Seconds of Beauty

My friend Tara just introduced me to an app called 1 Second Everyday that helps you record and assemble a video of a second of your life for the rest of your life (or year, or month, or whatever!).  I've always been fascinated by these quick snap shots.  The video below is from a couple of years ago before this was such a "thing." I still love it!

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This video is inspiring. If you love to celebrate "the journey and not the steps" or the "forest and not the trees," this video shows a different perspective. It celebrates the tiny parts of life. Sometimes, the most beautiful and poignant moments can be captured in a single second.

This video compiles sixty such moments.

Sixty seconds.

Watch it and see how many of these you've noticed...

60 seconds of beauty submitted by users to the first round of The Beauty Of A Second short film contest. ** UPDATE ** Good news, moviemakers: Due to the success and massive response The Beauty of a Second has been extended with one extra round! The deadline for submitting one-second videos is now January 20. Create your own playlist now on the site or upload your second of beauty to participate in the next round now. 20 videos will be shortlisted from each of the three rounds to be judged by Wim Wenders in the grand final. For more information visit: http://www.montblanconesecond.com/#/en/the-challenge Montblanc and Leo Burnett Milan pay homage to the chronograph -- which recorded time to the accuracy of a fifth of a second -- with a short film challenge. The Beauty of a Second is a contest curated by Wim Wenders which asks users to demonstrate beauty in a second of film. The winner will meet Wenders and win a Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec chronograph. Every Second Counts! Update: The music is made by Marcus Loeber (http://www.marcusloeber.com/) Buy the original soundtrack from the campaign here: - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-beauty-second-original/id492439647 - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/marcusloeber3 - http://amzn.to/vdYRg4

Seconds Of Beauty - 1st round compilation from The Beauty Of A Second on Vimeo.

I'm tempted to make my own compilation of sixty seconds of beauty. (My calendar and attention span say "NO!" Alas, to this dream.) Still, if I were to make a compilation video of beautiful seconds, here's a partial list of what I would add:

  • the school bus changing gears to make it up the hill on our street
  • the tap, tap, tap of my kids toothbrush on our sink
  • the rattle and shudder of the garage door opening
  • the "dog bells" on our back door as our pup tells us that he needs to go out
  • the flap of hummingbird wings (Uh, good luck getting THAT shot!)
  • the click of the gas coming on the stove-top burners
  • the croak of north Georgia frogs in the night
  • the sound of Mack chewing his dog bone
  • the peaceful hum of anyone in my family sleeping
  • my little girl's squeak when she is laughing so hard she can't breathe
  • the crash of a wave on a beach
  • the ice cream truck driving down the street
  • the thump of my husband's feet coming up the stairs
  • the way my son says "Mom-mee"
  • a sliding glass door closing
  • a coyote howl (As a child I used to hear those at night)

And that's just sixteen of the seconds!