Well, friends, we’re fresh off the Oscars, and perhaps that’s gotten some of us to thinking that WE might like to be Hollywood starlets, or at the very least “visionary” directors, ourselves. Just me? Oh, I see.
Ok, yes, it is late in the game to make it in Hollywood, since Hollywood years are like dog years. I’ll venture that most of us here are past our dog-year prime. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t make a little movie magic of our own. This is especially tempting if you have young children at home. Also viable are grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and the like. The paper boy is off limits. Let me remind you that in all likelihood your child will never look this good again. It’s time to make some memories while the getting’s good.
Which brings me to this: I was recently selected to test out a new app called OneDay- Instant Movie Maker.
I know what you’re thinking: Liz is a baller now. Only ballers get selected for such things. And you would be right.
Don’t be intimidated though. Baller or not, this app can work for you. To put it another way: I don’t care if you have balls.
Where was I? Oh yes, the OneDay app.
With the OneDay app you can make short, customized home movies with music and a professional finish right on your phone (Note: this is not true if you have a landline. Your corded telephone will not make movies. It will serve as a nice prop in a period drama though, so hang on to it).
Assuming you have a smart phone, download the OneDay app! It costs you nothing and it basically makes you a professional filmmaker, only without the sets, talent, actors, lighting, video cameras, and craft services. So not at all the same. Still, this little app is really cool. It’s simple to use and the results are sharp (much sharper than what you can pull together with the regular video feature on your phone).
Nolan, his friend Daisy, and I decided to give this bad boy a whirl yesterday. Sure it interrupted our “destroy the house” time, but art requires sacrifice. I contemplated shooting a video with only Nolan, but he kept babbling about needing a muse. Daisy is well known in our circle as the “IT” girl, so we jumped on the chance to work with her.
Our inspirations for this film were varied, but included Roots, Weekend at Bernie’s, Schindler’s List, and 21 Jump Street. We went through some extensive script writing and a rigorous editing process. Egos were injured, tempers flared, and there were a number of contract disputes. But we prevailed, with this masterpiece to show for our efforts:
Not bad, eh? I really like how the app incorporates music and transitions, which of course you could do if you wanted to take the time to use editing software like iMovie, but how much easier is it to just use a simple app right on your phone? In case the answer was unclear: it’s MUCH EASIER.
Note: Please disregard (or heartily embrace!) my “charming” regional/Bostonian accent in our movie. It may help you to embrace it if you remember how much you liked Good Will Hunting.
So, here’s the deal: the ONEDAY INSTANT MOVIE MAKER app is free, it’s super easy to use, and it elevates your home videos with zero effort on your part. If you’re a liger mom (with high hopes but low energy) this may appeal to you. The app has different themes to choose from, with each theme offering different “prompt” questions. There are choices that work for babies, toddlers, older kids and adults. New themes and sets of questions come out regularly, with a huge variety of seasonal themes.
I can see this facilitating the creation of a nice present for a grandparent, if you are a. very thoughtful and b. very thrifty.
Give it a try folks, I think you’ll like it! If enough of you try this perhaps we can feature a “best of” post in a few weeks. (Note: I saved my video on my phone -there is an easy option to do so – and then uploaded it to YouTube).
Let the movie-making begin!
For IOS Downloads: Go Here
For Android Downloads: Go Here
While I received compensation for my time, all opinions are 100% my own.
Never apologize for your Boston accent, Liz… it gives you internet street cred, so “net cred” maybe? Anyways, great post and adorable video! In the next one, I’d like to see Nolan acting out the “How do yah like THEM apples?!” scene…
Nolan and I will be practicing that scene day and night until we NAIL it. First we need to teach him to talk, and then to read, and then to act…so this should be easy.
I was wondering about the text transitions – I thought yours would be a bit more whimsical/hilarious than their prompts, but perhaps in the future they’ll have a “Mothership Down” themed template! “My hair glamour shot” and “Hostess with the Mostess” could be two of the prompts.
Jokes aside, I do want to download this!
Casey – yes, one limitation is that you can’t write your own prompts. It would be awesome if that feature gets added at some point. I would definitely add a little whimsy if I could write them, but this is more of a straight-shooter type of app 🙂 Still, it’s really cool and easy to use so I’d recommend it!