Drones have opened the door to views and perspectives that we've only dreamed of before. A true "birds-eye-view" of the world captured by amateurs and professionals alike who's diversity captivates us with new, interesting, creative, stunning, fun, and sometimes sad viewpoints from all over the planet.

Our goal, through the Bay Area Drone Film Festival is to showcase some of these videos to shed light on these diverse views, and provide introspect into the lives of others, and the nature we often take for granted or have never imagined.

Through our festival, we want to promote drone education and entertainment to the public, and increase safety awareness to drone videographers, photographers, and enthusiasts. The last thing we want to see is an accident caused by irresponsible, careless drone operators who in many cases are unaware of the guidelines and rules that are in place.

Entrants will have a chance at winning drones and other prizes valued at over $10,000, including a new Phantom 3 Professional w/Extra Battery and Case from MultiCopter Warehouse, a Yuneec Electric Aviation Tornado H920 and other Yuneec products, a trip to see the live screening, and drone flying classes from DartDrone.com. Shipping costs incurred for shipping outside the contiguous U.S. will be the responsibility of the winner. Your winning video and/or photograph will be screened on a huge silver screen in a 500 seat auditorium in Santa Clara, CA on February 28, 2016.

​SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

› Entries accepted beginning October 1.

› All films must be 4 minutes or under in length and shot at least 50% using a drone or UAS except for entries in the KnowBeforeYouFly.org category. (Length exceptions will be considered for soundtrack timing, etc., but will be at the discretion of the Festival Director (email: bayareadroneff@gmail.com).

› Entries for the exclusive Yuneec Aerial Imaging Contest category must be shot using a Yuneec Electric Aviation brand product. (See additional information regarding the Yuneec Contest in the Yuneec category description.)

› All entries to the "Reel and Clip" category entries must be less than 1-minute in length.

› All entries to the "KnowBeforeYouFly.org" safety video category MUST CONTAIN ALL 9 OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
1) Fly below 400 feet
2) Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport without contacting the air traffic controller and airport authorities.
3) Stay away from emergency response efforts, like fires
4) Fly within visual line of sight
5) Avoid flying over people
6) Avoid flying near other aircraft
7) Obey any flight restrictions put in place by the FAA
8) Do not fly under the influence
9) Visit KnowBeforeYouFly.org for more information.

› All video entries must be uploaded through FilmFreeway.com unless otherwise stated by festival director.

› If your video/photograph is selected for presentation, entrant will be required to submit a high-resolution exhibition quality digital file to enable the best presentation possible. Said files will be converted to Digital Cinema Package (DCP) and/or Blu-ray and/or other format as needed for presentation and at the discretion of the festival manager.

› By entering your video or photograph for consideration for the 2016 Bay Area Drone Film Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition. The Bay Area Drone Film Festival reserves the right to use entrant video(s)/photograph(s), in whole or in part for promotional purposes including but not limited to print, and television and internet broadcast in perpetuity. Entrants acknowledge that he/she has obtained consent from all owners, creators, actors, producers, writers, and other authorized representatives of the video(s) or photograph(s) whose consent is required to submit the film/video/photograph to a film festival. It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within the submitted video(s)/photograph(s). It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to secure authorization and permission from the owner(s) of any and all trademarked content and materials included within the submitted film.

› Entry into the festival constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the Bay Area Drone Film Festival, as well as online not limited to our website, print and other advertising, and by other means as decided by the festival manager.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Laban DeBoer

    This was overall an excellent film festival!!

    Clay Coleman (organizer) put on a great show and made this thing extremely smooth and effortless for attendees and entrants alike through his good communication and availability. He and his family are very kind and loving people who worked very hard to put on this event and make it great. Not only was I comfortable, well fed, and well networked as an entrant...I also got to see the attention to detail that Clay and his crew paid. From his directional crew making sure you knew where to go, to the yummy little wines in my VIP bag, I was very impressed.
    Well worth the trip out, well worth the entry fee. 10/10 would do it again.

    May 2016
  • Fredrick Gunnerson

    Great festival! Good communication. Nice prizes. I highly recommend The Bay Area Drone Film Feastival.

    May 2016