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Patrick O'Dacre
Patrick O'Dacre

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Making Videos About Coding is Hard!

update -- I finally published the course.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tutorials on working with VueJS and AdonisJS -- an MVC framework for NodeJS!


As I write this I'm waiting for another one of my videos to finishing rendering.

At the end of this 2-week sprint to finish a bunch of videos I was on a roll, so I quickly created another unrehearsed video to capture my immediate thoughts ramblings on recording, learning as a developer, and what I'd like to do with a little pet project of mine.

TL;DR

  • Sharing experiences in a clear way is hard.
  • I went for done not for perfect, and I hope that works out.
  • I should not let my computer go to sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity.
  • Documenting progress on a personal project is fun, and hopefully proves valuable.
  • If you're on the fence about writing more, or creating videos to share your experiences as a developer, get started!

What has your experience been with making videos or writing blog posts to share what you're learning?

Top comments (11)

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jessachandler profile image
Jess Chandler

I totally agree! Tried to make a couple of videos to record things I had learned, and they are terrible beasts. Props to all who do it. :)

Good luck getting it all rendered.

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patrickodacre profile image
Patrick O'Dacre

Thanks for chiming in, Jess!

You should get them online. You never know who you'll encourage by doing so.

Still rendering, but I got my first one uploaded just a minute ago! gulp

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lobo_tuerto profile image
Víctor Adrián

Could you elaborate a little on what tech stack do you use to make videos about coding? (like OS, software, hardware, process, etc).

I'm asking because I'd like to get myself into it, but don't know exactly where to start. :3

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lobo_tuerto profile image
Víctor Adrián

On the bright side, I've ample experience writing technical tutorials.

I started writing Ubuntu tutorials in Spanish for my blog, then slowed down a bit because of work; and just recently did a blog reboot (on New Year's eve!) and decided to start writing technical tutorials in English this time.

There is a lot of material I have in draft, but I'm trying to pump out whatever I can now that I'm taking a break from work.

What has helped me is taking notes while doing/researching something.

Some examples are:

  • Installing Ubuntu on a MacBook Pro, and configuring it properly so a PC user won't get frustrated with things like the HighDPI screen (font too small to read normally), or the swapped-out Alt and Cmd keys.
  • How to do proper Full Disk Encryption to have a drive for safe backup of sensitive information.

And, well, I have more. Will be crossposting here all the interesting material I can produce.

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patrickodacre profile image
Patrick O'Dacre

Thanks for commenting, Victor!

I am on Linux Ubuntu, so I record using Simple Screen Recorder, and I use Vokoscreen to get my webcam video on the screen, too. It's a bit hacky, but it works lol.

After I record I use KdenLive to edit. It's really easy to use so far, though I still have a long way to go before I can consider the videos high quality.

I use a Blue Yeti mic, though I'm still trying to get the hang of using it. Sometimes I'm too far from it, and in editing the videos I can hear how that reduced the quality of my sound =(

As for webcam, I'm using the cam on my laptop right now. I am still looking into a good camera that will work with Ubuntu. I definitely need one as the video quality on the webcam is not very good.

I will try and use OBS software for my next series. I think with that I can forgo using Vokoscreen to get my webcam video on the screencast.

It would be great if you post your tutorials again in English. I'm still quite new to Ubuntu, and I'm sure they would help me a lot.

I like the idea of taking notes while researching. I create a cheatsheet for every new thing I'm trying to learn and I tweak it all the time as needed. I refer to my cheatsheets all the time.

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lobo_tuerto profile image
Víctor Adrián

For a good HD camera, I can recommend this one: Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam, it works well in Ubuntu and Manjaro Linux. Quality is good, and includes audio capture too.

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patrickodacre profile image
Patrick O'Dacre

Excellent! Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out :)

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theoutlander profile image
Nick Karnik

I second that advice on the camera. I just got myself one of those.

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patrickodacre profile image
Patrick O'Dacre

Oh good! I ordered it pretty much right away and paid for the faster shipping :) thanks!

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mortoray profile image
edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y

Yes, editing videos is annoying, difficult, and slow. That's why I just do live streaming instead. I didn't want to get distracted from the point of my show. :)

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patrickodacre profile image
Patrick O'Dacre

I've thought about live streaming myself. Thanks for the link. I'll check out!

Near the end of of my recording, I was making smaller clips to make editing easier. I also tried to edit less, though I wonder if viewers would prefer less talk and more succinct info.

Lots to figure out :)