Nathaniel Drew, who you may know from YouTube, has a great class on Skillshare about Intentional Documentation. He teaches how to record moments of your life in a thoughtful way, as opposed to snapping thousands on your camera roll like we all do on likely a daily basis. The course covers some principles and the mindset to carry into making this a practice. It also teaches four possible methods to document your life: vlogging, journaling, film photography, and audio recording. Below are some of my thoughts about the course, how it might help you, and what I liked most about it.
Why You Should Take It
- Nathaniel says this course matters because it will help you cut through distractions – you’re surrounded by thousands of them each day – and get off of autopilot. The goal is to make your time on earth rich.
- I think the ideas are broadly applicable; it doesn’t matter what type of life you lead. Just looking at the course projects I noticed people of all ages and from many continents had taken the class. You’ll like the course, too, if you believe in a less is more approach to life.
- There are beautiful images throughout from Nathaniel’s film footage and photos. If you know his work from YouTube you may be familiar with the nice aesthetics he always features in his videos.
Highlights
- One of Nathaniel’s recommendations is, “capture now, think/edit/judge later.” You must embody the spirit of getting the moment on paper, film, or tape. If you do not you’ll never create.
- Date everything. This is the most helpful tip as far as looking back on your documents in the future. For your own benefit or that of posterity, knowing the date will help place the work in context.
- I like that Nathaniel included analog methods. (Has anyone else read The Revenge of Analog?) For all the forms of intentional documentation, he gives digital and analog options and explains the pros and cons of each.
Have you tried Skillshare yet? What courses did you like?
Your friend,
Allegra
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