My Dad is a Home Video (Family Vlog) Craftsman
Hello. I'm Shamo, a dad cameraman who started video production because I love home videos (family vlogs) so much.
In this age of smartphones, I dare to call the currently popular vlogs "home videos." It has a bit of a Showa-era ring to it, but since I'm already a "Showa-era dad" running around with a camera, it might actually fit quite well.
(shot on OSMO POCKET 3 / 4K30p)
This time, I'd like to talk about how I got hooked on home videos and what I love about them.
How my family got hooked on home videos
I love filming with a camera!
(shot on OSMO ACTION 5Pro / 4K30p)
First of all, it's simply because I enjoy holding the camera. I originally took tons of photos and videos with my iPhone, but that accelerated after I bought a mirrorless camera.
I want to capture my children's lives through the lens. I don't want to miss their little gestures or funny behaviors. I want to save moments that will definitely be fun to watch again someday.
A big hit with distant relatives
(shot on OSMO ACTION 5Pro / 4K30p)
Also, I have a desire to show my "natural self" to relatives living far away.
When we meet in person, children tend to put on a bit of an act, so the side of them they don't show in front of the camera—like the funny faces they make or how they look right after waking up—is fresh and a huge hit with my relatives.
However, the fact that they are learning to perform in front of the camera lately might be a challenge in a way (laughs).
What I love about home videos
Just before I got tackled and the footage got all shaky, with them saying, "How long are you going to keep filming!"
(shot on OSMO ACTION 5Pro / 4K30p)
In home videos, unexpected happenings during filming are actually the main attraction. There are many times when I capture footage I didn't intend, like "Why are you making that face right now!?" or "Why are you singing a mysterious song into the microphone!?" It's common in our house for it to turn into a "variety show" before we know it. That's a wrap (laughs).
When editing, there are so many fun scenes that I find myself watching the raw footage over and over, and before I know it, I've made a long, hilarious video. In the end, I just sit in front of the PC late at night grinning, and the editing doesn't progress at all.
When I was a kid, it was 8mm video
(shot on OSMO POCKET 3 / 4K30p)
When I was a kid, if you wanted to send footage to relatives, you had to mail it, and watching it came with the ritual of "rewinding first." Editing was difficult unless you were a pro, and for the average family, the most you could do was dub it using two VCRs, right?
Now, we have 4K, shake-free video in a palm-sized camera. And since it's data, you can send it in an instant. Thanks to technological advancements, our home videos are saved in super high quality. It really is a grateful world we live in.
Home videos are fun to both shoot and edit!
(shot on OSMO ACTION 5Pro / 4K30p)
So, for me, home videos are a hobby and a record for my family. It makes me happy to be able to deliver our "natural selves" to distant relatives, and above all, just imagining the future where my children look back and laugh, saying "Was I really like that?" is reason enough to keep going. I even have the feeling that if they ever ask for footage for a wedding, I'll have so much that I'll overwhelm them.
We live in an era where some videos are shared with the world on social media, but for our family, home videos are "treasures for the whole family." That's why I'm picking up the camera again today.
A home video craftsman's day off is busy.
SyamO
Introduction to the equipment I find useful for home videos