This would be easier

Today I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why one of our clients is having problems with a program they are using to create video clips for their website. Actually, the reason is that it is not a Mac and it doesn’t “just work.” I had previously written out directions while showing them how to do the steps. We repeated, repeatedly. They are having problems. Not sure why. I can’t figure it out.

I have typed up and revised some of the directions. This is an interesting activity at best since they have version 10 and I have version 7 of the program. There are some differences between the 2 programs. Go figure I cannot actually download a version 10 demo to do these tutorials so that they include screen shots. We’ll prevent further confusion by not including screen shots from an older version. I am sure that the most recent version is different from even version 10.

Maybe this is just intuitive for me because I have done it so often and for so long. It isn’t difficult so much as it is time consuming. You have to set your start and end point for each individual clip then output for rendering and saving. Then repeat for the remaining clips throughout the huge captured raw footage. Like I said, this isn’t hard, just time consuming. After you’ve done it a couple of hundred times you get bored.

Alas, I’ll admit it would be way easier to just do it myself than to try and explain to someone “how” to do it. Without doing it repeatedly it is not intuitive and it can be frustrating as the program itself has its own little quirks. If you’re not a patient and nimble person with a computer mouse, it can become rather irritating and frustrating. That makes it worse. I can’t take that away. The program is what it is. I can’t fix that.

So today, I have spent the day essentially creating documentation that is not related to “web design” at all. It is all about getting things prepared to go on the website.

Now I need to go quickly type up the directions on how to upload all the video clips to the website itself. Should be just as interesting as I don’t have the “tools” on my computer as I don’t need them.

All of this is encouragement and motivation to get the website updated ASAP as the server update will be going on this month. In the process I want to find another “gallery” format that might be a bit easier to upload and organize and whatnot. Something more intuitive.