Does anyone else really dislike Video Tutorials?


D

Dameon

Member
Video tutorials have gotten amazingly popular recently, and I find them all over the web as they seam to be replacing the traditional "how to" article. Frankly, I hate them and I know I can't be alone on this.

I recently watched a video tutorial on how to make spent rounds for an LMG team. Here's the tutorial:

Cut fine wire to very short lengths.
Glue cut wire to base.
Paint wire a brass color.
Video time: 9 minutes.

That was it. Done. The video was over 9 minutes long. 9 MINUTES! I had to sit there and watch 2 minutes just of this guy trimming little pieces of wire. Really? If someone has to watch 2 minutes of you trimming wire to be instructed how to do it, they shouldn't be allowed to hold sharp objects in the first place! That is an unnecessary waste of time.

I can read most How-To articles in far less time than it takes to watch a video. We don't need a 5 minute segment focusing on how to glue the treads to the side of a tank. You don't need to spend 3 minutes showing someone which direction to unscrew the nut to change a lawnmower blade. That takes like one, two sentences to explain at max, so why does it take several minutes of someone stammering their way through it?

The upside of video tutorials is that you do get good visual instruction which can be very useful for somethings, such as painting brush techniques, staining, how to stipple model waves, etc... But you only need a few minutes at most of something like that. We don't need to watch 30 minutes of someone painting their entire model cliff face in real time.

Now, I know that the average person is not going to have a great camera and lighting setup for shooting videos, but what they can do is practice and plan their video out.

I don't need to listen to 2-4 minutes of someone saying "uh.. err.. umm.. yeah... so that right there.. now we have.. err... umm...". Basic speech class 101 tells you to avoid this. Practice what you want to say BEFORE you record and/or EDIT afterwards. If you have nothing to say, SHUT UP! Let the visuals do the explaining or better yet, if you are out of material realize you are done and stop!
 
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I usually don't watch them because of the same thing you said about taking to much time to say nothing.;)
 
very helpfull, can the be slightly shorter and maybe edited, yes. But most are being done by people who aren't video professionals.
 
By thegrindre:

I find then to be very helpful, if you can weed thru all the c r a p that goes with 'em.
Click to expand...

I find some to be very helpful and interesting, however, the above quote all too often applies!
 
With slow download I only see about 8 seconds and wait 15 for catchup. A few seem to get very small files and will go almost through with only a stop or two.

Armchair
 
I thought about doing how-to videos, but I also share your resentment of the "real time" how-to videos.

It's really enough just to explain what you are going to do, show a few seconds of you doing it, then cut to the part where you're done and you're showing off what it should look like when you have completed that step.

Come on, cooking shows do it this way for a reason!
 
A little follow up on my part. I like the visual aspect. A lot of times a lengthy worded description just can't explain something as well as a visual can.
Also, there are a number of things to see that aren't otherwise described in a worded tutorial.
Someone once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
I must agree!
:)
 
I don't like them either, unless they're done really professionally. Another reason is that 90% of the ones I've seen are techniques that I've either already have read better how to articles on or I have better and quicker techniques on the subject I'm interested in.
 
Good video tutorials ARE out there, but then it's not free......
Joe Fugate's videos are really good, my friend Troels Kirk's paint DVD is also exceptional!
But professionalism costs....
So either watch 99.99% crap on youtube (during which time you could have worked and earned money to buy LOTS of DVD's.......), or buy the good stuff! That saves both time and aggravation.
 
Tutorials

I look at a lot of the videos and do find some gems of information as I am new to HO. However what really sets the delete button off is the current group of juveniles with a limited vocabulary. It only takes fifteen seconds to decide that it's time to ditch the video.
Thanks
Wayne
 
I agree with the OP's dislike of the quality of many on-line video tutorials, but for an additional and more critical reason beyond the presenter's lack of professional delievry and use of time.

My gripe is often more a distrust in the presenter's knowledge and techniques. With no peer review of the videos prior to posting, it allows even the most uninformed to put one up and potentially mislead the viewer. While the more experienced hobbyist will catch the mistakes, the novice will likely accept the methods as presented without question and then be left wondering why his attempts didn't turn out nearly as expected.

There are entirely too many inept video tutorials and presenters out there that hobbyists would be better off without and whose efforts have reduced new hobbyists' dependence on tried and true printed tutorial publications offered by far more dependable sources.

NYW&B
 
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Well, maybe they need to watch "how to" youtube videos on editing video first. Plus how to set up lighting for video would certainly help.
 
What drives me nuts is when some teenager tries to put up a "how-to" video, you ended up there because according to the title, it led you to believe it was useful to what you were looking for, and it's some kid with a bunch of Tyco and Lifelike models that he painted with a brush and Walmart craft paints. Yolu went there for information regarding airbrushing a brass caboose, but ended up on a video of some overindulged spoiled 16 year old on an I-phone slathering goo all over a train set engine and acting like its a masterpiece. I can only understand half of what he says as I "no habla teenager", and end up more frustrated than when I started. I'll take a magazine article any day over Youtube "tutorials".
 
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