Stare into the face of commitment. Or just kinda look and go “neat!” Either way, it’s hard not to be impressed by Hugo Cornellier‘s dedication to documentation.
The Montreal-based self-shutterbug has been taking selfies for over eight-and-a-half years and has been steadily sharing the results. Showcasing his Canadian mug from the age of 12 onwards to his current spot at 20, the rapid-fire montage above plays like a less intense version of Boyhood and secret damage control for Big Selfie. Hairstyles change, facial hair levels fluctuate and holidays come and go as Hugo maintains a steady unsmiling expression. The lack of smile probably has a bit to do with making the editing process easier and remembering that said editing process will take a while.
Hugo doesn’t bust out any massive face tattoos or become a cyborg during his near-decade of having a face, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a captivating watch. Here’s how Hugo sums up the clip and the work that went into it:
“I’m so excited to finally show all of you what I’ve been working on. Stabilizing all my selfies was by far the most time-consuming personal project I have ever undertaken. I’ve had to edit, align and re-touch every single photo ONE-by-ONE. It took me about a minute per photo once I got the hang of it (and there are well over 2000 photos).”
As you might suspect from cranking out selfies like their life depends on it (because sometimes it does), this isn’t the first time Hugo has shown off his progress. Hugo’s plunked loads of time-lapse videos on YouTube at assorted times with assorted focuses. Tuesday’s video has already racked up an impressive 400,000+ views and seems destined to crack over a million in the not too distant future.
Feel free to evaluate and rate every single selfie Hugo takes. There’s money to be made in that somehow.