Topic: Video Tutorials Aren't Always The Best

[-<WillyP>-]

Video tutorials seem to be all the rage these days. Seems like nobody wants to make text based tutorials anymore. I'm not really happy with that.

For the person who is competent and just wants to learn a new technique or improve skills, great. If your a beginner at something, like say, Blender, video tuts are hard to follow. With text, you can just go read it again, skip back easily to see what you missed, and screenshots can be included to help explain what is going on. With the video, you have to go back and watch the same thing again, and again, and hope you pick up on what is going on.

While I am grateful to people who spend the time and effort to record a video tut, I usually find them less useful.

[Scyphi]

I'm okay for tutorials for things like video games, on the principle that a picture says a thousand words that a text description cannot, but beyond that, I hear you. Unless it's something simple and fairly straightforward (like, say, how to order online on a given web service), then it just doesn't work very well. Video tuts for things like Blender, Photoshop, and other complex things such as that, just aren't that good, because even when they do manage to convey the needed information still, some people pick up on it at a speed that doesn't match that in the video. So the video would still be rolling on while the person watching it is still trying to figure out step one for whatever reason.

Also, I've found that watching it on a video screen, and watching it in person, live, are two very different things, with the latter being more beneficial in the long run.

[Kaiaatzl]

Yah, and cuz anyone can make them to get some brownie points in a community there's a lot that miss the point of being tutorials and seem to assume a lot of knowledge that feels commonplace to them but a newcomer to something like 3D modelling doesn't have.  It's amazing they can spend half an hour making a video without spending two minutes to think about what it's actually meant to accomplish.  Except I guess they have thought of that because their real goal is to get praise from the community that's already there.

I'm sure I saw a comic somewhere on the internet that did a satire of this.  Somewhere on the internet...

* Kaiaatzl sarcastically wishes himself luck finding it

[Matthew]

I think that, beginner or expert, video tutorials are annoying. I often look up things at work, and it's enraging when the google results are filled with youtube videos. I'm in a room with 5 other people, music playing, people talking, my phone might be ringing... I don't really want your video on top of it all.

[-<WillyP>-]

You guys have all made some excellent points. Some times there's no substitute for seeing it done, say like a golf swing or some such, but trying to learn Blender from a video is rather annoying. I did find a few text tuts, but they are old and Blender has changed somewhat. I also found a keyboard shortcut cheat sheet, but it too is out of date. I'm working on updating it myself.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way. 

[VANGUARD]

I suppose a text tutorial is easier because you get right to where you want to be, and hopefully they aren't too chatty.

I sort of do the same with the Legend of Zelda games. I type out my own walkthrough while watching their video. This way, I know right where to go rather than see a video on them getting somewhere, which can be a little time consuming.

[TechPro]

In my work, I frequently am in a position to advise users on how to do things, not in a planned or scheduled session, but on the spot "at the moment" question and advice.  I've learned there is a lot of value in text tutorials, but they are often not as clear as the author thought because the author was an advanced user (or the actual creator).  Video tutorials are nice when the watching user can take notes if needed and if convenient to stop and pause while the user follows along.  Again, video tutorials can also often fail because the person creating the video may be advanced or expert and will gloss right over things the new user may be totally unaware of or not know.

Both text and video tutorials often fail, big time.

How to do a good tutorial?  (text or video)  Assume you know nothing at all, the follow through each step of the tutorial in detail constantly asking yourself "Would a newbie now what that or this is?" and "How can I simplify this down to a simple child's level?"   Afterwards, review the tutorial and trim out all the extra, and look to reduce the number of steps (expect there to be a lot to remove).   Remember, the simpler it is the better it is.

[-<WillyP>-]

Often times though it's the students at issue... In my case, I often find it difficult to stay focused on the video tutorial.