Learning Weeks

The last few weeks have been a learning curve for me as I deal with various issues with my online class. the main issue was that my computer kept crashing. Now I'm not some computer idiot. I was the systems person for a small grocery store and I maintained the server among other things, so I consider myself fairly techie. So I was getting frustrated when I woudl look at my software and my computer would crash. It was at the point if I clicked the render button the whole thing would shut down. After nearly 2 weeks of massive crashes I learned quickly to #1 save my work often and #2 not have anything uploading when I was rendering. At the 2 week mark a window popped up and indicated that I needed a stabilizing download. Gee thanks windoze, you don't think you could have mentioned this about 2 weeks ago when my issues started? Guess not. If I weren't as cheap as I am I would have gone out and purchased a Mac on that news, but I'm cheap and also... a working artist putting my partner through law school a mac is not in my budget right now. Nor do I have time to adapt to all the new mac things I'd need to adapt to by the end of this class.

Anyway, like magic the download fixed the crashing issue. I can render a 20 minute long movie with no issues, other than Blip not liking the file size. Go figure.

Speaking of which, I then had an upload stuck in the magical land of looping uploads but didn't know it. There was some sort of issue with blip or the file and it repeatedly tried to upload it, over and over and over, for 18 hours. When I finally caught the fact it was doing this it had already begun to upload anew. Sigh, needless to say, the very long video was never uploaded in the correct format. Screw it. I was able to render it to a new file size in 15 minutes and load it to blip in 2 hours.

All of those issues ate up my entire weekend among some other chores like buying heating pellets, groceries, and letting the dogs in and out and in and out of the house repeatedly.

I also learned that if i"m sick, while people (students) will understand, I get really irritated and everything becomes a BIG deal. I get badly sick once a year and go figure this year it was while I was working on this class. It set me back quite a bit. I purchased a 8gig SD card to go with my 4gig card so I can shoot a lot more video all at once. I suspect I can get about 2 hours of high quality video onto the card and 3 if I shoot with the 4gig card. I think my next class I'll shoot the whole thing all at once and edit as I go along. Because shooting was the big issues. With my sinuses congested I end up being one of those over enunciating people and sniffling constantly. Also, I broke out. I know vain right? But lets face it NO one wants their face plastered up on the internets for posterity if they sound like shit and look like shit. I'm rarely vain so anyone with an issue with that.... You know what you can do.

So the new plan is to get 3 to 6 hours of footage shot and ready for editing the first weekend I shoot so that all I have to worry about for the following weeks is the editing process.

Comments

[Zom Osborne]

That is what this course was about, wasn't it? It was your learning course to work out the tangles. It's a lot of work, setting up a new class.

The videos are clear and easy to follow, that is the most important thing to me as a student. I think you did well. Congratulations.

[Laura Pugh]

I think you did great too. Especially for your first try. I've been pleased with what I've learned. Of course, it has all been easy for me, I wasn't the one who had to spend my entire weekend fixing everything!

I'm wondering if the stress of trying a new class didn't help cause your illness this year. Maybe next time you do the course, you could start taking large doses of vitamin C Emergen C a week before you start - to help ward off illness?

Anyway, thanks for letting me be a hamster and trying out your course. I'll do my best to spread the word when you're ready to do it again.

[leslie herger]

@zom thanks! I appreciate that. Its part of what the class was about. I also wanted to make sure that what I offered was of sufficient quality that people WANT to come back for more when I offer them full price. I learned a ton about offering an online class and plan on doing several more. Really as an art teacher (I used to teach in a classroom and have degree in eduction) I like this a lot more than the real classroom. This is more about the course, information and learning than a regular classroom. Plus I dont have to give out grades.

[leslie herger]

@Laura I have no doubt that stress definitly had something to do with my getting sick. Though I think the class was probably midway on that list of stressors. The class itself- shooting the videos, getting the info ready, even editing to an extent was all very interesting and somewhat fun for me. I really enjoy making books, so trying to distill that information into 10 minute chunks of time keeps me interested.

I should have waited until I had more of the video shot before starting the class. Lesson learned next time around Ill do that.

I do love Emergen-C, I keep a large package of it on hand!

[Lydia Velarde]

yikes,
I hope you get better. I am a little behind cuz of a migraine myself but I will pop back in the class tomorrow. so far I think you are doing great and you are an AWESOME teacher and artist. good luck to you and your law school friend.
Lydia

[Vicki]

We are all human afteral, but those bludy computerz! X;-)