The idea
I made this little documentary back in 2022, when I started my new life in Germany as an au pair. I only had about six months with the family, so I wanted a way for them to "quickly" get to know who I was. Alongside the usual time it takes to get to know people, I got my friends and family involved and had them answer some questions about me on camera. Yes, it was veryyyy cringe, but it was also a lot of fun to work on!
How I made it
The entire thing was pretty much shot on different phone cameras; it was impossible to do it any other way. I asked people who were all over the world and all busy with their own things to take some time and record something about me. Everybody shot a short little clip and sent it to me on WhatsApp.
I recorded my own bits on my phone too, over two days, early in the morning when I had free time. It was a surprise for the family, so nothing was very concretely planned out.
Editing it
To edit it all together, I used DaVinci Resolve. It didn't take too long to throw together once I had the clips from everyone who was able to send me something — the waiting was the longest part.
I did not play around or experiment with anything too advanced. This was my first "proper" film project, and I would not even really consider it film. Still, it taught me a lot about editing, and about actually finishing something.
What I took from it
Like I said, I had a lot of fun making this project, and the family also really appreciated it. It's obviously not polished at all, but I learned a lot making it, and looking back at it now, almost four years later (I am only putting it out there in 2026), it holds up better than expected. Maybe I should make a five-year anniversary edition ;)