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Moms And Dads - Let Your Videos Roll (An Homage To Camcorders)

This article is more than 4 years old.

Jonathan Borba

Thanks to our smart phones, we now have the power to take videos of our family, friends, pets (and frequently ourselves) anytime, anywhere. Gone are the days (do any of you even remember them?) when we had to pre-plan and take our bulky camcorders with us. Video serendipity was not possible. Now it is. See something, whip out your smart phone, touch that red button and record for a few seconds. Powerful, right? Absolutely. But at the same time, those micro video moments – most of which we either forget or even discard to clear storage – don’t truly capture the depth or “soul” of those moments in time.

That really hit home a couple weeks back when I finally digitized my father’s old family movies from decades ago. My wife, two kids and I eagerly watched them – transfixed -- on our big screen. As we watched, the most compelling videos were those where my dad simply had let the camera run. That’s how home movies were back then. These were multi-minute mini movies, not mere transitory video snippets. These longer videos drove memories of how we were – and how life was – back in the day.

Years later when I became a father, and not so long ago, things weren’t that much different. Yes, technology changed. My father’s Super 8 camera evolved to my Sony camcorder. But just like dad, I had pressed record and let the camera run. My user behavior was entirely different just a few years back, precisely because our phone-driven video capture technology today is fundamentally different. Not so long ago, I recorded lengthy videos of my two young kids – as babies -- bobbing, babbling and simply “being.” I recorded long conversations with grandparents who are no longer with us.

Incredible. Impactful. Priceless.

Priceless, precisely because I had thoughtfully captured in-depth life moments-in-time and experiences, rather than thoughtless volumes of frequently disposable video snippets in the age of the selfie.

As I wrote a few years back when this realization first hit me, yes, that smart phone serendipity of today - that mobility, ease of use, HD quality - is powerful. No question about it. We can now capture fleeting moments that were not possible only a few years ago in the age of camcorders. But in terms of impact, our longer videos of yore – actual home “movies” – pack significantly more power and emotional punch. Teleport you back in time in a way micro video clips can’t.

Maybe these actual home movies are also more impactful because fewer of them exist. As I wrote back then, in these days of anytime, anywhere endless phone-driven video capture, we have become video collectors by the pound. We capture hundreds, even thousands of videos, but then don’t know what to do with them (or later how to find them). Frequently lost is the art of reflection, of curation.

So, all you parents out there, keep your eye on the prize. Be patient. Take the time. You may even want to buy a seemingly-obsolete camcorder (they still sell them!) to remind you of your new-found video discipline. Let your stories unfold. The best ones are simple everyday moments of your kid that run for several minutes , frequently capture unexpected surprises, and capture who they really “were” at the time -- how they looked, how they spoke, how they acted. Who they were.

Let your videos roll.

And once you have, take your dedication further. Take the time to upload them, organize them, and store them in a safe place in the Cloud for future viewing.

Maybe not today – but several years from now – you’ll be glad you did.

 

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