Posted on by Karthik Suresh

Constraints Help Creativity

Friday, 10.39am

Sheffield, U.K.

I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out. — Jeff Bezos

In these first few posts, I’m going to fumble my way around a video making process that works for me.

I’m also trying to figure out a workflow where AI helps and augments what I am doing, rather than being a replacement, or a dull and sanitized average that isn’t worth your time reading.

So here’s my starting approach.

  1. Think about the content and create a through line
  2. Practice saying it aloud and seeing if it works
  3. Record a one-take video of the content. Only re-record if it’s really bad.
  4. Trim and upload to YouTube

Then, it’s how to share the material.

My usual WordPress flow of org2blog doesn’t seem to work well with video, so I’m typing this straight into the WordPress editor.

Now, for AI.

I’m using Whisper to transcribe the text of the talk, and then using llama3.2 locally to create shownotes. I’m going to add these below with minimal editing. Feel free to ignore them, but you might like them more than the video! In which case let me know.

Cheers,

Karthik

AI Generated summary below

Summary: Ideas for Creating Video Content

The speaker aims to create video content focused on explaining ideas and
concepts, rather than entertaining or visually building up an idea. The
key goals are:

  • To focus on the core concept and keep it simple
  • To understand a particular message in detail
  • To stay on one particular idea and maintain a through line throughout
    the explanation

Choosing Topics

  • Select topics that are personal and important to the creator, rather
    than exotic or complex
  • Focus on explaining theory and then applying practical examples
    (practice)

Constraints for Improving Focus

  1. Technical Limitations
    • One-take video to improve clarity and communication of ideas in
      one go
    • Limited camera angles and drawing from a whiteboard or annotation
      tools

Approach to Ideas

  • Two levels: theory (overall umbrella of ideas) and practice (hands-on
    application)
  • Theoretical understanding informs practical experience, while
    practical experience informs theoretical understanding

Learning Cycle

  1. Thinking and conceptualizing
  2. Producing something (making a video in this case)
  3. Reflecting on the production to identify areas for improvement

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