THE SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE IS NOW CLOSED.
Be the first to find out what October’s theme is all about
We all start together on the 1st of every month, which means registration closes before each challenge begins. If you’d like to take part in the October Challenge, join the waitlist, and I'll let you know as soon as registration opens.
You can also check out the rest of the page to see what the September Storytelling Challenge was all about.
Make The Damn Video September Storytelling Challenge
YOU DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
Stop waiting for an original thought. Share what you’ve lived.
You've lived a life and experienced things in ways that nobody else has. But you either talk yourself out of making videos because you don’t think what you have to say is worth sharing, since the experiences themselves aren’t original, even though your perspective is. Or you panic and freeze as soon as you hit record. Or you overthink yourself out of making the video at all.
The September Storytelling Challenge will help you adjust that way of thinking.
Throughout September, you'll become more comfortable talking naturally on camera by sharing your own experiences, interests, lessons, and knowledge. You’ll create videos that you want to make instead of talking yourself out of it or putting it off.
"I don’t even know what to talk about."
THE STORIES WORTH TELLING ARE ALREADY PART OF YOUR LIFE.
You don't need to sit down and invent something profound to talk about.
Think about what you already talk about when there isn't a camera pointing at you. The hobby you could talk about for hours. An experience that changed how you think. A place you visited. A person who influenced you. Something you believe that you haven't said out loud. That's where your stories come from. The September Storytelling Challenge gives you 13 briefs to start pulling those things out of your own life and turning them into videos.
GET CONFIDENT SHARING WHAT MATTERS TO YOU.
Whether you’re still trying to make your first few videos or you’ve already made plenty, it’s easy to overthink what to say and how to say it.
For years, I struggled with that too. What finally made it click was stopping scripting my videos and changing the way I approached what I wanted to say. Instead of trying to remember the right words, I found a way to talk through my ideas and experiences far more naturally.
That’s the approach we’ll work on throughout September, so you can spend less time second-guessing what to say and feel more comfortable simply pressing record and saying it.
HOW YOU’LL START SHARING WHAT MATTERS TO YOU.
JOIN
Start with everyone else.
Register and begin on the 1st with people from around the world, as you join a supportive and encouraging community.
SHARE
One brief. One video.
Create one short video every other day (13 in total), sharing the experiences, memories, interests and ideas that matter to you.
REFLECT
Finish the month together.
Join the live group call on the 26th to reflect on what you’ve achieved, celebrate your progress, ask questions and hear what others discovered along the way.
PRACTISE
Get more comfortable on camera.
Each new brief gives you another chance to do the rep, stop overthinking what to say and become more comfortable sharing your thoughts on camera.
WHAT YOUR SEPTEMBER WILL LOOK LIKE.
SEPTEMBER 1ST: We start together. Your first brief lands on the 1st. Make the video, share it with the community (if you want to), then open your inbox two days later to a new brief, and do it again.
SEPTEMBER 1ST - 25TH: 13 Briefs. One every other day. Each brief gives you something specific to talk about, drawn from your own experiences, memories, interests and perspective. No sitting in front of the camera trying to figure out what the hell to say.
THE DAYS BETWEEN: Go live your life. There’s no video to make. You’ve got a day between every brief to get on with everything else, catch up on missed briefs, watch what others are making or simply do whatever you like. You can, of course, use those days to make more videos that expand on topics that you covered in previous videos.
SEPTEMBER 26TH: We meet live. We’ll reflect on the month together, talk about what changed for you, share the biggest lessons from across the community, answer your questions and reveal October’s challenge.
NEW CHALLENGE: Choose whether to join in October. If you're enjoying the momentum, we start again on the 1st with a new theme, helping you continue to make the damn video. Enrolment for October opens on September 27th.
WANT TO JOIN THE OCTOBER CHALLENGE WHEN IT OPENS?
We all start together on the 1st of every month. Register between the 27th and the 30th of September to secure your place in October’s Challenge.
GET READY FOR THE OCTOBER CHALLENGE.
LAST MONTH INSIDE THE AUGUST SUMMER CHALLENGE.
Here's what participants were saying after just the first couple of days…
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING…
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Life happens. If you miss a day, catch up when you can or simply carry on. The goal is progress, not a perfect streak.
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Not at all. Some members share every video. Others keep everything private. Whether you're documenting your family, your business or just yourself, what you choose to share is entirely up to you.
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Around 30–60 minutes is ideal. But if you find you need longer, that’s absolutely fine.
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Definitely not. Use whatever you already have, whether that's your phone, an action camera or something more advanced. The habit matters far more than the gear.
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Absolutely. The challenges are designed for anyone who wants to stop overthinking and just start.
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The videos will be a mix of talking-head and voiceover videos. This gives you the ability to see where you feel more natural in your delivery and practice more of that.
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If you really struggle to be in front of the camera, you don’t have to force it. That’s why voiceovers are a great format for people who still want to make videos but don’t necessarily want to talk to the camera directly.
We’ll be covering this in the challenge.
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No. Everyone starts together on the 1st of each month. Registration opens between the 27th and the last day of the month, so we can all begin together.
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No. Each monthly challenge is a one-off purchase. Join the months that interest you, or come back whenever you need a hit of momentum.
YOU ALREADY HAVE SOMETHING WORTH TALKING ABOUT.
Start getting comfortable talking about it naturally on camera.
The September Challenge is closed, but you can join the waitlist for October.
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 take far longer than it should have.
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.
See you for the October Challenge.