AUGUST SUMMER CHALLENGE 2026
Revisit the August Summer Challenge to see what it was all about and what participants got up to.
THEY’D NEVER GET THAT SUMMER BACK.
The August 2026 Summer Challenge was all about capturing the moments that make summer memorable before they become memories that fade over time. We think we'll remember it all. We won't. Faces change. Kids grow up. Businesses evolve. Places disappear. Traditions come to an end. Summers quickly become memories. Video gives you a way back to the parts of life you'll one day wish you could experience again.
The truth is, we rarely know which moments we'll miss until they're gone. That's why, with simple daily prompts, participants created short, meaningful videos that helped them preserve summer before it became another one they could only remember.
The goal wasn’t just to finish a challenge; it was to make sure their future selves get to revisit summer.
"I wish I filmed that."
THE MOMENTS YOU MISS AREN’T THE ONES YOU EXPECT.
Too many moments disappear without us ever realising how much they'll mean one day. We tell ourselves we'll film the special occasions because today feels ordinary. But by the time we realise it wasn't, the moment has passed. All we're left with is a memory and the thought, “I wish I filmed that”.
Life gets busy. We wait for better weather, a better camera, more confidence or more time. But the truth is, the perfect moment isn't something you find. It's something you recognise after it's gone.
WHAT THEY DID ON DAY 1 OF THE CHALLENGE.
The idea was to choose one thing that's a regular part of their life right now and film themselves doing it. Maybe it was something they do year-round, or something that only comes out in summer and belongs to that season of their life.
They were prompted to keep the organic sounds as they filmed and add music to fit the mood if they wanted to.
INSIDE THE COMMUNITY DURING THE AUGUST SUMMER CHALLENGE.
Here's what some of the participants were saying after just the first couple of days…
SOME OF THE VIDEOS THAT WERE CREATED FROM THE DAY 1 PROMPT.
WHY I CREATED MAKE THE DAMN VIDEO.
For the last decade, I've been figuring out how to make filming fit around real life, not perfect days. Building a business, raising two young kids, and trying to capture moments without feeling like I had to turn every outing into a film production.
Over time, I realised the biggest obstacle was my over-the-top camera setup and my mindset. I was the one getting in my own way. I would overthink. I’d want everything to be perfect, and I was obsessed with making every video “cinematic”, which made the process (and whatever I was actually doing) less enjoyable.
So I started simplifying the way I filmed and what I carried with me. I focused on documenting and sharing thoughts and experiences, instead of producing. This allowed me to film in a way that naturally fit around my busy life instead of competing with it. That's exactly what Make The Damn Video is all about. Getting you to make the damn videos in the first place, without worrying about trying to be perfect or overthinking your way out of it.