You’re absolutely right that there is really a lot to learn!
However I can’t really tell what’s good to watch in this case; I myself are a slow learner and just watched loads of different explanations (found the ones on CGCookie the best I’ve seen) and and try it and let the information sink in and try again ubtill everything starts to make sense. (Of course I still have a lot to learn left, but for me that’s a plus…)
Maybe somebody else can recommend some videos.
