Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Filming Life Podcast.
Speaker: I'm so glad that you're here.
Speaker: I have been super busy behind the scenes working on so many things for Filming Life Academy and definitely the podcast has taken a bit of a backseat, but I'm here today to share this episode that I recorded with a few members from Filming Life who I have followed for ages and I'm just in awe and so inspired by
Speaker: particularly at the end of the year when they started sharing their year-long films.
Speaker: So what these are is it's this project that they've been working on and they have recorded clips every month throughout the year of their family and then they put together one film at the end of the year and it's just amazing.
Speaker: I can't even describe how it feels for me to watch these films and feel like I wish that I had done the same thing.
Speaker: I got so inspired by them that I have made it a... I don't want to say New Year's resolution because I'm not a big fan of that.
Speaker: I feel like you can do this at any time throughout the year.
Speaker: It absolutely inspired me to do this for my own family, and so I'm going to make it a priority.
Speaker: I have had a tendency to make client work my priority, and totally my kids and filming my family has gone by the wayside, and I think especially as they've gotten older,
Speaker: Things have just gotten so busy, sports, everything.
Speaker: But then I watched these three women's films and each of them has a boy the same age as my oldest.
Speaker: And I watched theirs and I saw how much those kids had changed throughout the year.
Speaker: And I thought to myself, I have to do this.
Speaker: Like I have to.
Speaker: And so anyway, I was really inspired by watching their films at the end of this past year.
Speaker: I just felt really called to share about what they do inside filming life because they have taken it upon themselves to create this group, which is called Project 52365.
Speaker: If you've ever heard of a 30365 project, it's where you photograph every single day.
Speaker: And ours is not as prescriptive as that.
Speaker: Many of our filmmakers don't film every single day, but some of them do.
Speaker: And the whole idea is not so much that it's a set of rules that you have to live by.
Speaker: And if you don't film every day, then you have to start over.
Speaker: That's not at all what this is.
Speaker: It's more just about kind of making a promise to yourself that you are going to commit to
Speaker: filming as much as you can throughout each month and then what they do is they put together a snippet of like maybe one second from every day or one second from most of the days that they filmed and then they put all of that together in one film for each month and then at the end of the year
Speaker: They put together one film for the whole year, and it is just so amazing.
Speaker: I mean, you can't even put a price on this.
Speaker: You can't put words into it.
Speaker: It's hard to describe.
Speaker: It is just showing you what it felt like for that year, and so I wanted to get them on the podcast and talk to them about what this is like, what makes them do it, because it's not something I've ever done.
Speaker: I have only ever gone...
Speaker: on like trips with my kids.
Speaker: I used to photograph them really regularly, but since they've been in school, definitely less so.
Speaker: And then I've made films of them, personal projects of them that are much shorter and like just little snippets of each one.
Speaker: And so I have never done this before.
Speaker: So I wanted to talk to them and say, hey, what's this all about?
Speaker: Like, what do you guys do?
Speaker: What are some tips that you have for other people that want to do this?
Speaker: And
Speaker: tips for staying on track and what has it meant to you to complete these and they do them every year so it's not even their first year having done this they have the experience of having done this for three years in a row some of them and today we're going to talk all about it we're going to help you get an idea of what it exactly is tell you how they started and what they with their advices and maybe what they wish that they had done differently having done it now a few times
Speaker: And so I think you're going to really enjoy this.
Speaker: And I think it's a great way to kick off the year.
Speaker: And I'm really excited.
Speaker: Hopefully you are too.
Speaker: So we have three women, incredible, incredible women who have been part of filming life for a very long time now.
Speaker: So I'm going to introduce you to them and we're going to hear all of their stories.
Speaker: So thanks for tuning in and yeah, I'll see you in the next one.
Speaker: Hi, everyone.
Speaker: I am here with Laura Duffy, Melissa Hines, and Lindsay DeCiso.
Speaker: Lindsay, did I say your last name right?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: Lindsay DeCisco.
Speaker: DeCisco.
Speaker: DeCisco.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So, Laura, tell us about yourself and what you do and what you love and all of that.
Speaker: Give us an intro for the people who don't know.
Speaker: I am Laura Duffy, and I am a family filmmaker and photographer, and I'm based out of Kansas City right now.
Speaker: And I have a slew of kids, so I have five kids, and my favorite thing to do is personal projects.
Speaker: I started this as a hobbyist, and I think that's why this 365 project really speaks to my heart.
Speaker: But I do have a business now.
Speaker: And so that's been fun to dive into other people's stories as well.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Awesome.
Speaker: And Melissa.
Speaker: Yes, I'm Melissa.
Speaker: I'm also in Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker: And I'm a hobbyist, but I'm a big, big, big believer in filming your people.
Speaker: And I think I got that from my grandpa because he had loads of super great footage of my mom's childhood and loads of VHS footage of my childhood.
Speaker: And so I'm just like carrying that on for my family now.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: And Lindsay.
Speaker: I am Lindsay.
Speaker: I am in South Bend, Indiana, and I'm kind of like a combo of these two gals.
Speaker: I am a hobbyist that also has a business.
Speaker: I've been in business a while, maybe 10, 11 years now, doing family films and family photography.
Speaker: And I also like Melissa have a heritage of family.
Speaker: family videos and all the things.
Speaker: So it's always been something that drew me in right away.
Speaker: I love, I love it.
Speaker: Yeah, amazing.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And so we have at Filming Life, a group called the Project 52 slash 365 group.
Speaker: And for anyone who has never heard of these terms before or doesn't know what it means, Project 52 is like having once a week, you're focusing on creating something that's 52 weeks of the year.
Speaker: And then 365 is 365 days of the year.
Speaker: So can one of you give a bit more of a description of the group and kind of what, what it is and what you guys share and what you do in there?
Speaker: I would say there is a whole range of people with different goals and stuff in our group, but basically the premise behind it is that we regularly film our own families, that we get out the camera and we take those pictures either daily or weekly.
Speaker: And then, so it includes everything from our daily life to
Speaker: vacations and everything else in between.
Speaker: But mostly it's just our day-to-day in-out life.
Speaker: And then we put all these clips together.
Speaker: Our group is super supportive of each other.
Speaker: And that's one of my favorite things is that we can all learn and grow from each other.
Speaker: I love that too.
Speaker: And I think one of my favorite things about this group is that it's the only place in Filming Life where people really share photos.
Speaker: And I love that we have a space for this because we are photographers.
Speaker: I mean, I'd say 90% of members of Filming Life are photographers.
Speaker: And so I love that this group creates a place to share both.
Speaker: your photos from your life and then also the videos.
Speaker: I just think it's, it's such a great, um, welcoming space.
Speaker: Um, so I would love to hear from each of you.
Speaker: What is your sort of driving purpose, passion for why you photograph and film your day-to-day life?
Speaker: You've touched on this with the sort of heritage in the history, but like, what is it intrinsically that makes you want to do it?
Speaker: I'll start with Melissa.
Speaker: So I'm the type of person that like, I hear about something and I jump in and that's kind of what happened back in 2016 for me was my husband told me about this one second, every day app.
Speaker: And it was like middle of August.
Speaker: And the next day I was off the ground running.
Speaker: So, um,
Speaker: I loved it.
Speaker: Like I loved getting to watch that back.
Speaker: And even now clips, like not great.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: But like, it is so special to get to watch that back because I have this like visual journal.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Of what that was like.
Speaker: I was sleep deprived.
Speaker: I have like no memory of most of those days and I have a visual narrative of it and that's priceless to me.
Speaker: Um, yeah.
Speaker: But now like I, my why is more like for the future.
Speaker: It's, it's for the 30 years from now for my kids.
Speaker: It's for any potential grandkids, because I got to watch back those clips of my grandpa's VHS that he took and he died when I was 13.
Speaker: And there are clips of him and me together.
Speaker: And I get to, I don't know, see how he loved on me.
Speaker: And I want in 30 years, my kids to see how I am loving on them in these films.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: What about you, Lindsay?
Speaker: That's really beautiful.
Speaker: I feel like I'm already going to cry just thinking about this stuff.
Speaker: But mine is very similar.
Speaker: But I lost my dad in 2017.
Speaker: And he was the, like, family historian, like, the recorder of the memories.
Speaker: And when he died, I wanted to see him.
Speaker: Like, I wanted to... I, like... It was just this, like...
Speaker: I don't know if it was like a grieving, like it helps you process grief or something, but I wanted to see him healthy.
Speaker: I wanted to hear his voice again.
Speaker: I wanted to see me with him.
Speaker: So I just got out all the family videos and it was like painful, but it was also very like healing part of it.
Speaker: coming out of that grief, I wanted, you know, you have to go through the pictures for the funerals and everything, but I wanted like more, I wanted to, he had like a tracheotomy.
Speaker: I couldn't hear his voice anymore, like when he was at the end.
Speaker: So like going back and hearing him talk and seeing him healthy again was really special to me and helpful.
Speaker: And I think just knowing that
Speaker: I'm doing that, like Melissa said, for the future.
Speaker: That's even my business is that.
Speaker: I know that I'm giving these people something that they're going to appreciate how cute their kids are, but I'm actually giving their kids the gift 30 years from now of seeing their family together and young and happy and beautiful.
Speaker: I think Amy might have said at some point that
Speaker: we're adding to our family record like oh and I just that sunk deep into me so that's yeah I feel like that's what I'm doing I'm adding to my family's record by recording them and just doing our normal things yeah yeah I love that what about you yeah well it seems like it's all kind of rooted in pain I assume but um
Speaker: Yeah, I started out doing a 365 project in photo for many, many years.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I think that's
Speaker: basically all started after I lost my dad also.
Speaker: And I was digging through all the photos and I have like little to none, no video clips of my childhood.
Speaker: So very different from them.
Speaker: I have none.
Speaker: Like I think I have one of him, his voice and that's when it was my kids that I had taken just on my phone or something of poor quality.
Speaker: And so anyways, I took the pictures for a long time.
Speaker: And then whenever I started filming,
Speaker: this kind of like, this just drew me in.
Speaker: I was like, this is the same thing I'm doing with my photos, but it's so much more immersive whenever I can hear their voices, whenever I can hear laughs and giggles.
Speaker: And it just, it's more like, it's not something you're not, it's not a photo that you're going to study, right?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: It's more of like, this is the way it felt at this time in life.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So where I am, yeah, I just dove in.
Speaker: This is my third year of the project.
Speaker: And for me, a lot of it is about hope.
Speaker: I personally am looking for hope in every day.
Speaker: I need that reason to look for the beautiful things.
Speaker: I often get caught up in the stress of life and totally forget that like, oh yeah, I'm supposed to be enjoying it.
Speaker: So whenever I grab my camera, it's literally like an exhale.
Speaker: Like I am in the moment and I can watch.
Speaker: I feel like I'm like this third person view when I grab my camera and it really changes everything.
Speaker: It changes who I am and it relaxes me.
Speaker: And then there's just this beautiful, beautiful moment of being able to watch it back when you're editing.
Speaker: I know some people don't really like the edit, but I am a better mother because of this project.
Speaker: Like I hear myself every day.
Speaker: You know, I'm talking to my kids and sometimes I'm like, wow, I was really rude.
Speaker: I, you know, I didn't talk very well that, you know, that time.
Speaker: Or I've had to go back and apologize because I was like, wow, I really ignored you and you had something big that day.
Speaker: I'm really sorry.
Speaker: And things that I didn't even realize in the moment.
Speaker: But then watching that back and third person is like,
Speaker: Yeah, you just learn a lot about life and I don't want to ever stay who I am today.
Speaker: I want to be a better artist and I want to be a better person.
Speaker: Gosh, I love that.
Speaker: Your words describe that so perfectly.
Speaker: Oh my God.
Speaker: I think, you know what?
Speaker: Like it took me straight back to the films that I would make when I was practicing filmmaking that I would make of my kids.
Speaker: And that absolutely pulled me through the biggest, deepest struggles that I had as a mother.
Speaker: And just the way that you said it helped you be a better mother, 100%, that helped me be a better mother.
Speaker: I was like, for me, I think it was because I was looking for things to film, even though like my, I would do probably more fun things with them because I was like, this would film really well.
Speaker: Let's go do this together.
Speaker: And so they got the benefit of that, but it's probably if I had just like stayed in my thoughts and not got my camera out,
Speaker: The way you describe that as being an exhale, gosh, that's just, yeah, I can completely relate to that.
Speaker: There's also something to be said for the fact that like by doing these projects, you're not going to miss being in a phase.
Speaker: I was just thinking about that today when I captured a clip of me doing my son's hair and he's nine and he's probably not going to ask me to do his hair much longer.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And I got to capture a clip of something like that.
Speaker: Like, why would I be filming that?
Speaker: But that's where that shines in a project like this.
Speaker: 100% like I have a film that's super short and it's just of the like kids jumping on the trampoline and then it's when my daughter we call it a dummy here but a pacifier it's when she had like it was like her last time I knew she was it was time to let go of it we had a fairy come take the dummies like it was the whole thing
Speaker: And I knew this was the end.
Speaker: And it's like that.
Speaker: I captured that.
Speaker: And her just like having one in each hand and taking one out and putting one in.
Speaker: And it's just this like mundane thing that happens constantly.
Speaker: But it's like that's it makes you feel that so much more than I think a photograph ever could of that same thing.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay, so we've covered why.
Speaker: And now I want to talk about like tips for getting started and staying on track.
Speaker: Like what's your best advice?
Speaker: Who wants to go first?
Speaker: Well, I would say make, um, know your why, find a why.
Speaker: And even if you start and don't have a why yet, that's okay because you'll probably find one, but it will be more cohesive if you have a why.
Speaker: Um, but pick a technical goal.
Speaker: Like, do you want to learn how to film or do you want to, do you want to know your camera more or do you just want to get more pictures and learn how to edit better or, um,
Speaker: Do you want to learn lighting or sound or whatever it is?
Speaker: Pick a goal.
Speaker: Who cares if it's, you know, just pick a small goal and go with it.
Speaker: Make sure you deep dive into that and just learn that to pieces.
Speaker: And you will be amazed once you look back at it and see how much you've grown from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
Speaker: Every single year.
Speaker: And it doesn't even matter.
Speaker: I figure May is kind of my turning point.
Speaker: I feel like I can tell a difference in almost every film at May where I become a better
Speaker: filmmaker, a better artist.
Speaker: So while you know your why, also keep your camera out.
Speaker: Always, always, always.
Speaker: So that maybe it's your phone or maybe it's your big camera.
Speaker: I keep my big camera in our main living spaces so that I can easily grab it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Great advice.
Speaker: I'd say organizing helps you get started.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: especially if you are doing kind of a one second a day type feel, right?
Speaker: Like you want to go in having an idea of the song you're going to do.
Speaker: You're going to probably because it's the big task to pick a song that long.
Speaker: And you want to have an idea of like how to make sure that you're staying within whatever, you know, constraints you put on your film for yourself.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: So like I have it all set up and ready before I even start with like my day.
Speaker: So I know exactly where everything's going to go and my bins for all my months and stuff.
Speaker: But then I also start practicing noticing even when I'm not filming.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So that way I'm ready to go when I have my camera and I'm ready to film.
Speaker: Like I know how I'm going in and I would be like, okay, if this were happening, I would film like this.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Tell us more about noticing like you touched on it a little bit more there, but I think that's such a great thing for people to start doing.
Speaker: It's great advice.
Speaker: Just drill in a little bit more on that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So for like last year, for instance, I took a break like I needed a mental break, but I actively would.
Speaker: almost use my eyes like a camera and I would actively even find myself just like kind of walking around something happening and like seeing what it looked like in different light and as it played out with different compositions.
Speaker: But ever since 2022, when I just did a focus on audio, that's the thing that kind of piques my interest first is when something
Speaker: is being said or has interesting audio, like I kind of like snap my head over there and then I start looking for like, how, how would I film this?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That's great.
Speaker: What about you, Lindsay?
Speaker: I think the biggest thing that's helped me to be successful is that
Speaker: For one thing, just doing it, like starting, even if you decide it's March, it doesn't have to be January to start.
Speaker: Like my biggest...
Speaker: My best 365 of photos before I found video, I started in June on a vacation.
Speaker: I just happened to be taking pictures every day and I kept going.
Speaker: And it was a huge year for my photography because I actually did it.
Speaker: Like if it was June, I didn't have to wait for a new year's resolution or the start of a calendar page.
Speaker: So that's my first goal.
Speaker: Like first tip is just do it.
Speaker: Even take a smaller chunk like Melissa does like seasons often.
Speaker: She'll do like 100 days of summer, 100 days of winter or maybe just a month or something.
Speaker: You know, you can just dip your toe in.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And my second, the most absolute positively best thing to stay focused and do it is to give yourself so much grace.
Speaker: Like I do not shoot every day.
Speaker: Spoiler alert, my 365 is not actually a 365.
Speaker: And guess what?
Speaker: That's fine.
Speaker: I also don't use my camera every single time.
Speaker: I use my phone a lot because it's with me and I don't like taking my camera places.
Speaker: I just hate it.
Speaker: I hate carrying that thing around.
Speaker: So yeah, you can make it be
Speaker: However, you need to do it and it will still be incredibly special, incredibly meaningful.
Speaker: And nobody has to know.
Speaker: I mean, who cares?
Speaker: Nobody's grading this.
Speaker: It's not like you get a rubric and you're going to get marked off if you use your phone one day, you know, or didn't take clips five days in a row.
Speaker: Who cares?
Speaker: Nobody cares.
Speaker: Just do it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And you won't even remember that.
Speaker: Two years from now, you won't even remember that you missed this day and that day.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And sometimes.
Speaker: People get really hung up on that, I think.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, I can.
Speaker: Like.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I'm a type A list person myself.
Speaker: And I just.
Speaker: I realized when I watch them back that it does not matter.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: it does not change the way it makes me feel if I miss a day.
Speaker: So I don't even worry about it anymore.
Speaker: No, I think that's the best advice.
Speaker: I would say as well, like when you are thinking, because I think it can kind of be a little bit overwhelming to like, so if you're starting and then you're like, okay, well, what should I film this day?
Speaker: Like what should
Speaker: So maybe just thinking about like what makes you happy, starting with what makes you feel something, what makes you feel good, what's something you want to remember later, have that be the question that you ask yourself and use that to guide when you decide to shoot.
Speaker: And don't beat yourself up over it if you miss something that you wish that you'd gotten because you decided to be present instead.
Speaker: That's okay.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I think all of that's amazing, amazing advice.
Speaker: And you guys have put together a lot of really in-depth content into the group on like tips for being organized and all of that.
Speaker: So if you are a listener and you're not part of filming life, then you can join and they've given tons of like direct step-by-step organizational tips.
Speaker: on how to manage the... And it's a lot.
Speaker: It can be a lot of footage and it can be overwhelming at the end to do it.
Speaker: Do any of you recommend like...
Speaker: putting it together each month and then putting all of that together like how do you do you do it all at the end or do you do it like each month as you go like what's your advice there we all have we all three do different things yeah okay all right tell me what each of you do lindsay you start
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: I, I will, I work, I try and work in the month.
Speaker: So I try and work by the month, but sometimes I get in there to premiere pro like twice a month.
Speaker: And that's what I'm really feeling on top of things.
Speaker: But at the end of the month, like when I know it's getting close, I just try and plan out a day where I'm going to work on it.
Speaker: Usually takes me like one to two hours.
Speaker: That's with all my photos.
Speaker: editing, or I usually have maybe edited, but getting my photos like to what the place where they're going to be printed, getting my clips imported from my camera and from my phone, and then putting together just a month, month's worth on that timeline.
Speaker: And then we do usually, I think most of us here, three of us will export our month to just share, to keep the ball rolling, keep the momentum going.
Speaker: And then I just go back the next month and go back the next month.
Speaker: Cool.
Speaker: And so you add to that.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: It's just all one big project.
Speaker: And you can just export a portion of.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You don't have to either.
Speaker: We do it just because I think we keep the momentum going in the group.
Speaker: What about you, Melissa?
Speaker: So I found my best group by year.
Speaker: doing it over coffee in the morning the day before, like each day.
Speaker: Now I might go a few days in between, but I am a person that gets easily overwhelmed when there's a lot in front of me.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And then I'm ready to delete it all and walk away and give up.
Speaker: Yeah, I'm sure many can relate.
Speaker: So I like little chunks at a time and it's not overwhelming this huge, huge, massive project when I'm just thinking about a little bit at a time, a little bit at a time when it comes time to filming and editing.
Speaker: So that's, that's my approach.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: What about you?
Speaker: Oh, sorry.
Speaker: And then I can get it done.
Speaker: Like in the weird 20 minutes I have in between bus stops.
Speaker: Ah, yes.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: What about you?
Speaker: I do mine month at a time.
Speaker: I, um, well, I say that last year and this year I will, I'll do it all at once.
Speaker: Um, one shot for the month.
Speaker: Now, the first year I did it, I did it almost daily for many, many months because I wanted immediate feedback from, um,
Speaker: my shooting skills.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I would try different picture profiles.
Speaker: I would try different shutter speeds.
Speaker: I would try different lighting situations that I thought I would like.
Speaker: I tried it all.
Speaker: And I threw it into Premiere Pro almost daily.
Speaker: And I looked through all the clips and found out what I liked.
Speaker: And that would really hone in on, like, your voice and what your work looked like.
Speaker: Because
Speaker: Your daily life, so your artwork, doesn't look like anyone else's.
Speaker: And it's just so unique to you, the things that you like and the stuff that I do.
Speaker: So I did do it daily until I figured what worked for me.
Speaker: And now I do it in one shot.
Speaker: And it's much faster that way.
Speaker: I think taking a year of just digging in every single day and figuring out
Speaker: But work.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Work for me really makes a huge difference.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: That makes sense.
Speaker: That makes sense.
Speaker: You guys all sort of touched on this a bit earlier, but I kind of want to talk a little bit more about what watching the films in past years, like especially the ones that you made earlier, how that's impacted you, how that's felt, but also how that's been for your family members.
Speaker: So for your kids, for your partners, what has that, yeah, what's that experience been like?
Speaker: Lindsay?
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I can't speak.
Speaker: My kids don't voice what they are feeling or anything yet, but I notice them watching them on their own.
Speaker: I'll walk in and they can access it on our smart TV and watch
Speaker: I'll walk in and they'll be watching that instead of like SportsCenter or instead of a cartoon.
Speaker: And that really means a lot to me because they're like, I'm not having to gather them around.
Speaker: They're just like choosing to do that on their own.
Speaker: And I remember when I was little,
Speaker: As soon as our parents had the video camera out, we were like, can we watch this when we're done?
Speaker: Like we wanted to watch it right away.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And so I know that it has value to them.
Speaker: I don't know that they could express what that is yet.
Speaker: For me to watch back, I mean, even my terrible, didn't know what I was doing, horrible technical work.
Speaker: I love it.
Speaker: I just love watching that.
Speaker: that stuff.
Speaker: And since I've gotten better at picking the best portion of the clips, like when I, when I see my little, my 14 year old's clips from when he was a baby, I like, I'm like, this is too much.
Speaker: Like, like, you know, it's gotten, it's made me better shooter.
Speaker: It's made me a better like color, color, if that's a word.
Speaker: And just knowing what is important to keep.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I hope that answered the question.
Speaker: You're a better curator.
Speaker: You're better at like... There we go.
Speaker: Better storyteller as well from doing that.
Speaker: What about you, Melissa?
Speaker: What have you found has been the impact...
Speaker: So last year, you know, I took a big needed break for, like I said, and touched on before, for me and my kids.
Speaker: And I told them as I was starting to get back into filming this whole long term project thing, I told them I have like this one year to commit to.
Speaker: And we will see how we all feel at the end of the year.
Speaker: And maybe this is it.
Speaker: Maybe it's not.
Speaker: But I have this one year to commit to.
Speaker: And my 14-year-old froze.
Speaker: He turns around.
Speaker: And he's like, what do you mean?
Speaker: And I was like, well, we're just going to take it one year at a time.
Speaker: And he goes, but you have to do this when I'm a senior in high school.
Speaker: Like, you have to promise me you're going to do this.
Speaker: And I feel like that...
Speaker: spoke volumes about what they thought, whether they were going to tell me or not.
Speaker: That's amazing.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I was just like, oh.
Speaker: I mean, okay, so here's my thing.
Speaker: Like, over the years of starting this when my kids were babies, and now them being teenagers, it's like a totally different thing.
Speaker: There's so many complexities behind having teenagers and having all of this footage of them and so much of it being online and having...
Speaker: How do they really feel about that and how is this impacting them?
Speaker: And I just think it's huge that he is like, what do you mean?
Speaker: You might not.
Speaker: Like, how could you not?
Speaker: You have to keep going.
Speaker: And I just think that it shows how valuable and important it is to them.
Speaker: And yeah, that's huge, I think.
Speaker: Huge.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: What about you, Laura?
Speaker: If I can just add... Oh, sorry.
Speaker: No, you go ahead.
Speaker: I was just going to say to that, I think all of us have like 14-ish year old kids.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: Like I don't show this stuff anymore.
Speaker: The people that get to see it are filming Life Academy because it's like this closed private group where we're like learning from each other.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And them.
Speaker: And that's it.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Like I don't share these on social media.
Speaker: I don't share them on my blog anymore.
Speaker: I don't share them anywhere else.
Speaker: But it's.
Speaker: it's something that you do for yourself.
Speaker: I feel like in this stage of the game, and it doesn't make it less like,
Speaker: worth doing you know what i mean absolutely absolutely yeah i think i also it's like the the the show of like would you be doing this whether you were posting it on social media or not like yes you know because it's not it's not for that it's for the family it's for you i also get permission yeah if there's any question of like
Speaker: even if it stays within us, are they going to be embarrassed by this?
Speaker: Like, even in the next year, I get permission and I usually get the oh, yeah, put that in.
Speaker: That's hilarious.
Speaker: And every child is different about what they feel like their confidence level within themselves.
Speaker: My teenager, you know, it's like one day it's yeah, like we'll do whatever.
Speaker: And then the next it's
Speaker: It's less so.
Speaker: So it's kind of, it definitely is like getting that permission from them and feeling comfortable with what's out there and, but at the end of the day, not stopping.
Speaker: And I think that's what made me like,
Speaker: get so emotional when I watched all of yours is because I feel like I have really pulled back a lot filming my own kids and there's so many reasons behind that it's not necessarily just because of social media or anything like there hasn't been any issues there it's just more um
Speaker: I just haven't made it a priority and I wish that I had.
Speaker: And by seeing you guys do it, it just inspires me so much.
Speaker: And I think for me, like, especially this year, seeing how much my oldest will grow and change, he's still a boy.
Speaker: And I feel like this is the year that's going to change.
Speaker: And I have to get that.
Speaker: Like, I just, there's no doubt, but you have to hold me accountable and be like, Courtney, I
Speaker: Are you filming?
Speaker: And I have been like, and even Lindsay, I've been using my phone because I'm just like, I don't care if I don't have my camera.
Speaker: I just don't care.
Speaker: Like seeing, I know that you said you wish like you were using your camera more, but it just opened it up to me that I was just like, I don't need to worry that it's not my camera.
Speaker: I'm just going to use my phone and that's fine.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So, Laura, tell me what you have felt like has this impacted you and you've touched on this a lot already.
Speaker: So, but like your kids and how, like, what is their reaction been to it and your partner?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So, um, my littles just watch it all day.
Speaker: My, especially my daughter will ask to watch it constantly.
Speaker: Um, but, um, I always show my monthly projects to my family, or I just try to show them to my family before I share them anywhere else.
Speaker: Um, but I think anytime you, um,
Speaker: are recording YouTube or the other family's daily lives like we're walking on Secret Space.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So we have had hard years and I've felt them and I have back and I still have these gut feeling while I watch them because there was heartache and but that's part of our story.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I would hate to leave that out.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I still look back at it and like I'm very, very thankful that I was through it all like some of them hurt me.
Speaker: But they're worthy.
Speaker: They're worth keeping and they're worth telling our story because it is our story and our kids are going to want to remember.
Speaker: all of it.
Speaker: Also going back to that hope thing is that every part of our story is good and fun and laughing and all that stuff.
Speaker: A lot of story isn't that, but we can go back through all the little clips and say, hey, but it's good the next day or hey, it becomes good.
Speaker: So we can point back and say, yeah, that was really hard, but look what we came through.
Speaker: um yeah just I don't know that's what I feel really convicted on even this year is to tell more of the real raw story um yeah my well I'll tell y'all my current situation is that my son just in the last two weeks he um he had an accident and he got burned with water and um
Speaker: It's been a really, really hard two weeks.
Speaker: And, um, I feel compelled to like tell that as part of our story is because this is what we've done day in and day out for the last two weeks.
Speaker: We have, that's all I have done as a mother is take care of him.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: And he went back to school today, friends.
Speaker: So anyways, that's I feel like I have to tell this as part of our story because it's been such a big deal.
Speaker: It's been such a life changing event in our January.
Speaker: I feel like that's.
Speaker: what it has been.
Speaker: So it's not all good, but it's something that you can point back to and have hope.
Speaker: So when they go back and my kids are, when my kids are adults, that they can look through their childhood and I hope they see that like, oh, as an adult, I can have hope too, because there were bad times, but there are good times.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: I think that that is huge for them.
Speaker: And I think, yeah,
Speaker: You always just have to listen to your gut and what feels right and, you know, creating that and telling that story.
Speaker: And even if it means holding on to it and, you know, samering it for a bit and then letting that out later.
Speaker: But that's, is okay now.
Speaker: And that's amazing.
Speaker: Okay, so...
Speaker: One of the things that I have written down here is that it feels like a lot of work.
Speaker: Is it worth it?
Speaker: Is it worth it?
Speaker: I mean, like everybody's nodding their heads.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: 100%.
Speaker: Yes. 100%.
Speaker: I think that the more that you like once you you guys have all like demonstrated this really well and I articulated it very well but like it's more just a matter of starting and then you'll get into a groove of it and it is 100% worth the amount of effort.
Speaker: So are there any things that you would do differently like
Speaker: looking back on it all now and any advice for someone who's just starting, but are there any things like mistakes that you've kind of made along the way or like things you maybe wish you'd done differently?
Speaker: When I first started, I was, I had the free hit film and I was editing in Lightroom, putting in hit film, getting rid of all the audio and exporting it like that.
Speaker: That was a huge mistake.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Do not get rid of that audio.
Speaker: I don't care if it was recorded with your phone, GoPro, whatever, like do not get rid of that audio that.
Speaker: I don't know if you all know about like glimmers versus triggers.
Speaker: It's kind of like the opposite of a trigger.
Speaker: It like sparks like the good memories, right?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Audio is so important to like be tied with that to spark those good memories for me in particular, I think a lot of us.
Speaker: And so, yeah, it's needed.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: That's a great, great thing.
Speaker: Anyone else?
Speaker: Um, yeah, so first, um, or the first year I, I really thought it'd be like much fun to do.
Speaker: So I broke my head into like three or four projects.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Then I tried to unify them all together and I didn't have the skills to do that quite.
Speaker: And even now it would be trickier.
Speaker: I'm glad that I can now start with one whole project instead of, I ended up redoing so much work at the end of the year.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Trying to unite it all.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So just keeping it all in one project instead of multiple projects and trying to like do one because you can do that in Premiere Pro.
Speaker: You can open up multiple projects and put something together from that.
Speaker: But it does make it more complicated to do it that way.
Speaker: A bonus of doing one project is that throughout the year when you need a boost, you can watch it all back.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that gets you through.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Lindsay, anything you'd do differently?
Speaker: I think I, I don't know.
Speaker: It's hard to say because I don't regret what I've done.
Speaker: I'm glad I have it, but I, there are times when I feel like I was like,
Speaker: phoning it in like with my with my phone and stuff and not taking my camera out as much and not making more of an effort I'm glad it's done like yeah so I don't regret it but I do think sometimes I'm not as intentional um I think Laura is super
Speaker: Intentional.
Speaker: Like she has goals and they're not technical goals.
Speaker: They're not like, but she has like things she wants to make sure her family knows about her, like love further.
Speaker: Like I'm not, I, I'm just kind of shallow maybe.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I don't think that deeply about it, but I wish I do.
Speaker: So I think sometimes like I say, just jump right in, just do it anyway, give yourself grace.
Speaker: But I do think sometimes I put a little more thought into it and like maybe plan out.
Speaker: I do have like goals of having a shot list that I want to have.
Speaker: Things that like how Melissa said with her son's hair, doing her son's hair.
Speaker: Like when I notice things that I feel like I need to take a video of, I want to start making a list of those things so that on a day when I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I can like knock a few of them out.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Because...
Speaker: I do think that's something I'm just not as thoughtful.
Speaker: Like I have a four-year-old at home who's really super cute.
Speaker: And a lot of my project is my four-year-old over and over and over again, instead of involving everybody and, you know, branching out a bit.
Speaker: So I think I just need to put a little more effort in.
Speaker: One more thing.
Speaker: There's that type A coming through.
Speaker: See, it's a problem.
Speaker: No, I love that.
Speaker: And I mean, like, that's helpful for anyone to hear that people who have been doing it for this many years still have things that they think about and maybe wish they did differently.
Speaker: And that's just kind of an ongoing thing.
Speaker: That is just...
Speaker: how it always is, there is no finish line, there's just constant progression and there's a journey and it's up and down.
Speaker: And you might have years where you're feeling like you can be more forward thinking,
Speaker: And then you might have years where you're in survival mode and it's just enough to get something every day or every few days or once a month.
Speaker: So, you know, all of those things are really valuable for someone who's starting to hear and to learn about.
Speaker: So thank you all so much for being here and sharing your wisdom and advice and thoughts and passion about everything
Speaker: this project because I really think that although it feels really big, it's something that is super achievable for people, so much more so than I think they realize.
Speaker: And I also think
Speaker: it can be so therapeutic and so rewarding to do.
Speaker: So if you are interested in filmmaking, this is something that you want to do.
Speaker: Join us and join this group and be a part of it.
Speaker: And you'll have these amazing women to help support you along the way and me as well.
Speaker: All of that education is there at Filming Life to get you started on the filmmaking skills if you've never even shot video before.
Speaker: you can get started with that.
Speaker: And it's just a great, it's a great thing to be doing for yourself and for your family.
Speaker: So thank you all so much.
Speaker: And we'll see you next time.
Speaker: Bye.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Thanks for having us.
Speaker: No problem.
