I spent all Sunday editing a video on making sourdough bread.

Here are some thoughts from that experience.

Time

• It took about 4~6 hours to do put together the initial cut, adding annotations, doing some initial splices, and learning the macOS program, iMovie.
• The initial cut of the video was 36 minutes long, the final cut was 17 minutes long.
• The rest of the 14~12 hours was grinding away those 19 minutes out of the duration. I think this is an example of Abe’s quip, “I would have written you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”
• I suspect that the process would have taken about 10~12 hours of editing if I knew the software and wasn’t learning its capabilities as I went. However, I might get much more finicky and thus still spend a lot of time. I vaguely remember hearing some rule of thumb of an hour per minute, which feels about right.
• Much of it is run at 1.3x speed because I felt that I was talking too slowly. I really hope the video is comprehensible to people who haven’t been listening to me say the same thing again and again for an entire day.

Equipment

• My basic tools were extremely basic – my Macbook Air (from 2012), an iphone 6s (from 2017), Quicktime, and the native macOS app, iMovie.
• Of course some better equipment would not have hurt, but I think the most impactful extra piece would have been a microphone. After that would have been a couple directional lights.
• However, I suspect that the 80-20 rule applies here. Yes the major expenditures of an actual camera and mount would have been nice, but I doubt it would have made nearly the difference as having a basic bluetooth wireless headset and a decent intentional lighting.
• I’m certain that there are better video editing software, but iMovie was perfectly adequate. It is a simple, easy to use program which still gave the user a good amount of control. My guess is that the next level programs give the user a lot more fine tune control, but most likely with an incredible amount of complexity.
• I remember the first video my sister and I made using a friend’s apple digital camera. I wish I had a copy of the file. But yes, we’ve gone a long way in a quarter century.

Execution

• The biggest mistake was not preparing enough. Every single item must be on the counter, ready to go. Every door must be closed. Every line must be mentally rehearsed. Every thing should be ready before you press record.
• Otherwise you’ll be wasting time on film and wasting a lot more time editing out every little item later.
• This lack of preparation is a classic first timer mistake, and exactly why attempt a project like this. It is a glimpse behind the curtain of real professionals.
• Obviously real cooking shows have crews, etc. But I suspect it is really all about combining the skills and experiences of all these pros, not so much their equipment. Decent lighting and a microphone was sorely needed in my video, but what was really needed with the experience and knowledge on how to use my tools well — and the required prep work before pressing record.

Postmortem Template. I have a standard template I use after a project.

• Was the directive clear? Not when I first began, but once I really started yes. Put together a video documenting my breadmaking process in April 2020. It wasn’t going to be amazing, but I wanted it to be decent.
• What went wrong, and how to fix? As noted above, I did not prepare properly before each shoot. Given the experimental nature of this project, I don’t mind too much about the final product, but not having mise en place before hitting record is not really excusable. I knew better.
• What went well, how to do better? This was a glorious one off experiment, and I think I got the peak behind the curtain that i was hoping for. I should more try odd projects like this in the future, maybe with the kids next time.
• What opportunities were missed? The three things I would want before doing another video, and once procedural tweak:
  1. A microphone. I think the sound quality would be vastly improved for a minimal expense.
  2. An outline. I’ve been making the bread a lot, so this video had an instinctive flow. I’m not sure I would have known what to write this first time around, but now I have a feel for what needs to be thought through before jumping into record.
  3. Better lights. This is the most involved of the three additions, and I may jettison it, but if a video is to look good it needs to be decently lit…so if I’m not willing to put effort into lighting, it may just not be worth the effort at all.
  4. Next time I would edit as I go. This was shot over Saturday and Sunday morning, and then I spent all day editing. If I had started editing on Saturday, I would have a learned things which would have improved my footage on Sunday.

Next Steps

• Well there isn’t much of a next step. I’ve posted the video to youtube, sprayed it all over social media, and I think I’m pretty much done. This project was a confluence of a very odd set of circumstances which I doubt will be repeated anytime soon.
• iMovie is a nice little program. I can’t imagine having much use for it in the foreseeable future, but it was good to learn what it can do.
• Indeed if I have any use for this project, it would be for work. I suspect that using iMovie is the best (free) way for editing and annotating video tutorials for the various work processes I may need to present.
• I will however watch youtube videos (food and otherwise) with even more respect. I’ve always rationally known that a considerable amount of effort goes into making even the most basic youtube video, but it’s another thing to actually experience it.

It is worth taking a moment to marvel at our interconnected world. Without discounting the myriad of problems around us, those of us who are fortunate enough to be reading this post are truly living in a magical age.

One morning, a person decided to make an instructional video and two days later, it was shared to the entire world, without spending a penny.

If that isn’t magic. What is?

A couple weeks ago, it was disconcerting to hear that school meals were one of the reasons why local administrators were hesitant to shut down schools, as the virus headed our way. With the wide reach of local charities, I was aware of the issue of food security, but good lord we are staring down a pandemic here!

Yesterday afternoon, the governor mentioned that half a million meals had been handed out by the school districts over the past two weeks. Nevada isn’t that large, so this is truly a big number.

At that moment, a definition of privilege crystalized in my mind. It is a difficult concept to convey because it is a layered idea, several steps removed from the primary problem.

Privilege is not about avoiding a problem.

It is not about avoiding the need to worry about that problem.

Rather, privilege is not realizing the problem exists. Privilege is being happily oblivious.

Privilege is never ever having to think about worrying about if there is a next meal.

I finally got off my duff and found an interval timer for the iphone.

Amelia Timer is so simple that it is free .

I didn’t expect it would make a big difference with doing my morning exercises, but wow! It suddenly made doing the 8 Brocades exercises quite enjoyable.

Unlike kung fu or tai chi forms which are extended series of differing movements, these exercises are closer to calisthenics. Without a timer my mind would end up focusing on when was the right time to move on to the next exercise.

Letting a computer do that cognitive load allowed me to concentrate on my body and feel my way through these movements.

On the other hand, I listened to music yesterday. As I exercised in silence this morning, I realized the music had distracted me from myself.

So there is always a balance to be made. But for me, the balance is not at zero tech.

Chinese qigong is not generally associated with modern tech, but even here, it looks like an iphone will come in handy.

Now let’s just see how long I will keep exercising going.