 Hey everybody, today's video is going to be a little bit different. I'll be breaking down some video submissions from other creators that I personally selected from DJI SkyPixel 9th annual video contest. This way, regardless of what camera you're using, you'll get to learn about some new filmmaking techniques to tell better stories as well as get some inspiration for your own creativity. And before we get started, if you haven't heard of SkyPixel, it's a huge online community where creators can share their work in aerial photography and videography. They also have yearly contests called the SkyPixel annual photo and a video contest where people like you can submit their best photo and video work. And this contest has been going on for quite some time and it's a way to celebrate the amazing stories that come from capturing these unique moments in a creative way. So first of all, there's the main competition. As for the entry rules for the main video competition, videos must not exceed five minutes in length and the entry must contain at least 30 seconds of footage, which was shot using DJI products. And in addition to that, there's now three new monthly competition, each focusing on a different category. November is about using multiple focal lengths, December is for FPV drone shots, and January is focused on handheld photography and videography. They also have an incredible line of judges this year, one of them being Brandon Lee, who I look up to. Now entries for the monthly competition can also be submitted to the main competition, which is really cool, giving you the chance to win both monthly and overall awards. And the winner of the best work will receive an Inspire 3 if they're in the video category or a Hasselblad X2D if they are in the photo category. They will also be recognized as SkyPixel creators and receive a trophy and certificate to celebrate their accomplishments. Other prizes include DJI Mavic 3 Pro, Osmo Action 4, and much more. And with that said, let's look at the eight content submissions I've picked and break them down to see what makes them stand out, what film techniques they used, and hopefully you can implement some of these techniques in your own creative work. Some of them are quite long, so I won't go through the entire video, but I will highlight some sections that really caught my eye. So let's start with the first one created by K.M. Dirty Children titled Blue Hour. So I really like that title placement here. I like how the subject separates the text and also the font of choice, which fits with the moody theme of the video. Now, if you don't know what blue hour is, it's the time period before sunrise or after sunset when the sky takes on a colorful color. Generally blue, which makes it great for warm and cold contrast. In this case, we have the blue and orange sky, but also notice how they placed an LED light inside the subject's helmet to create that warm light contrasting nicely with the sky. Something else I've noticed this beautiful silhouette shot right here. You can really see the dark outline of the subject standing in front of the bright northern lights. And in this case, we have a dramatic contrast in brightness and darkness. And it sort of symbolizes mystery, which I think works well as the character sort of explores the landscape. So let's head back to this part over here. So match cuts are done in a lot of films and do require a bit of pre-planning. But if done right, it can make the transition between shots really smooth. In this case, the match cut was made by having a similar composition of the two shots. So you see the person over here and then transitions into the guy wearing the helmet. Now, we can also see the match cut over here where the sun transitions into the moon. And again, they're using shapes to match both shots. All right, so let's now move on to the second video, which is created by Ashen called Chase the Wind. OK, there's a lot happening. So I immediately notice a lot of fast cuts in the first seven seconds, which builds up the energy and excitement for what's to come and then hits the climax to where the subject drives off with the motorcycle. Now, you might be familiar with Edgar Wright's quick cuts, as he uses this a lot in his films to convey a lot of information quickly, but also to bring attention to something. All right, so what's also important to consider when filming these motorcycle scenes is to be aware of the screen direction, which Ashen, in this case, has done really well. The shots are filmed in a way that makes the movement of the motorcycle feel continuous and not disoriented. You can see the motorcycle is always moving from left to right in the frame, giving it a more natural flow. I can't stress about those bitches, I would tip myself. All right, well done, well done. So this video is created by Jayam. I hope I said that right. Titled Zhongxing City Cycling. All right. So first of all, I like how sound effects were included in this video. This really helps the viewer feel more immersed and adds an extra layer of realism to the video. Things like zipping of a jacket, the chains moving, the ambient city noise and also the whoosh sound effects for the transitional shots all make a big difference in the overall experience for the viewer. Now another element that stands out in this video is how different camera angles were captured. So from wide shots of the cityscape to close ups of the cyclist hands and it really adds variety and keeps the viewer engaged. And to get some of these unique angles like you see over here, it's best to use an action cam as it's really easier to mount. Maybe for this shot they used a chest mount. So yeah, nice job on capturing different angles. Next up is a video shot by Maur Benzeri titled DJI Osmo Pocket 3 in London. Now it is a very short video but what I really like is the rotation transition we have going on over here. And with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, you can easily set it to FPV mode allowing the camera to rotate freely. And to make this transition work, you want to be sure to rotate in the same direction in every shot. So you can see in this video the camera rotates to the left and in the second shot again we have the camera rotating to the left and then as for our last shot we have the camera rotating to the left. And with a little bit of speed ramp in the editing, it creates a seamless transition between the shots. So this video is called Journey to Indonesia by C Tao. Let's check it out. Eyes opening shot. Now what I immediately notice is the aspect ratio. So this has a 2.35 by one aspect ratio which gives those black bars at the top and bottom. And you see this commonly in big blockbuster movies which gives it a more cinematic feel to the film. And you can achieve this by either cropping the top and bottom or using something like an unamorphic lens. Now something else that I found really cool is the titled being washed away by the waves which is a masking effect. And this is an editing technique that allows you to separate or isolate certain areas of an image. And in this case they isolated the title. Ooh that was a nice one too. So here we have another seamless masking transition. As you can see masking can be used in many ways. Now if you go frame by frame you'll notice that he pulls out the camera from under the water to reveal a new location. Now in this case he used the same element which is water and applied a masking effect with lots of feathering to create a smooth transition. So you can see it over here. This is where the masking was applied and it works really well. So next up we have a video titled Lofton directed by Zane Pool. Nice. So awesome start to the video. We've got a cool drone shot that sets the scene. Plus we've got a character and a storyline. The map tells us that the character or the main subject is about to embark on an adventure. So you'll also notice this blue anamorphic streak over here which is a creative choice and can add more visual interest. And there are different ways to achieve this either by using an unamorphic lens pointing it towards a bright light source or by using a blue streak filter that you can screw onto your lens or you can also use plugins. So let's look at Qian Ma's video. I hope I said that right titled London Story. Oh that's a beautiful shot right there. Okay. So this is a nice shot where the tower is framed between the buildings almost like a frame within a frame leading the viewer's eye towards the building. I also like how the red bus adds contrast to the gray blue tones of the buildings plus having the bus move in the opposite direction of the camera movement adds dynamic to it as well. Now he definitely used a narrow aperture something between F8 and F14 to keep most parts in focus especially for architectural type shots where the building is large you want to have a deep depth of field. What I really like is the composition in each shot and because most parts of the image are in focus to add more depth he uses foreground, mid-ground and background and this really helps make the image more three-dimensional. I really like the calm music it fits well with the smooth and slow camera movement and also the color rating in this video is on point it sort of has a vintage look to it and the colors are consistent throughout all of the shots which keeps the viewer immersed in the story. Now this video is created by Amit the title is in Chinese but I've translated it as exploring the story of Bayan ancient road. So what I really like are the long camera movements it adds a lot of dynamic and energy to the video so when I go back we have this nice crane shot moving on we have a slide shot and some foreground over here which emphasizes camera movement and then it moves on to a tilt down shot while pushing forward a low shot while having them moving in the opposite direction and then we sort of have this rotation shot and then a lift-up shot which then reveals the path to where they're going and the best way to achieve these long complex shots is to use a gimbal this way it keeps the horizon locked and helps reduce those shaky camera movements so you'll notice that it uses black white scenes which creates a nostalgic mood and evokes a sense of the past and if we go back you'll also notice a super 8 millimeter film effect has been applied to give it that grainy and old film look and this really adds to the overall storytelling of the ancient road and its history. Okay folks so these were my top 8 picks from the Skypixel 9th annual video contest I hope you found them inspiring and got to learn something new it's clear that all of them have put a lot of time and effort into creating these videos it gives creators a platform to showcase their talent and be recognized for their creative work and really the experience and growth you gain as a creator are super valuable because each video you create teaches you something new and helps you improve I highly recommend you check out the contest as really anyone can join submissions are still open till the 2nd of February 2024 and the award will be announced on the 19th of March 2024 to learn more about the entry rules be sure to check out skypixel.com or use the link in the video description below with that said I wish you all good luck thank you so much for watching happy filming and see you the next time