To the Parents Who Want to Raise Confident, Resilient human beings:
“GIVE ME 10 MINS A DAY FOR 2 WEEKS AND YOU’LL BE CURATING A LEGACY FOR YOUR CHILDREN, THAT WILL FORM FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE!”
From: Tim Richardson, Memory Makers Academy
As a parent of 2 strong, independent girls, I know what it’s like…
Creating a life that’s memorable for your children can be exhausting!
If you’re like most parents I talk to, we want everything for our children. But the most important thing, (…perhaps more important than putting food on the table or a roof over their heads) is that we believe in them and we raise children who can believe in themself!
Literally every rags to riches story ever told starts with belief!
In trying to raise confident, resilient children we try and give them experiences that will help contribute to those feelings of self belief.
So what most parents do?
We go from one thing to the next – planning the next big adventure – in the hope that those experiences will the be the things that stick in their long term memory.
But unless we’re providing them with a curated set of memories we’re leaving those memories to chance.
So we document it as we’re going along…
We take photos. Videos. Journal…
…but doing all of that just adds to the pressures we already face trying to raise a family, go to work, be a good partner, and have a little time to ourselves occasionally too!
When it comes to documenting what’s going on parents often fall into two camps:
1: A passive observer of the fun
You spend all your time taking photos and videos of your kids having fun – but not able to be present. You end up with thousands of photos – but never the time to do anything with them because you’ve got so many! Turning them into something meaningful becomes a gargantuan task.
2: Present but Pictureless
You focus on spending quality time with your children and creating experiences – but never document any of it! You have some great experiences but very little record of them.
…chances are at some point you’ve fallen into both categories
I want to tell you that you can do both.
YOu can be present with your children and curate a set of memories
“the moral of the story is that you don’t remember what happened. What you remember becomes what happened”
– John Green
Pictures alone don’t create long term memories
My eldest daughter was born the year after my dad died.
Despite being a professional videographer for 10 years I’d never turned the camera around and filmed my dad…
I’ve got photos but no video…
And so now that my daughter is older I’m having to tell her what he was like rather than show her what he was like.
And a photo just doesn’t do the same thing as a video…
The two images here show two men. The chap on the left is taken from a stock photography site. The one on the right is Morgan Freeman.
Even though you’ve likely never met Morgan Freeman – I bet if I wrote down a sentence and asked you to read it in his voice you could do it.
If I asked you to picture him at your dinner table you’d be able to come up with a fairly strong mental picture of what your conversations would be like.
If I gave you a few scenarios and said which option do you think Morgan Freeman would choose – you’d probably be able to come up with a very strong argument as to why he would choose one thing over the other based on what you know of him.
Why? Because you’ve seen him so many times on film that you feel like you know him.
And every parent I ask to do the same exercises will likely have a very similar image in their head.
Do the same activity with the stock image on the left and every persons mental picture will be different.
Just recently I was feeding my 4 month old and said to my eldest
“It won’t be long before she’s on to solid food!”
To which my daughter replied with a chuckle
“Daddy do you remember when I first had solid food and mummy said “This is Rey’s first real food!” and you said, “Well she’s mostly just sucking my finger!”
She sat there laughing!
A moment she’d watched a dozen times had become a memory!
It was here I realised that curating a set of memories could be far more than just having some nice family films to watch. Memories aren’t static, they aren’t just a snapshot in time. They are a re-imagination of a moment.
And we can curate a set of memories that will form the foundations of our children’s identity.
If you want your children to be adventurous in the future – then showing them being adventurous in the past can give them that belief that they can do it again!
In 2008: Neuroscientist Uri Hasson, Ph.D recorded brain activity and eye movement as people watched two different videos and documented the patterns he observed in the viewers brains.
In the first video, viewers eyes and brain activity were scattered; the video wasn’t holding their attention. They were watching an unedited, ‘segment of reality’ filmed at a park. No editing. no cuts just one long film.
In the second video, viewers’ eyes were drawn to the same spots and their brain activity was nearly 70% identical. It was grabbing their attention and controlling their thoughts 13 times more effectively than the first video.
The difference?
IT WAS EDITED!
When parents pick up their phones to film – they typically film a 1-2 minute clip.
And the result…
When you’re scrolling through your phone 2 years down the line you can’t remember what was on that clip so you press play… after 10 seconds you see nothing really happening so you skip through to the end to see if there’s anything good that happens before skipping on to the next.
The emotion that is conveyed through unedited film is essentially one of boredom.
More often than not these stay unwatched, or worse – deleted.
Just seeing the artwork of your favourite film on Netflix and the film starts playing in your head. You know it inside and out. It carries with it emotion, a story, excitement, adventure, perhaps even sadness.
Your family films should make you feel something too.
When my daughter goes through my phone looking at the films we’ve made over the last few years – she knows exactly what happens in each one – just by looking at the thumbnail!
Well, the truth is that I’d been filming professionally for over a decade – but for the first 2 years, I barely made a single film of my daughter. I did what every other parent does.
Just long clips.
Even though I had the skills to make a beautiful film I didn’t have the time, or the energy to go out and do it.
With my corporate work sometimes you’d spend an entire day filming and then 4-5 days editing. That’s just not practical for a parent!
But I knew it was important so I went out and started filming. Hoping to capture and make some memories for my daughter.
I started filming everything!
…and I failed miserably.
Some days I’d come back with hundreds of clips and never get the time to edit them. Some days I’d film to little or wouldn’t have the right clips to really tell a story.
Some days I made a lovely film – but barely said a word to the family the whole day because I was hidden behind a camera
…and in truth if it had continued like that – I’d have given up.
I knew something had to change…
I had to simplify the process and focus on what really mattered.
Focus on making memories – not art.
So the first thing I did was I ditched the camera and switched to my phone.
We all carry around an incredible camera with us 99% of the time. Our Smartphone!
The image didn’t look as good as my big camera – but the memories were instantly more authentic!
By the time you get your big cameras out and get everything focussed up – the moment has gone!
And people reacted differently to the phone rather than the big camera. They were less self-conscious.
Then I started editing on my phone too!
Boy that was hard at first – the screen was small, it was hard moving things around.
But after a while I figured out a way of capturing moments quickly and efficiently.
Finally I was able to film a memory in under 5 minutes and have it edited in not much more
I’ve since gone on to teach hundreds of parents how to do the same!
This memory was filmed on the way out down the canal. Then edited in the time it took for my wife to order a coffee.
By the time she sat down it had already been shared on the family WhatsApp!
“You’ve made something I thought was so technical, simple!”
“You inspired me to do this! You’ve broken it down in such a practical and simple process – so wonderful and you’ve made something that I though was so technical, simple! I never thought that I could have memories like this!”
Roopa
“my dad thought I’d paid someone to make films for me”
“What’s really nice is that I shared a video with my dad last week and he was like “Who made this for you?” So obviously it’s had a good impact because he thinks I’ve paid someone professionally to make it”
Nitesh
Each section of Memory Makers Academy is laid out to make the film making process fast, simple and most of all possible by any parent of any ability.
Whether you are short on time, believe you aren’t the ‘creative type’, or even if you’re a self-confessed techno-phobe.
This 4 week program has been specifically designed to make the process possible.
“I followed your advice but thought my first film would be crap because I’ve never done one and don’t have much talent. But omg it turned out soooo good haha”
Xavier
WEEK 1:
THE MEMORY MAKERS MINDSET:
Knowing “what to film” is as important as “how to film it”.
We take you through the “4 Part Memory Makers Mindset Framework”
If you want the films you’re creating to have a lasting impact on how your children see themselves in the future then you have to be curating with intention.
Being clear on your values and your aspirations for your children will ensure that the memories you’re making now – are the memories they need in the future.
This training alone will allow you to start doing more – with less!
WEEK 2:
FAST FILM MAKING FOUNDATIONS:
There are 6 things you need to incorporate into every film you create (if you’re going to be able to sustain it)
If you follow these tips you’ll go from overwhelm to awesome in minutes.
Our first film this week is our “Magic Moments Film”
WEEK 3:
THE 5 MINUTE MEMORY:
90% Of the films our parents make follow the 5 MINUTE MEMORY METHOD.
It’s designed to take one of your foundation values for your children and capture it quickly, so that you can put your phone away and enjoy being present (whilst at the same time capturing a memory you can use to build a firm foundation for how your child will see themself in the future!)
Film it fast and put your phone away!
We go through everything you need to add those extra bits of creativity to your films to capture the emotion in minutes.
WEEK 4:
FULL FAMILY FILMS:
Now that you’ve got the fundamentals it’s time to take your edits to the next level!
The finesse that makes you completely lose yourself in the moment and turn your films into an experience for all to share.
Typically enrolment into the Memory Maker iPhone Academy requires an investment of £297
But for a short time only I’m offering access for a limited time offer…
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<< BUT: THERE’S MORE! >>
TO ENSURE YOUR LEGACY IS ONE THAT LASTS I’VE CREATED 5 BONUSES I WISH I HAD WHEN I STARTED MAKING MEMORIES
I spent years learning how to turn dull looking footage into beautiful cinematic imagery. Now you can Download the filters we use on each film to turn it from 'phone footage' into 'cinematic film'! And we even guide you through the entire process so that your videos look beautiful too.
One of the biggest frustrations when making films is finding the right music. We show you how to find and source music that will add to the emotion of your films and ensure you don't get flagged on social media!
You've probably got a whole heap of unorganised footage on your phones - Here we show you how do you store your memories so that you can access them quickly and never worry about losing them
How do you take all those old films that you recorded before Memory Makers and turn them into something you'll want to watch time and again!
Access to the Memory Makers Student group. Where there are further trainings and Action Challenges designed to help you improve FAST!
We also carry on the conversation here on how you can use the memories you're making to affirm the qualities you want for your children.
We are so confident that the skills you will learn in this 4 week program will transform the way you capture memories for the rest of your life. If you've been through the program and you still can't put together a lovely film then email me at support@memorymakersacademy.com and I'll refund you in full.
What will you do now…
I want you to know something about me. I’m no one special. You might look at the films that I’ve made of my daughters and think “I could never do that!”
Before this journey began I felt the same way too! And honestly the films I made in the beginning weren’t even that great!
But if you make a film one day – you learn from it. The next time you get a little better, the next time you get a little better until one day you wake up and all of a sudden you’re pretty awesome!
And that’s what I love about the system I’ve developed! You don’t have to have gone to film school, you don’t have to spend hours planning out a film.
The best memories happen when you are there in the moment capturing the joy that’s happening right in front of you.
You experience it in real life – and with Memory Makers – you can experience it again and again!
Not only that your friends and family can experience it too.
My mum lives in France. My in-laws live 5 hours away. We don’t have family that can come along on the ride of parenting here with us. But with video we can build psychological closeness – even without physical closeness.
So I know it’s an investment. But it’s an investment that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.
And hopefully when your kids are older they’ll have a bank of memories they can look back on and that will be priceless!
I have specifically designed the training to be easily digestible. Each week there are a series of videos that range from 3 – 15 minutes. And action challenges designed to get you into the habit of making memories quickly!
I totally recognise that sometimes life gets in the way. No worries – you can go at your own pace as you’ll have access to the training for as long as Memory Makers exists!
While there are plans afoot to create an android version of the course – at the minute the main software we use to edit is iPhone only.
If you’re on android and you want me to get on and hurry up making a course for you then email me at support@memorymakersacademy.com and chivvy me along
For the filming all you need is your iPhone. While gadgets are nice and all – by the time you’ve set them up the moment has passed!
As for software you need one app called Luma Fusion which you can download on the app store. It typically costs around £20 – depending on when and where you are located.
EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ACCURATELY PRESENT OUR PRODUCTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL.
OUR AIM FOR THIS COURSE ISN’T TO TURN YOU INTO THE NEXT STEPHEN SPIELBERG. OUR AIM IS TO ENABLE YOU TO PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL FAMILY MEMORIES IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME.
WE TRY AND COVER EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE REAL MOMENTS IN REAL TIME.
IF THERE’S EVER SOMETHING YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH WE’RE THERE TO ASSIST AND GET YOU THROUGH – BECAUSE YOUR SUCCESS IS ULTIMATELY OUR SUCCESS.