We all know the idiom A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. And that’s so true. It applies in many areas, including programming.
But my version of the idiom is equally true:
A little knowledge is a time-consuming thing.
A very, very time-consuming thing.
My sad story
This week I started my new pilot hybrid course, called “Jumpstart Python Programming”. I wanted to show my delegates how to set up a portable version of Python and a text editor before the course started. So I decided to create a YouTube video.
I have very little experience in creating videos. And when it comes to editing videos, I’m a complete beginner. But there’s nothing like a deadline to motivate you to learn something new. And this was my motivation to install and learn Da Vinci Resolve, which has a free Windows version.
I spent about an hour creating the video. It is a screen-capture video, and the result was adequate. Then I needed to edit it. I didn’t plan anything fancy. I wanted to cut out some parts, add a few images and a few textboxes.
Da Vinci Resolve is a sophisticated video editor. That means it has far too many options and windows and menu items for things I’ve never heard of. So I first watched (part of) a tutorial for beginners. That helped. Except for the actions that didn’t work, and the options I couldn’t find. And it didn’t help when I clicked on something and a new set of panels took over my workspace. It took me 10 minutes to find my way back.
After about 5 hours of editing, I decided it was good enough. One last playback, to make sure my cuts were sensible. Disaster! Somehow the audio and the video were completely out of sync! I don’t know how that happened. And I didn’t know how to fix it. (Once again, Google and YouTube did not come to my rescue.) Despondent, I chose to go to bed instead.
The next day I started from scratch. New video, new edits, new result. I kept it even simpler, and this time it only took me about 4 hours. So the end result, which is still only adequate, has taken about 10 hours. Someone with better skills would do a better job in a fraction of the time.
It’s not just me
Sadly, I’m not the only one with a story like this.
I remember presenting an XML course many years ago. After explaining a basic syntax principle during the first morning, one of the delegates sighed. He told me he had spent a week trying to figure out a problem with an XML file. I had just explained and solved his problem.
Think how much time he would have saved if he had been on course sooner.
The first pancake principle
There is (allegedly) a Russian proverb that translates as “the first pancake is always a blob”.
Charles suggested I consider my failed video as my first pancake.
I suspect that I’m going to have quite a few blobby pancakes as I learn to edit videos. Pancakes are, of course, much easier to make than videos. But it’s a comforting thought that I may eventually have better results.
How to reduce your stress
There are three important lessons to learn from this:
- If you don’t know what you are doing, you will waste an awful lot of time.
- It’s much easier to learn if you have someone to guide you. Google and YouTube are a poor substitute.
- It’s better to start learning before you have a deadline.
That last point is worth noting. Renier was only a little sympathetic about my plight. His approach has always been to learn and experiment with a technology just for fun. Unlike me, he doesn’t wait until he has an urgent need. I’ve made this mistake before, and I hope I won’t do it again. It’s way too stressful.
Are you waiting until a project has started before you learn the technologies it requires? Reduce your stress and book your spot on a course now.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with learning new things – or making pancakes.