I did not enjoy the New York City Drone Film Festival.
On Saturday, a few hundred people packed themselves into New York’s Directors Guild of America Theater to take in some short movies that were filmed by from everyone’s favorite aerial platform: the drone. The rules were simple. Each film was to be five minutes or less, and at least 50 percent of each movie had to be shot by drone.
After a rather self-indulgent and wholly forgettable “red carpet” experience, the films began. Not even 15 minutes into the festival, the audience was treated to a bird’s eye view of an erupting volcano, with hot magma spewing skyward and nearly touching the camera lens. Then we got to see notorious stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill ride daredevil-style down a mountain in his native Scotland. A montage of airplanes coming and going at Mexico City International Airport offered all kinds of eye candy (it included a disclaimer to never fly a drone near airports; the producers had worked out a special arrangement with air traffic control, for the record).
But after these brief moments, it was all downhill. At least three times, emcee Randy Slavin threw out an eager rallying cry to the effect of “Have you ever seen architecture/surfers/volcanos this way before?” 45 minutes into the festival, the answer was yes. Yes, we have. They’re lovely and visually stunning from drone perspective, and because of the turn-and-burn pace of the festival, that beauty started to feel redundant.
The “films” started to bleed together so quickly, becoming indistinct and boring. Each one was beautiful, yes, but in very little time, I felt like I was being assaulted by gorgeous aerial footage that had been slowed to 80 percent of its original speed to smooth and glamorize the shots. It was boring.
House boats appear next to the shoreline of Bidwell Canyon on Lake Oroville in Northern California on November 25, 2014. Lake Oroville is California's second largest reservoir, and is currently 70% empty as a result of the state's severe drought.Tomas van Houtryve—VIICampers appear in an RV park in Fernley, Nevada on November 25, 2014. The nearby Amazon Fulfillment Center recruits people living out of RVs to work on the floor of their warehouse during peak holiday shipping season. Many of the campers are senior citizens whose homes or savings were wiped out by the 2008 economic crisis.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA parking lot for an Amazon fulfillment center appears in New Jersey on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterA residential apartment complex appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterVacation homes appear on the New Jersey Shore on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterAn empty drive-in movie theater appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterA farm house and field appear outside Trenton, New Jersey on November 11, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterCows gather for water and alfalfa distributed by a rancher in a drought-devastated pasture in Merced County, California on November 26, 2014. As with many areas of the Central Valley of California, these cows would not be able to survive without this kind of supplemental nutrition.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA run-down neighborhood appears in North Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014. In 2012, the FBI ranked Camden as having the most violent crime per capita of any American city with a population of over 50,000. The local police installed millions of dollars of surveillance equipment in residential neighborhoods, including cameras and microphones that detect the exact location of gunshots.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIHorse stalls appear near Fernley, Nevada on November 24, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA swamp appears near Brookfield, Connecticut on November 8, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterBeachfront vacation units appear on Cape Cod, Massachusetts on Nov. 7, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterThe USS New Jersey, a decommissioned battleship, appears on the Delaware river off Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VIIA college campus appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterLacrosse players warm up before practice in Clark County, Nevada on January 20, 2014. The nearby Creech Air Force is the main command center for overseas drone strikes.Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer CenterWiggins Park Marina appears in Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014.Tomas van Houtryve—VII
