A long time ago I found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyx6O_WFJhU - a guy capturing one second of video each day, edited with the original audio. It perfectly captured a year of his life, inspiring me to start my own one-second project in 2013
2013 was my Junior year of college at UNCW. I was 21 years old. It was the first year I had a smartphone with not-potato-quality video (a Samsung Galaxy S3). I just needed to remember to pull out my phone and capture a quick clip at some point during each day. And I did! I only missed a couple days, capturing a year of college life - hanging with friends, going to class & work, beach trips, and lots of small fun things in-between. At the end of the year I painstakingly edited every second by hand using Adobe Premiere then compiled & uploaded to YouTube. Hooray I did it! One Second Everyday 2013 in the books - I was proud that I completed it!
2014 rolls around and I was distinctly less dedicated about continuing the project. With wishy-washy intentions, too many missed days in a row, and limited motivation to hand-edit the video, I ended up never producing a 2014 One Second Everyday video. The year ended and I remember feeling something missing- I didn't have this cool artifact to look back on like I did in 2013! I wish I had continued.
So I decided I'd start the project up again for 2015, and made a mental commitment that I'd try to never miss another year again. I started using the 1SE app to quickly edit clips (created by Cesar Kuriyama - the guy who originally inspired me). It made things simple, and I had a renewed appreciation for the project, so in 2015 I got back on the wagon. And I've successfully completed the project every year since.
It became routine habit to capture a quick video clip of whatever I was doing. I often take several throughout the day. My default now is to take a clip of video instead of photos - I love how the additional movement and audio captures the vibe in a way that a still photo doesn't.
When editing, choosing the moment of the day is an important decision in itself. It feels impactful to essentially choose one second to remember the day by. And as I edit, it's also a great opportunity to reflect on the recent month or year. I sometimes use 2 videos, for "special days". I find this matches how our memory works - some days a lot happens, and they feel a lot longer and more impactful than others. So I wanted to make sure I remember those too - when picking just 1 moment from a day is too tough.
As the years went on I would often go back and watch old ones. And I started to notice that every year the value compounds. Going back and watching older years is a very cool experience. I can relive my life from 12 years ago and remember things that I would've totally forgotten otherwise. Big life changes, big adventures, and multi-year trends about how I've grown as a person - I can look back and literally watch them happen in the span of a few minutes. Moving cities, getting married, buying a house, getting a dog. It's amazing to go back and see where I was at that time.
And then in August of 2023 we had a baby. And the true value of this project really started to show.
I recently compiled the 2024 edition. When I start the video to recap the year, it's always a shock to see how young my son Wes was. In 2024 he went from 6 months to 18 months old - from a tiny baby to a full-on babbling, running around, full-of-joy toddler. And it happens in 8 minutes. Every second of the video he grows bigger, learns something new, or unlocks a new skill. And I can watch it happen in realtime. It is truly incredible
I can't imagine what this will feel like far in the future. The value of these artifacts is immeasurable to me, and grows more precious with each passing year.
It's hard to express how grateful I am for having started this project so long ago. I've decided to make my videos up until 2023 public—before Wes arrived and our story became more personal. But I can confidently say this is the most important project I've ever undertaken. One second a day, for as long as I'm able, capturing a life unfolding one moment at a time.