality on the Mavic 2 Zoom, it is four and a half minutes of pure Tuscan-countryside beauty. Read their description to learn more about the Italian region. This video was a Drone Video of the Week winner in April, 2019.

New Zealand is one of the most visually interesting and dynamic islands in the world. This incredible 4K aerial film by traveladdicted, a DVOW winner in April 2019, explores some of the incredible locations on the country's North Island.  Featured locations include Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula, on the western end of the Bay of Plenty; Cape Reinga on the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the island; Tangarino National Park, of "Lord of the Rings" fame, and more. 

Check out this amazing drone video of Kazakhstan by baikenxx, a Drone Video of the Week and Month Winner in April 2019.  From the southern part of the country it includes footage of Sauran and Otyrar, the Akmeshit cave, the mausoleums of Arystan Bab and Kozha of Ahmed Yassawi. From western Kazakhstan you'll see footage of the Caspian Sea, the sacred sites of Becket Ata and Aday Ata. In the central part of the country, it has footage of Ulytau mountain and flamingos in the Korgalzhynsky Reserve. 

The aerial showreel is a collection of an aerial cinematographer’s best work.  AirVuz conributor and drone pilot martins_nc’s drone reel includes some incredibly appealing views and a variety of shots, including top-downs, rotating pans, reveals, and tracking shots. Locations include the islands of the South Pacific and around the world, featuring city skylines, crystal clear waters, fields of vegetation, and an abandoned church. This video was voted as the Drone Video of the Week in May, 2019.

Prepare to be blown away by this collage of winter aerial views of Russia's Lake Baikal, compliments of top contributor and drone pilot DroneProduction.ru.  The video opens with an epic shot of some giant rock formations of this natural wonder in Siberia, the world's largest freshwater lake by water volume.  From there, you'll be taken over the frozen lake and its shoreline to see, among other things, some epic "drifting" action as well as an ice hovercraft (starting at about :50!).  This video won DVOW in May 2019.

Top contributor Mauro Paglia used a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to create this stunning aerial view of L'Aquila, an important city in the Abruzzo region of Italy.   L'Aquila is situated in the eponymously named province, in the Apennine Mountains which run down the country's "spine".  With a population of about 75,000, it's the provincial and regional capital.  The video captures the city when it was lit up in pink for the Giro d'Italia 2019, the Italian version of the Tour de France. This video won DVOW in May 2019.

Check out this epic 4K video of Hong Kong compliments of top contributor and pilot hamza_mujtaba.  Shot using both a DJI Mavic Pro 2 and a ground camera, it offers something for everyone - shots of the city from the mountains behind it, epic views of the harbor, and scenes from the streets of this cosmopolitan city on the Pearl River Delta.  It even has footage from some of the outlying islands of Hong Kong, administered as a semi-autonomous region of China since 1997.  This video won DVOW in May 2019.

Top contributor Majestic has mastered the art of the dronelapse - ie, timelapse sequences captured via drone.  In this video, he put together a stunning dronelapse collage of three of the Hawaiian islands.   On the island of Oahu, he picks up some stunning sequences from Honolulu as well as from its North Shore.  From Maui, you'll see some beautiful footage from Kaanapali, on the island's western coast.  Finally, from Kauai, the video features some epic sequences from its famed Napali Coast. This video won DVOW in June 2019.

DVA winner Timelab.pro created this stunning drone video of two Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers powering through the ice-covered Barents Sea.  Fifty Years of Victory and the Yamal are the only two active Arctica-class icebreakers.  These double-hulled vessels are just under 150 meters (486 ft.) long and displace about 25k tons.  Their two OK900A nuclear reactors produce an incredible 340MW of power, enough "juice" to fully supply a medium-sized city. This video won the X-Factor category at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Luanda is the capital of the southwestern African nation of Angola. The port city was founded in 1575 by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais.  Situated on the northern part of Angola's Atlantic coastline, Luanda is considered the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world.  Pilot ArturCarvalho brings us Luanda at dusk by DJI Mavic 2 Pro in this stunning high-definition video of the city, the center of a metropolitan area of about 8 million.  This video was selected as the winner of the Drone Video of the Week award in June of 2019.

Award-winning contributor Postandfly created this stunning aerial tour of the Mexican state of Chiapas, which won the Drone Video of the Week in July, 2019.  Home to a highly diverse landscape, Chiapas lies in the heart of the old Mayan Empire which covered much of what is now southern Mexico.  Featured locations include San Cristobal de las Casas, the Agua Azul waterfalls, the coffee plantations and the jungle near Tapachula, the Montebello Lakes, the port of Tapachula, Sumidero Canyon, and El Chiflon waterfall. 

The Southeast European country of Montenegro has seen fairly dramatic growth in tourism in recent years. The rugged mountains, medieval villages and beaches along the Adriatic Sea make it an obvious choice for travelers looking to take in all coastal Europe has to offer. Contributor and DVOW winner HikeTheWorld, shows us the Top 10 destinations in Montenegro by drone in this stunning video. Locations featured in the video include the Bay of Kotor, Tara Canyon, and Budva’s walled Old Town, and more.

You can see why top content creator and pilot Muhamad AbuShakra calls Switzerland the most beautiful country in Europe after watching this drone video. He spent nine days in the country taking his drone through the snow covered Swiss Alps, over the turquoise blue lake, through the quaint villages and beyond. Featured locations include Iseltwald, Appenzell, Steinsee, Faroglio, Ascher, Ticino, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, the Trift Bridge, and more.  This video won the Drone Video of the Week award in July of 2019.

Check out this stunning nighttime dronelapse of Kuwait City, compliments of contributor mungkey.  Situated near the middle of the country's Persian Gulf coastline, Kuwait City is home to about half the country's population.  The video includes some epic shots of the ball-shaped Kuwait Towers as well as Al Hamra Tower, the 80 floor architectural masterpiece which is the country's tallest skyscraper, standing 414 meters (about 1.35k ft.).  This video was picked as a DVOW winner in July, 2019.  

Here's a magnificent aerial tour of the Greek island of Crete, compliments of PureCreations.pl. The video features some amazing footage from along the coastline of the island, the Mediterranean's fifth largest. In addition to Crete's stunning beaches (including Balos Beach), the video features bird's eye views of some of the island's other hallmarks, such as its hilltop forts and shipwrecks. Other spots featured include the tiny island of Elafonisi, the capital city Heraklion, and more. This video won DVOW in July, 2019.

The historic region of the Scottish Highlands are seen from a bird's eye perspective in this dramatic drone video by Drone Video Awards' winning pilot davidaguilar. He’s taken his DJI Mavic Air through this legendary area dominated by ancient mountain ranges, medieval castles, lochs, and glens. This cinematic, 4K piece features those incredible mountains, rivers, and lakes, as well as the magnificent looking rocks that dominate the Isle of Skye and the majestic castles of Glencoe. This video won DVOW in August, 2019.

Top contributor Postandfly created this fascinating drone video of one of the geological wonders of Mexico: the Parícutin volcano.  Located in the state of Michoacán, it's one of the world's most famous cinder cone volcanoes, a subtype which arises from eruptions through a single vent that's usually part of a larger volcano.  Parícutin was born in an eruption that began in 1943 and continued for about nine years, although this type of volcano will not erupt again. This video won DVOW in August, 2019.

You can see three of the great landmarks of Istanbul, Turkey in this awesome drone video by iskenderfilm. First up is Beyazıt Tower, an Ottoman era watchtower in the Fatih District, sitting atop the city's so-called Third Hill. Next stop is Galata Tower, a medieval stone tower which is located at one of the city's most scenic spots, where the Golden Horn inlet joins to the Bosphorus. The third spot featured is the 16th century Süleymaniye Mosque, which also sits on the Third Hill. This video won DVOW in August, 2019.

The Peloponnese Region is a peninsula in southern Greece, connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge and since 2004 by the Rio Rio–Antirrio bridge. You can see the gorgeous part of Greece in this aerial film by contributor and drone pilot johannesbloechl, who also visited the Apollo Temple in Corinth and the Poseidon Temple near Athens (both of which are in the Central Greece region). This stunning 4K piece earned him a Done Video of the Week award in August, 2019.

Traveling through Laos via motorcycle over a month’s span, pilot By_ewold was able to capture some remarkable footage of what makes the country so lovely. From Buddhist monks walking through the ancient temples, to aerial shots of the gushing waterfalls that surround the jungles, drone footage of farmland and historic structures, city shots, and so much more, the Southeast Asian country is shown off in a splendid way in this captivating aerial film. This video won DVOW in 2019.

While the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy are not the highest peaks in the Alps, they may be the most spectacular looking. Case in point is this amazing, DVOW-winning reel of the Dolomites from BashirAbuShakra.  Shot over the course of two years, it includes footage from the following locations: St. Magdalena, Val Fiscalina, Tre Cime de Lavaredo, Passo Giau, Cinque Torre, Cardini di Misurina, Alpe di Siusa, Monte Pelmo, Lago di Braies, Marmolada, Monte Cristallo, Croda de Toni, Seceda, and more. 

The Azores is an archipelago of over 150 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, grouped into an Eastern, Central, and Western sub-region. A territory and region of Portugal, there are nine main islands in the group, which have a combined population of just under a quarter million. In this drone video by Eneko Garcia-Amezaga, you'll get aerial views of four of the five largest Azores by population São Miguel, São Jorge, Pico and Faial. This video was a DVOW finalist in September, 2019.

Top contributor Alberto Ardit created this DVOW winning drone video from Italy's Dolomite Mountains, which lies across three provinces in the Trentino-Alto-Adigio and Veneto regions.  The video features footage of the following locations: Giau Pass, which connects the fabled town of Cortina d'Ampezzo with two other towns in the Belluno province; Pordoi Pass, which connects the Sella and Marmolada masifs; Cinque Torri, a prominent rock group just south of Cortina; and Carezza's Lake, a small alpine lake in South Tyrol.  

One of the amazing things about DJI's Mavic Pro 2 is the way it combines portability with an outstanding camera. Released in late 2018, the foldable drone weighs less than a kg. (about two lbs.), yet its Hasselbad camera holds its own against cameras on much heavier models.  This allows content creators to put their MP2 in a backpack and head for the hills.  That's what Drone My Life did to create this stunning sunset view of the mountains of Switzerland; this video was picked as a DVOW winner in October, 2019.

What do you get when you put one of the world's top practitioners of the art of dronelapse in some of the world's most beautiful alpine scenery? What you get is this stunning piece from award-winning contributor Majestic, which captures some of the most visually appealing spots in Switzerland and northern Italy, including: Zermatt, Matter Horn, Seceda, St. Magdalena. Cortina D’Ampezzo, Lucern, Lauterbrunnen, Staubbach Falls, Grindelwald, Oeschinen Lake, Tre Cime, and Lago Antorno. This video won DVOW in October, 2019.

From ancient pagodas in Asia to massive volcanic craters, top-down shots beach bonfires and fly-overs along the shoreline, skyline shots of Dubai, UAE then passes over plenty of camels walking through the desert. Salt flats surrounded by blood-red water and mountain peaks covered in snow. These are some of cristiantowers’ favorite shots he’s taken while flying his DJI Mavic Air around the world. You can see other videos like this in our International Travel Reels collection. This video won DVOW in October 2019.

Contributor by_ewold used a DJI Mavic Air and Panasonic and GoPro cameras to record the highlights of his week-long adventures in the Italian island of Sicily.  The DVOW nominated video does a fantastic job of bringing out the natural, architectural, and human beauty of the Mediterranean's largest island. It includes footage of some of Sicily's lesser-known spots, such as the town of Noto in the Syracuse province near the island's southeastern tip, and the town of Modica to its west, in the Ragusa province. 

Mexico offers a broad range of breathtaking landscapes; fortunately for our AirVuz community, top content creator Postandfly has skillfully captured and shared many of these from above with his drone.  In this impressive DVOW Finalist video, he reveals the seemingly untouched beauty around the municipality of Metztitilán, in the state of Hidalgo in east Mexico.  This area is home to the Barranca de Metzitlán Biosphere Reserve, the states's largest reserve, which contains a variety of ecosystems.

Top contributor davidaguilar won the People's Choice category at the second Annual DVA's with his "Magic Iceland" masterpiece.  In this video, he brings us some stunning views from even further north - the islands off the northern coast of Norway specifically the Lofoten Islands and the island of Senja, further north in Troms County.  Picked as a DVOW Finalist in October, 2019, the video combines aerial footage from a DJI Mavic Air with DJI Mavic Air with ground footage from a Nikon D5300 camera.

Check out this spectacular video of one of Indonesia's most famous volcanoes in a state of eruption, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and pilot diamondsky.  Mt. Bromo is the centerpiece of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java.  The mountain, which occupies an important place in Hindu culture, has a peak elevation of about 2.3k meters or around 9.1k ft. above sea level.  This video earned a nomination in the landscape category at the 6th Annual New York City Drone Film Festival.  

Contributor remomorales has had a very busy 2019 thus far. His 2019 international travel reel opens with an epic shot of the Italian cultural treasure of Venice. From there, you'll see a giant Buddha statue on the plains of Thailand, followed by a shot of downtown Bangkok. At around the :27 mark, there's a great view of the Tanah Lot temple off the coast of the Indonesian island of Bali.  Other highlights of this DVOW winning reel include some great timelapses from the Bali coast and a shot of Iceland's famed DC-3 plane wreck.  

Neamț County is one of the core counties of Romania's Moldavia region, in the northeastern part of the country. In this drone video by Nelstill, you'll get bird's-eye views of some of the top sights of the county, including: Bicaz Dam, Lake Pangarati, Agapia Place, Agapia Monastery, the fortress of Neamt, Cuejdel Lake, Neamt Monastery, the Ceahlău Massif, Durau Monastery, Lake Izvorul Muntelui, the Gorges of Mugicelu, the national reservation at Sugau Keys, and the Bicaz Canyon. This video won DVOW in November 2019.

Multiple Drone Video of the Week Award winner Muhamad AbuShakra has created some of the world's finest aerial videos of the Alps region of Europe.  He has filmed these majestic mountains from all of the countries which they cover, and during all seasons.  In this magnificent piece, he captures the beauty of the region during the Fall color season.  Featuring footage from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy, this video was voted as the winner for the Drone Video of the Week in November, 2019.

Top content creator dronesantana007 produced this stunning drone video record of a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Southeastern Europe. The video opens with an epic shot of the Stari Most bridge in Mostar, which was considered one of the great technological achievements of Medieval Europe.  Starting at about 2:25, there is some great footage of the capital city Sarajevo. Starting at 3:30, there's an epic reveal of Kravice Falls, one of the country's most famous waterfalls.  This video was a Drone Video of the Week winner in November, 2019.  

Award-winning content creator and drone pilot johannesboechl created this marvelous video record of a trip to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. The first part of the video was filmed on the island of Gozo, Malta's second-largest island which lies just northwest of the main island. The video has some great shots of the Fortress of Cittadella (the capital of Gozo) as well as the Ramla Bay Beach and the Fungus Rock. You'll also see a bit of Comino, the tiny island which lies between Malta and Gozo. This video won DVOW in December 2019.

Following a series of suicide bombings in early 2019, the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka imposed a total ban on drones out of concern that UAV's could potentially be weaponized. Contributor DigitalTravelCouple visited the country before the ban went into effect, and created this stunning video using a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone. The video features footage of some of the top sights of this tropical paradise, including the Nine Arches Bridge, Diyaluma Falls, and more. This video was a DVOW winner in December 2019.  

Top contributor and drone pilot ZilverSchmitz spent 100 days traveling around southern Africa.  This DVOW winning video of his trip is astounding, featuring dozens of shots from seven different countries. Watch it for magnificent aerial views from across this rapidly-modernizing region, which is home to teeming cities as well as some of the world's most spectacular natural scenery.  Featured sites range from the South African city of Durban to the Maputo–Katembe bridge in Mozambique to the savannas of Kenya.