What’s in use — Dina Saeva // Durov’s Code

Omnipresent technologies have become a lifestyle. Currently our smartphone describes us better than anything else. That is the reason we, Durov’s Code, decided to create a series of “What does X use?” interviews.

In these materials our heroes share their daily-used tools and devices. Our new guest is Dina Saeva, model, social media influencer, TikTok and Instagram star.

— Your popularity is the result of both personal talent and technology. A smartphone, a camera and applications combined with your personal vision gave an explosion of interest. Tell us, please, what are you currently using to shoot your videos? Which smartphone do you prefer?

The smartphone is my main tool in creating content. I use it on a daily basis to shoot, to take pictures, to mount and edit. Now I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max in my hands and at the moment it completely suits me. Of course, when buying a smartphone, I pay attention to the camera. With each model, it gets better and better: I noticed a very big difference when I switched to the latest iPhone model. That's why I change phones every year — it not only improves the quality of the picture, but also motivates me to create even more high-quality content.

Although if you had told me in the past that I would change phones every year, I wouldn't have believed it. Up until the 9th grade, I had a push-button phone without the ability to take a photo or access the Internet. I remember asking  my classmates to take a picture of me on their phone and to send it to me on VKontakte. I didn't have a computer then either, and I came to the library to download the pictures and to put them on the profile photo in social media. It took me a long time to reach my current level.

At graduation, my mother gave me my first smartphone, taking part of the amount in debt, and part on credit. It was a Samsung, and I still consider it the most valuable gift, because my journey began with it. It was from the videos shot on this phone that I began to gain popularity and earn my first money. Later I bought an iPhone 7 — also on credit — and this gave me an additional incentive to work and improve the quality of content.

— It's certain that shooting a video is only a part of the road. After shooting, you need to mount it. Tell us what programs do you use for this?

I have only one editing application — Videoleap. I tried different ones, but I got used to this one, it turned out to be the most convenient for me. Now I'm taking a course on advanced editing from Vitaly Avanesov (@th32nd), I'm studying various new techniques and chips, so I often hang out in the application, practice, and dig into the functionality.

→ Videoleap is an all-in-one social platform for video editing and sharing.

For me, editing is a world on its own. I still consider myself more of a video creator than a photo creator. Therefore, I can spend hours selecting frames, selecting music, editing. I always do it myself, and no matter how much I try to delegate, it doesn't work.

Sometimes I shoot in the TikTok app. It's convenient and fast: I go outside, put the camera on, turn on the song and film it, and TikTok mixes everything. The content in TikTok is just like that.

— A smartphone now is a reflection of a person's soul. We wake up and fall asleep holding the gadget in our hands. Tell us about your home screen. What applications and widgets does it contain? What programs do you use most often and for what?

I try to adhere to the so-called "digital hygiene", I do not install unnecessary programs, regularly clean photos, notes, subscriptions, and delete what I do not use. Most of the applications I have are related to finance: banking, Ton Diamonds app, as I myself am fond of digital art.

I have only Google Calendar pinned to the bottom of the screen. This is the most convenient application for keeping a schedule — I don't know how I used to live without it. You can sort cases and meetings by color there, fumble the schedule with the team, set reminders and enter additional information so as not to search for it by correspondence. In addition, Google Calendar itself automatically adds some meetings and makes changes.

Another application for work is Trello, which allows you to set tasks for the team and see what stage is taking place right now.

For messengers, I use WhatsApp, Telegram, Pandayo and regular iMessage apps.

The Meditopia app helps me fall asleep. At night I like to turn on fairy tales that take me to another world and help me relax, or the sounds of nature. My favorite one is the sound of rain. I also use this app for meditation.

Surprise-surprise: I have very few photo processing applications. Over the five years of my activity, I have come to the conclusion that the best content is simple and vital, the way it is. That's why I don't even use color correction on my photos, at most I can hide a couple of pimples in the FaceTune app. I'm planning an Instagram feed in My Feed.

Also, the Photo Timer app helps me out a lot in creating content. Unlike the timer built into the iPhone, its functionality is wider — you can choose the number of photos and the interval between shots. It's convenient.

By the way, a separate folder on my screen is dedicated to Dubai. Here are the applications of the bank and telecom operator (Etisalat), the application for paying bills (Dewa), taxi — Yango and Careem. Of course, the Dubai Mall and Emirates Mall apps, which help me not to get lost in these huge shopping malls and quickly find the right store. My sister and I also like to go to the cinema  — we plan our visits in the Roxy app and buy tickets without queuing.

— You didn't mention social media. Tell me what you use to communicate.

This year has greatly changed my attitude to what surrounds me, including social networks. Previously, I tried to maintain as many social networks as possible, registered on new platforms and maintained activity on old ones, even if it did not bring me pleasure. But not so long ago I decided to focus on two social networks — Instagram and TikTok, putting the rest on pause. In addition, if this platform can be called a social media, I have YouTube installed.

— We are done with a smartphone, everything is clear. Our current life also includes a large number of other gadgets. Tell us about your preferred ones (headphones, watch, tablet, TV, etc.)

The iPhone is really my main and almost the only gadget. I listen to music and make calls with Airpods Max Pink. There's also an Apple Watch, but I don't wear them that often. At the same time, I bought a MacBook Pro laptop, but I actively started using it only three months ago. Before that, I did everything on my phone — I even watched two-hour movies. I regret it now, however. Now I work more often at my laptop, it sets me up for working mode, I am not distracted by notifications.

But I have a lot of equipment for shooting instead. Tripods of different sizes, softboxes, ring lamp, video light. There is a portable light that is easy to take with you, but more often I just ask someone to turn on the flash on the phone. This also works great for photos in low light. When I want to take a photo specifically with a flash, I take pictures on Leica.

Also recently, we often play Oculus with my brother and sister. I plan to update this year: I heard that the new versions are already more advanced.