the short version
how to start a video diary usually fails at the blank page. you sit down with a camera and nothing to say.
underway starts the other way. it asks about your work. you answer. there is nothing to write first.
about three minutes of talking, never past 5:00, whenever suits you. the episode stays private until you send it. three episodes free, no card.
the blank page problem
most people who try a video diary stall before they press record.
the site names the fear: "I'd have to write something first, and I'm not a writer."
and the blank camera: "I sit down, look at the camera, and have nothing to say."
a blank camera does not help. the real answer on the page: "A blank camera asks nothing. So the day you fixed a three-hour problem comes out as "yeah, it was fine.""
so how to start a video diary is not a gear question. it is a prompt question. if nothing asks you, the day shrinks to a shrug.
start with an interview, not a script
"Underway is a build-in-public diary made by interview: whenever you choose, it asks about your work and cuts your answers into a numbered episode."
you do not draft first. the how-it-works line is the method: "It asks out loud, one question at a time, follows up on what you said, and stops about three minutes in. Voice only, on camera, or sharing your screen. No script."
the script objection gets the same answer: "It's an interview, not a piece to camera. It asks, hears you, and asks the next thing."
and you never open on empty: "You never start from nothing. It reads your day and asks about what happened."
that is the start. open the interview. answer the first question. keep going until it stops.
how long the first session takes
the interview card shows "about 3:00, never past 5:00".
the FAQ puts it in plain words: "About three minutes of talking, whenever suits you. The episode is ready a few minutes later, with nothing to do unless you want to drop a line."
so the first session is short on purpose. you are not blocking out an afternoon to invent a format.
how you answer
"Camera, voice or screen. Choose each time."
camera if you want the face in frame. voice only if you do not. screen if you need to talk through what is on the display.
and on a phone: "It asks out loud. You answer a voice, not a screen."
you do not need a studio. you need a quiet enough place to answer out loud.
private until you send it
"Every episode stays private until you send it, and most people start that way."
recording and posting are separate. you can keep the first episodes in the vault while you learn the rhythm.
"Nothing reordered, nothing invented, and the archive is yours whether you post it or not."
the privacy deep dive is /private-video-diary-app. this page is only the start rule: film first, decide later.
free to start, on web and iphone
"Three episodes free, no card."
it works on the web today. the iPhone app is on the App Store too. the homepage: "Today, the vault, the cut, the cover and posting, screen for screen with the web." and "Get it on the App Store".
the screen-by-screen tour
when you want the first run shown, not described, go to /first-episode.
the page lead: "Your first episode, screen by screen."
and: "From opening the app to a finished episode: what you’ll see, what to do and what you can skip."
that tour is the practical answer to how to start a video diary once you are ready to click through. this page is why the blank page is not the blocker.
the app walkthrough angle is /founder-video-diary-app. how the interview asks, hears you, and asks next is /journal-app-that-asks-you-questions.
faqs
how do i start a video diary without writing a script?
use an interview. underway asks out loud, one question at a time. "No script." you answer. there is nothing to draft first.
what if i sit down and have nothing to say?
a blank camera asks nothing. underway reads your day and asks about what happened. you never start from nothing.
how long is the first session?
about three minutes of talking, never past 5:00, whenever suits you. the episode is ready a few minutes later.
do i have to be on camera?
no. camera, voice or screen. choose each time.
is the first episode public as soon as i finish?
no. every episode stays private until you send it. most people start that way.
does it cost anything to try?
three episodes free, no card.
where do i see the first episode step by step?
/first-episode. "Your first episode, screen by screen."
does it work on iphone?
yes. web today, and Get it on the App Store. the vault, the cut, the cover and posting are screen for screen with the web.
where to go next
your first episode, screen by screen: /first-episode.
the app walkthrough, step by step: /founder-video-diary-app.
a journal app that asks you questions: /journal-app-that-asks-you-questions.
private until you send it: /private-video-diary-app.
coming out of stealth mode: /coming-out-of-stealth-mode.
one line for the series
how to start a video diary: it asks, you answer, nothing to write first, about three minutes, private until you send it.