Annual Reels: Best of 2016

If there's one thing contributor Chris Jeon is good at, it's creating some strikingly good aerial reels.  In this drone video, he gives a shout out to the people who joined him on his journey.  Aerial views of Himalayan prayer flags, beaches of the Philippines, underwater adventures, bustling cityscapes, and dronelapse skies show how unforgettable 2016 was for him and his crew.

Go on an aerial trip through the United States' Midwestern, Southern, and Western regions plus a bonus stop through Colombia in drone pilot garci1jd's recap of 2016.  This aerial reel bounces from Michigan, Tennessee, Colombia, and Colorado.  See all the highlights of these locations from above including Detroit in Michigan, the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, Cristo Rey in Colombia, and Colorado's capital city, Denver.

Contributor Volovisione is one of the top commercial drone piloting companies in Italy.  They put together this aerial reel of hot shots from their 2016 work across the country.  Their commercial drone work runs the gamut from real estate, fashion ads, travel, action sports, entertainment, and everything in between.  All these compelling shots mixed with some fine-tuned editing make for a perfect drone showreel.  Check out this video and their other fantastic drone footage. 

Creating a show reel is that much easier when you have a strong portfolio of video footage to import into your editing software.  Nasrul Effendy traveled the world with his drone in 2016 and was able to create this showcase by stitching together carefully selected shots from his adventures.  The mix of terrain, activity and filming techniques came together beautifully in this two-minute video collage.

Every creative professional who works in video knows the importance of a well-edited demo reel.  Cutting to the music, front-loading the premium footage, and choosing quality of shots over quantity are the 'pro-tips' of the best videographers, and Icarus Aerial Filming seems to follow suit.  This promo reel shows their best work from 2016, proving it was a very productive and creative year for these drone pilots!

Armed with a DJI Phantom 3 drone, the Adobe Premier Pro editing suite, and a wide variety of backdrops from his homeland, Etienne Lehuédé was able to produce an avant-garde souvenir of his 2016 filming creativity.   The wide range of shots were thoughtfully edited together and offer up a glimpse into life in modern France, as well as the talent of this budding drone pilot.