Days of Film

Last night at about 8:30 p.m. I started to panic, looking around the room wildly. What interesting or compelling thing, between 5 and 30 seconds long, could I find to film? And then I realized, oh wait, I’m done.

I suspect these moments of panic will continue for about a week. After all, it’s hard to break a year-long, daily habit. During 2011, I posted 365 (plus a few) videos over a period of 365 days. I choose these 365 videos from thousands that I took over the year. None of the shots were edited or changed—each was posted as is.

Over the course of the year, my videos received 5907 views. Not viral by any means, but a great accomplishment. 

Here are 5 ways I am different now because of the blog:

1. Awareness of the World

Being always on the lookout for something moving that is interesting and/or compelling, I’ve become a lot more aware of the things around me. I’m much more likely to notice and appreciate all the amazing things in the world, from leaves to facial expressions to the way a machine moves. I also think more visually and filmically. 

2. Knowledge that I can achieve lofty goals in small bits

I first learned this when I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2010, during which I wrote an entire 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Once again, the idea of “baby steps,” of tackling a giant project one step at a time, has been reinforced. Choosing a big goal and working on it every day for a year makes me feel capable of doing great things. 

3. Preparedness

I rarely left the house without a video camera last year, and as a result, I was always ready to film a shot when I saw something happening (except for a few times when I forgot to put the memory card back in the camera—a certain cool snow plow will never be seen by anyone on film). I want to be ready to participate in art at any time—whether it’s having my pen or other materials in hand. 

What’s Next? 

While I’m not going to film and post every day, if I see something interesting or compelling, I may post it on this blog. 

In the next week, I’ll be posting compilation videos (all of my January clips in one video, etc.). I may even create a video that contains every shot that I took over the entire year, though I suspect it would be boring, so I don’t recommend you watch it.

Beyond that, I’m going to start editing these shots into some form of final project. I may post rough cuts on this blog, and I’ll definitely be submitting to a few film festivals. 

If you want to participate in my other life adventures and projects, make sure to follow the blog on my personal website, katherinecowley.com.