CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE RESER FAMILY #1SE VIDEO

As someone who works professionally in social media, it takes a lot to impress me. But for the past several years, a college friend’s annual post on Jan. 1 would blow me out of the water.

My pal from the University of Montana, Jennifer, would publish a 1 Second Everyday (#1SE) video that chronicled her family’s previous year via 365 one-second video clips—a clip for each day. These videos would always come out beautiful. They were authentic, endearing, and fun. It wasn’t just a video from my perspective, it was a work of art.

Jennifer and I at the University of Montana in 2007.

For probably 2-3 years I watched Jennifer’s videos with so much wonder and respect—and perhaps a little bit of envy. I knew her videos were spectacular for a couple big reasons: they were extremely thoughtful and took an entire year to make. In a world of instant gratification and “quick content,” these year-long #1SE videos take a lot of discipline, planning, and consistency. Not exactly attributes that all of us are willing to uphold for a video project.

And that is why I spent multiple years observing Jennifer’s project from the outside looking in. I thought they were incredible and I thought it would be nice to do one for my family but I was weary of whether I had the commitment and energy to pull one off myself.

I highly recommend creating a video using the I Second Everyday app.

A couple years ago I reached out to Jennifer about the behind-the-scenes production of her videos. I was finally seriously considering making my own. I unfortunately ended up passing. However, a year ago at this time, I reached out to Jennifer once again. This time around I was ready to take the plunge.

I asked more detailed questions and found out all the info about the #1SE app. Jennifer allowed me to pick her brain and filled me in about how the app makes the production of the videos so easy. Basically, the #1SE app does everything for you in terms of video production except for shooting the actual videos. It did come with a price ($50 per year) but it was an investment I was ready to make.

What an incredible project it was! My wife and children totally bought-in. If I was out of town, my wife would capture a clip for me. If I needed Sloan and Beau to help with a shot, they were more than eager. I would mentally plan #1SE shots for the upcoming week depending what was on our calendar and look forward to actually shooting them.

Our Reser Family #1SE is a little over 6 minutes long and can be viewed on YouTube.

Once I got in the groove of capturing a clip each day, I became more and more invested in the project. It was exhilarating to see the clips stack up and the length of the video slowly increase. I started to daydream about when the project would finally be done.

After using the #ISE app to edit the final video and choose a song, I was ready to “premiere” the video to loved ones. On Dec. 31, my tribe of four gathered in front of our TV and together we watched the Reser Family #1SE. What a rewarding 6+ minutes it was! The attention spans of Sloan and Beau were captivated and the tears ran down the cheeks of Sid as we watched. A couple hours later I went over to my parents’ house to allow them to watch the video on their big screen. They had absolutely no idea what to expect and only had a vague understanding of what #1SE actually was. Listening to their reactions as the clips sped by was so gratifying. Yes, they wanted to watch it again. I then sent the video link to various people in our circle of friends before posting to social media.

My parents watch the Reser Family #ISE video for the first time.

Our Reser Family #1SE video will be something we treasure forever. What I especially like about the final product is that it captured the values of our family so well: time together, faith, and friends. I want to extend a very special thank you to Jennifer for providing the inspiration and motivation to embark on this project. As she was counsel for me, I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about 1 Second Everyday…there is still time to jump on for 2024! Don’t Blink.