Drone Video Contest Experiences Closest Voting Yet

A battle of the votes made for an intense finish in the latest AirVuz Drone Video of the Week contest.

With a big social media push in the final hours, Russian drone pilot Kirill Umrikhin took home the $1,000 prize in the weekly contest hosted by drone video site AirVuz. Umrikhin’s winning video “Antarctica, Union Glacier Camp. Mamont Cup Expedition, January 2018” narrowly edged out “Los Roques : Get Lost in Paradise!” by French traveler and pilot Isabelle Fabre.

Umrikhin, a professional photographer, filmed his winning video using a DJI Phantom 4 Professional. The film showcases the Mamont Cup expedition to Union Glacier in Antarctica back in January of 2018. Umrikhin, who primarily shoots action sports and travel videos, is a brand ambassador for companies such as Quicksilver, Nikon, SanDisk and others.

More than 23,000 votes were cast in this week’s contest, with Umrikhin taking the lead in the voting over Fabre late in the voting period. Both pilots used their social media platforms to encourage their followers to vote on AirVuz.com. Umrikhin urged his 32,000 Instagram followers and thousands of Facebook fans to cast their votes for his Antarctica video. He also had the support of his wife, professional windsurfer Olya Raskina, who shared the video on Instagram and told her followers to vote. Umrikhin shared on Instagram that the couple plans to use the prize money to buy a stroller for their newborn baby.

Fabre, who finished second in the contest, is a long-time contributor on AirVuz.com. Her travel videos have garnered thousands of views, and she was also a guest on the AirVuz original program “The Drone Dish.” Fabre’s video “ALIVE” was a finalist in the 2017 Drone Video Awards.

AirVuz.com, the world’s leading drone video and photography sharing platform, launched the “Drone Video of the Week” contest in which one content creator will be chosen for the weekly USD$1,000 prize. All drone videos uploaded to AirVuz.com are eligible to win. The contest began April 2.

Umrikhin’s winning film received the most votes in a public poll and beat out four other nominees: “Los Roques : Get Lost in Paradise!,” “Ninh Binh, Vietnam,” “BEST OF DRONES FPV 2018 MY EPIC SHOT” and “Caucasus aerial by Action Brothers.”  Finalists were chosen based on a variety of factors, including quality of footage, originality, music selection and editing techniques.

The contest continues again this week, with another USD$1,000 up for grabs for drone pilots from all over the world.

The Drone Video of the Week contest follows the success of the inaugural AirVuz Drone Video Awards, which selected the best drone videos and photos of 2017. Voters chose winners in 13 categories from a total of more than 33,000 videos. 

For more information about the contest, contact Tyler Mason, Director of Public Relations, at tyler@airvuz.com.

About AirVuz

Since its launch in 2015, AirVuz has become the world’s leading drone video and photography sharing platform and global community for drone pilots and aerial media enthusiasts. Drone enthusiasts worldwide can upload and share videos and photos in unlimited quantity and at no cost. Site users have free access to an ever-growing library of drone media content including easily browsable categories such as travel, extreme sports, golf courses, drone racing, landmarks and more. AirVuz users also have access to original AirVuz content, including the weekly AirVuz News program, profiles of top content creators, product reviews, and how-to information for drone pilots on how to take and edit high quality drone video.