20 May TIPS FOR CREATING A DAY IN THE LIFE VIDEO
If you’re planning to create a Day In The Life video on 23/02/23. Here are some tips and thoughts about the project, incase you’ve never planned, shot or edited one before.
Think about what’s going to happen in your day… yes, it’s good to be open to spontaneous moments, but the likelihood is, you’ll have a good idea what the order of your day will be and the key moments you’d like to capture.
I like to approach it as a memory gatherer, focusing on the moments and everyday details, that I’d like to remember in years to come.
Ask yourself –
What is special and unique about your life as it is right at this moment?
What details of your day might change over time, to it’s worth documenting them now?
Preparations –
GET READY – Make sure the device you’re shooting on is ready – Camera/phone batteries are charged and your memory cards are empty or that you’ve got space on your phone. Have everything ready the night before, so you can get started first thing in the morning.
KEEP IT REAL – Don’t obsess about having a tidy house, remember this about capturing the realness of life. If you really don’t want to share the mess or certain parts of your home, be creative with composing your shots and crop things out if you prefer.
ON A MISSION – Make the people who’ll be with you that day, aware of your mission, get them onside and encourage them to be an active part of the day.
GET IN THE FRAME – Try and include yourself in some of the scenes of your video. Even if you feel uncomfortable. You are part of the story too. Think about the best situations where you can get involved in the video. Use the front facing camera, or prop your phone down on a surface, hit record and step into the frame.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF – It can be tiring to be documenting all day – prep snacks or even plan your meals and remember if you need to take a break, give yourself permission to take one. You don’t need to shoot every minute of the day! Just the key moments throughout the day.
PREP MUSIC – Pick out some music tracks in advance, just so you’ve got some choices in the edit or when uploading. For ease, take a look at Epidemic Sound (aff link) who offer a 30 day free trial. Here are my monthly playlists with tracks I like. Or save some music tracks on Instagram Reels, if you’re uploading there.
The music can reflect the type of day you’re going to have and enhance the footage – a lazy cosy day, or are you out and about, at work, doing chores or with family?… choose your music accordingly. This blog post might help – Choosing Music For Your Videos.
VARY YOUR SHOTS – Include a mix of compositions and angles to make the video more interesting – explore and experiment. Wide and close ups, use time lapses and slow motion. Shoot in different ways, like along the floor, from above, through objects – be experimental! Turn it into a visual feast.
AUDIO – Consider the snippets of sound you’re capturing in your footage. It’s another layer of emotion or storytelling. Phones/cameras have integrated microphones, but beware of background noises or the wind when shooting outside, these can disturb the main source of audio that you’d like to capture.
NOTICE – The everyday stuff and mundane details tell the story of your life on that day. What details are likely to change over the years, include as many as you can. Don’t forget to capture shots that show the time of year – blossom for spring or rain in the winter, for example.
THE FLOW – As you’re likely to edit in chronological order, have an idea in your head of how you’re going to start and end your video and that you’ve got enough during the day to make the film flow. For example, don’t go crazy with multiple scenes in the morning and then only a couple of shots in the evening or nothing to end on. Have a balance of footage throughout the day to tell the whole story.
But do take a break when you need to, but try not to stop shooting before the day is over… it’s really wonderful to have a little something from each part of the day.
REMEMBER – Remind yourself, you don’t have to film every… single… thing you do. It will be too much footage and it’s about looking for key moments and your unique stories.
KEEP IT FRESH – It seems daunting to pull a DITL video together and to be honest – it is! But it’s worth it. Start editing as soon as you can. Let the momentum of shooting carry you into the edit. Obviously you don’t have to edit the same day, but try and do it within a week of shooting, so it feels fresh and interesting to you.
ORGANISE – Sort through your footage to begin with. It’s likely you won’t use everything you’ve shot. Select your favourite clips and start to build your project. You can always go back and add more in, but to bring everything you’ve shot into your edit, may feel overwhelming.
VOICEOVER – Consider adding a voiceover. It adds another element and you can give a little more insight into your day.
EDIT – I recommend editing it in chronological order to tell the true story of your day. Hopefully you’ve already picked out some music, as that can help with the flow of your film.
The length of your video is up to you. It will depend on what you’ve shot, how much footage you have and where you might like to share your finished video. There’s no optimum length, it’s a personal preference. Just be mindful – Does the story telling carry you through all the way to the end? While watching, is your attention held throughout? If you’re sharing on Instagram Reels, your video should be between 3 – 60 seconds, or in feed – it can be any length.
If the video is becoming too long, consider splitting it up into different chapters – e.g. Morning & evening films. That way you can enjoy all the footage in smaller portions.
HAVE FUN! – Most of all make the experience enjoyable. There is no pressure to make the most incredible movie of your life, it’s just about gathering little moments here and there and putting them together as the story of your day. Have fun with it.
Hopefully some of these tips have been helpful and you’re all set to create your Day In The Life video.
It really is a wonderful video to make! and something you’ll love for years to come.
If you’d like more guidance to start making your own videos – check out MAKE VIDEOS – 30 DAYS OF CREATIVE FUN – my NEW online course where I share everything you need to get started and inspiration to take you through the whole process and find the love of making videos!
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