London – There are four-minute video-gathering scenes captured by a drone flying over the result of the Russian offensive in the cities, which prevented enemy troops from advancing towards the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Scenes of destruction are followed by one-minute images of hope, ending with the Ukrainian flag flying high.
This is the script for the video “City Silence”, which was announced as the winner of the Photojournalism category of the 2022 Drone Photography Awards, one of the most important international awards in aerial photography.
Drone video is a tribute to Ukrainian cities that prevented Kiev from falling
The author of the award-winning documentary in the drone production competition, Ukrainian Yurii Bobyr, who also performs as Smakadron on social media channels, made the video as a tribute to the war-torn cities of Ukraine:
“Hero cities of Irpin, Bucha and Gostomel, thank you for saving my hometown Kiev!”
The video uses neither words nor subtitles to convey its message. The power of imagery enhanced with instrumental music, starting with wrecked cars, a few of them are riddled with bullets. Some are abandoned on the road as they were when they were shot.
The drone then moves between buildings, displaying shattered roofs, collapsed walls, and broken, twisted windows.
In the first four minutes, only one person appears, apart from the stray cats. It is the silence of the rest that cries out loud against madness.
The dark spots left by the fires and the holes of the bombs and bullets speak for themselves. A cat is spotted by the drone in the rubble of a collapsed apartment window on the top of a building. The wind opens the door of an abandoned building.
Inside one of the circles, a doll sitting on a chair has a hole in its head. But there are no human traces.
Hundreds of people died and a few remained under the rubble. Others were hastily buried in backyards and parks as a proper burial was impossible.
Most of the survivors fled and some were directly targeted by Russian artillery while trying to escape.
Yurii expresses very well what it feels like to watch footage of what’s left:
How does a city without people have a soul? How do people feel when ghosts roam their own homes? How would you feel when you closed your house for the last time?
Video records Ukraine’s resistance
The video also shows Russian tanks and military vehicles destroyed by the Ukrainian resistance.
Just 21 kilometers from Kiev, Irpin was instrumental in stopping the Russian advance. In one of the sacrifices made by the city, a bridge was blown up to block the Russian advance, giving it the honorary title “Heroic City of Ukraine”.
Gostomel, a small town with a military base northwest of Kiev, was attacked the day after the invasion. Mayor Yuri Prylypko was one of those who paid with his life to stop the Russian advance.
Bucha, a few kilometers south of Gostomel and on the outskirts of Kiev, was razed to the ground during the Russian occupation for three weeks in March. Images circulating the world showed bodies strewn across the streets, and a mass grave full of dead civilians was discovered.
After Russia announced that it would withdraw its troops from the region to focus on the offensive in the eastern region along the border, Ukrainian forces regained control of key cities on the outskirts of Kiev that had been razed to the ground. The International Criminal Court is conducting an investigation into the actions of the occupying troops.
Also Read | Summer Joy in Prewar Ukraine Featured in International Color Photography Award
Other videos depict Ukraine before and after the war
“City Silence” is one of Yurii’s videos about his own country. In another work he did three days after the start of the Russian invasion, he presents a beautiful Ukraine:
Ukraine is my home. I was born here and I am proud of this country of free and willed people.
We will always be by your side, because you are our Mother and we have nothing more precious than you. For you we are a mountain. We will always protect you and thank you for having us. Victory to Ukraine!
The subject of another video is a house demolished by the Russians: “When the occupants of that house were shot, it is scary to think at what moment the walls collapsed with the action of the engulfing flames. he is on his way to destroying the house.”
He admits that he can only imagine what war victims go through in destroyed homes as he filmed:
Sitting in a cold, damp basement praying to God to live until morning. Sharing a can of stew with others. Fun guys.
What is it like to control yourself and not panic? Drinking sewage, puddles and batteries. Seeing the enemy close to you and trying not to make the slightest noise, hiding in the closet.
The author dreamed of drones since childhood
“Every time I photograph something new happens for me. I love to surprise people and show them our world, its beauty and uniqueness. Filming is my life. It’s what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid,” says the author of the winning video in the Photojournalism category of the Drone Photo Awards 2022.
Born in Kiev, she says she has dreamed of owning a drone since childhood:
I was able to fulfill my dream at 28 when I bought my first drone, a DJI Phantom 3 Standard. A few minutes after launch, he was in a tree.
A few days later I broke it completely and decided that this was not for me.
However, Yurii could not stay away from drones for long:
Destiny is destiny. I started missing aerial footage and decided to fix my drone. I found my first clients and realized I could make money from it.
After all, a job that gives pleasure is everyone’s dream. Seven years later I turned pro.
On his YouTube channel, he tries to encourage others to get the best aerial footage using drones, like the video to document the war in Ukraine, which won a prize in the competition.
My mission is to give emotion, surprise with amazing drone flights and motivate creativity.
Yurii really has a lot to teach about the technique of using drones – the award-winning “City Silence” video recording the effects of the war in Ukraine is proof of that.
She says she is happy to “bring beauty into this world.” However, the images in the first few minutes of “City Silence” are not pretty.
Maybe that’s why it’s packed with them last minute. Images of the sky, fields, children and the interior of a church in the park follow each other. A seedling of plants is growing in the foreground, followed by the Ukrainian flag, flying freely in the wind.
If the first minutes show how the Russians managed to raze buildings, bridges and roads, the last minute shows the country’s courage.
Also Read | Half of Europeans in six countries believe the Ukrainian war will continue for another year, survey finds
source: Noticias
