Risk, Context, and Knowing
Thoughts on Decision-Taking, Creatively Withholding Information from Viewers, Learning and Knowing, Keyboard and Mouse Clicks for Screen Recordings
Hey guys! Here’s some stuff that has stood out from my previous two weeks:
On Risk
I read this article discussing the importance of taking risks. Although written from a business perspective, I think that the ability to make decisions, evaluate risks, losses, and gains is a valuable quality worth developing, regardless of context.
Taking a chance doesn't mean there will be a successful outcome, nor does it require it. If the reasons are sound, the risk should be taken almost reflexively. The more often we trust our judgment, the more confidence we gain in our decision-making capacity. The courage to take risks becomes a worthwhile end in itself.
As someone passionate about creativity and inspiration, I'm interested in how emotions influence our actions. I was surprised to read about that in this same article:
You shouldn't expect to make money without bearing risk, but you shouldn't expect to make money just for taking risk. You have to sacrifice certainty, but it has to be done skillfully and intelligently, and with emotion under control.
On Photography and Context
I watched this video featuring Julian Master shooting in the streets and sharing the philosophy behind what he does. While I may not fully relate to his goal of creating entertaining work, I connect with his ideas on storytelling and context.
When you give context to a photo, you take away some of the reason why someone would be interested in looking at it. So, when I put out photos now, I almost always do my best to give no context as to allow the maximum enjoyment of the photo for the audience.
He later adds:
Any intelligent person is going to come up with a tall tale that is 10 times the size of what is actually happening in a photo and that's why photos are so special - we're able to look at a frame and know so much and know so little. It's so manipulative. I truly do control what people are going to see just by withholding 99% of my photos.
A valuable insight from the video for any creative is learning to withhold information strategically. This approach motivates the participation of the audience/viewer. It does have to be done strategically, or it can easily lead to frustration. For me, the opposite is often frustrating - books, films, or artworks that say too much. Knowing how to leave space for the audience definitely requires skill.
On Learning and Knowing
This past week, I shared a video about Readwise, a favorite app in my knowledge management system, and how I integrate it with Bear, my note-taking app. Coincidentally, I also read an excellent article on the nature of learning and knowing. Knowledge management has become increasingly important to me in the past few years, as consuming content without thinking seems so common nowadays. Here’s one of my highlights:
If you have to be reminded, you don't really know. And you know that feeling when you can't remember something, but it's on the tip of your tongue? You feel like you know it, but you just can't spit it out? Yeah, you don't really know it. You're familiar with it, but that's all. Conoces, pero no sabes. Overconfidence. Unfortunately, we're strongly inclined to mistake familiarity for true knowledge, and this creates overconfidence.
On Apps
Recut, an app that saves me lots of time in the video editing process by auto-removing silence, received an update addressing many of my previous concerns. Performance has been greatly improved. While it still lacks auto Multicam or AI features, it now offers more manual cutting options and better interface + controls. Overall, it’s become a better app that I'm happy to have.
I've been beta-testing MacWhisper and I'm excited for an upcoming public release with improved accuracy, speed, and the ability to directly transcribe audio from YouTube videos (among many other changes). I do not know if there will be any price change, but I can’t say enough good things about this app—I suggest you get it if you need something like this. I think it may be the best option for using Whisper AI transcriptions.
Over a year ago, I purchased Just Press Record for transcriptions on my iPhone. While I've since switched to Whisper AI for better quality, I've rediscovered Just Press Record's usefulness for quickly capturing ideas on my Apple Watch – a single tap on its complication, and I can start dictating. I’m surprised this is not possible with the native Voice Memos app.
After months of frustration with the official Dropbox app's resource usage, I've returned to Maestral. It's less resource-hungry and performs equally well, if not better. The only downside is its lack of symlink support. I’m working around this limitation by using a Keyboard Maestro macro that watches my FCPX backups folder and compresses project files into zip files, then moves them to dropbox. It seems to be working well so far.
Cleanshot, my favorite screenshots app, received an update!
After searching for more apps to enhance my screen recordings, I discovered Klack for keyboard sounds, Keybell for mouse sounds, and Presentation Assistant for simple, minimal visual feedback on clicks. I tested MANY similar apps before settling on these choices. And of course, I plan on using these tools along with Screen Studio. I may do a video later where I go more into detail, but for now I’m excited to have these in my toolkit. Klack and Keybell are also great for working away from my mechanical keyboard, on my laptop, or while working with headphones on and listening to quiet background music. It’s like a personal ASMR soundtrack. Here’s a quick test—play with audio.
On Cinema
The Last Stop in Yuma County (2024). I’ve watched everything from Jim Cummings since I first watched Thunder Road. I see his name and I know it’ll be worth the watch. This one is not directed by him, but still, pretty good! It may be me, but it has a very Tarantino-ish feel. Synopsis: While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-gotten fortune.
Sasquatch Sunset (2024). While I enjoyed this Zellner brothers film, I couldn't help but feel it had untapped potential. Synopsis: In the misty forests of North America, a family of Sasquatches—possibly the last of their enigmatic kind—embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year. These shaggy and noble giants fight for survival as they find themselves on a collision course with the ever-changing world around them.
Parasyte-the Maxim (2015). It had been years since I watched an anime seres. At 24 episodes it felt the perfect length. A very good mix of fiction and philosophy. I loved that the characters had so much depth. Synopsis: A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.
Baby Reindeer (2024). Another TV show. This one is hard to put into words. Definitely gave me a lot to think. Synopsis: When a struggling comedian shows one act of kindness to a vulnerable woman, it sparks a suffocating obsession which threatens to wreck both their lives.
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