How will I build this?

Building this project will be an exciting journey, and I want to share every step of it with you. Here’s how I plan to approach it:

Open Source and GitHub

I believe in the power of open source. Therefore, all the code for this project will be available on GitHub. You can follow along, contribute, or even fork the repository to create your own version. The repository will be public, ensuring transparency and collaboration.

Licensing

While the code will be free for personal use, I want to restrict commercial use. After some research, I found that the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license is a good fit. This license allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge me and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Documentation and Recording

Writing blog posts can be tiresome, and I often forget the nuances of what I did. To combat this, I will record my screen while working on the project. This will help me keep track of all the details and provide a comprehensive overview of the development process. Later, I will compile these recordings into a video, which will serve as a detailed tutorial and documentation for the project.

How will I record everything?

Recording the development process is crucial for creating detailed documentation and tutorials. Initially, I considered using screen recording software, but I encountered several challenges:

Challenges with Screen Recording Software

  1. File Size: The file sizes were enormous, making it impractical to store and manage the recordings.
  2. Battery and Space Constraints: Continuous recording drained my laptop’s battery quickly and consumed a significant amount of storage space.
  3. Inactivity Issues: Keeping the recording software active for long periods was not feasible due to the above constraints.

Exploring Rewind.ai

I then explored Rewind.ai, which seemed promising. It recorded everything seamlessly, and I didn’t need the search functionality, just the playback. However, I faced some issues:

  1. File Storage: I found a blog post that broke down Rewind.ai’s internal workings and discovered where it stored the videos. Link
  2. File Naming: The video files had non-descriptive names, making it difficult to identify specific recordings.
  3. File Chunks: Rewind.ai stored videos in chunks, requiring me to merge them before compiling the final video.

Considering these steps, I realized that using Rewind.ai would involve significant post-processing work, such as merging files and compiling the video. This process would be almost as time-consuming as writing a detailed blog post.

What did I choose?

After exploring various options for recording my development process, I stumbled upon a surprising yet elegant solution. For a fluke of it, I asked ChatGPT about my use case for recording. I didn’t mention the complex thinking that led me to Rewind.ai through Google searches; I simply described my need for recording the development process. The response I received blew my mind: “Use FFmpeg.”

Why FFmpeg?

FFmpeg is a powerful multimedia framework that can decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux, stream, filter, and play almost anything that humans and machines have created. It is highly versatile and can be used for screen recording with minimal setup.

Benefits of Using FFmpeg

  1. Simplicity: FFmpeg is straightforward to use once you get the hang of it. A single command can start recording your screen.
  2. Efficiency: It is highly efficient in terms of resource usage, which means it won’t drain your battery or consume excessive storage space.
  3. Customization: You can customize the recording parameters to suit your needs, such as resolution, frame rate, and output format.
  4. File Management: Unlike other tools, FFmpeg allows you to name your files descriptively, making it easier to manage and identify recordings.

Conclusion

Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best. FFmpeg turned out to be the perfect tool for my needs, allowing me to record my screen efficiently without the drawbacks of other software. This experience taught me the value of seeking advice and exploring all options, even those that seem too simple to be true.

Next

In the next post, I will be highlighting the insightful conversation I had with ChatGPT that led me to discover FFmpeg as the ideal tool for recording my screen. I will provide a detailed walkthrough of the steps I took to set up and use FFmpeg, including the specific commands and configurations that made the process seamless and efficient. This deep dive will showcase how this simple yet powerful tool transformed my approach to documenting the development process, making it easier to manage and share my progress. You can read it here.