Reaching new heights: Minneapolis hosts Drone Video Awards

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - These days, more and more people are taking to the sky for a new perspective through drone video. Now, there is even an awards ceremony for drone cinematography.

At Bauhaus Brewery in Minneapolis, online media host website Air Vuz held its annual Drone Video Awards, welcoming filmmakers from all walks of life.

“We have so much content that people share on our website, we kind of wanted to reward all the pilots and really kind of showcase some of the best of the best in the world,” said Tyler Mason with Air Vuz.

With more than 30,000 videos uploaded last year, nominees from around the globe competed in 18 categories--and the images are breathtaking.

“It’s not just putting the drone up in the air. There’s editing that goes into it, there’s music selection,” Mason said. 

Paul Nurkkala, a one-time software engineer in Indiana was a given a drone as a gift in 2014. On Monday, he was the ESPN Drone Racing League Champion and now drone video award winner.

“I had a career in software engineering, I started to pick up speed with drone racing and eventually had the opportunity to quit working full-time,” Nurkkala said. “I want to compete with drones as long as I can. Drones have changed my life.”

Elena Buenrosto is with the group Women Who Drone.

“Right now there’s less than six percent of certified pilots in the U.S. out of the 110,000 so we’re really trying to change that number of women who are joining this industry,” she said.

It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to reach new heights, and these drone enthusiasts believe that the future is limitless.

“I think soon enough, in the next 10 years drones are just going to be part of our vocabulary,” Buenrosto said.