Week 3, 2021 - Be a beginner

The YouTube-ing continues to be a ton of fun. It nudges me to make more opportunities to cycle in good weather, and the immediate feedback loop for improving any editing skill is gratifying. The GoPro, not so much! The settings don't match my mental model and the fiddliness of the livecam makes it a chore when I just want to hop on the saddle. I barely check the app once I start riding so there's been a lot of un-usable footage and un-recorded stretches of time.

Between the filming and editing, there are a lot of small things that need to be figured out and so much of it is trial and error. I knew there’s a ton I don’t know how to do but I didn’t expect to be making so many mistakes! Yesterday, I deleted a freshly edited video thanks to a series of misunderstandings. A few hours of work gone in five clicks. Oops.

I tend to have high expectations for myself, and have a habit of avoiding real effort if I don’t feel like I can reach a certain level in a short amount of time. All mind games, of course. It’s good practice to be forced to stay a beginner. Making videos is a craft and mastery of any craft takes years.

An unexpected upside of editing is that I get to enjoy that captured moment again and again. I notice new things or new reactions to known things, and this rich layering is a strangely beautiful way to slow down.

All in all, I’m enjoying the process and thankfully there’s enough interest in my “productions” that I get a boost of energy with each shoutout and new subscriber. Publishing at this frequency also stirs my imagination and I surprise myself with the volume of ideas I have for the channel!