The men of our household are out of town this week, so the little ladies and I have been enjoying time together—cooking, talking, watching movies, and creating. We all love our iPads and playing with cool apps. So when today’s prompt suggested making something that appears to be from a past era, we knew retro video was the way to go.

First the shopping for apps. Or, in Hannah’s case, adding new filters and trying new settings on an app she’s been using for some time: Video Star. Emma and I both invested $1.99 in 8mm for iPad.

Then the planning. Who would star? What would they do? Sound or no sound? Where should we shoot? Were costumes in order? (For Emma? Of course!)

Then the filming. As usual, Hannah was done with her solo performance in a flash. She’s a one-take wonder. Emma’s more complex, action-packed program—with costumes and dialogue—took three takes and quite a few stage directions. For mine, we shot the footage in one simple take …

… And then the editing. (The girls opted out of this step. Why mess with perfection, right?) To me, the creativity began when the .mov file made its way into iMovie and I could start adding words, music, transitions, and other effects. While they watched the latest Disney fairy movie, I popped in my headphones and played with “film.”

What a pleasant way to spend girl night.