Training Videos: Movie Format or Clip Collections
Submitted by mitch on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 11:03.
I purchased the Lightroom 2 and Adobe Camera Raw videos from Michael Reichmann's ste: The Luminous Landscape. I've been wanting to review them for a while. So expect that soon.
As I sit and wait for these downloads to come across what it very obviously no more than a 10mbps connection (and probably a fraction of that, given the rather pokey download), I've been reflecting on which format is more user friendly.
- DVD movies that can play on a TV
- Movie-length videos for the PC/Mac that span more than a few minutes
- Collections of brief videos for the PC/Mac that are tied together with a browser page
Michael Reichmann has opted for the same choice I've made. Longer videos for the PC/Mac. But, as the song from Oliver! goes, I'm reviewing the situation.
The DVD for the TV is typical of NAPP videos. I have never watched an instructional video on a TV. I prefer videos that are going to teach me about computer stuff to play on my computer (and, yes, I can watch DVD videos, but I still prefer Quicktime movies for training, not DVDs ready to pop in the TV).
Lynda.com is the best example that comes immediately to mind of the video snippet approach. If you stream their videos, they're usually just a few minutes each. So a course has dozens of them. That's more gentle on the streaming server and the bandwidth. But it also means you have to move back and forth between browser and video player. I've never been enthusiastic about that.
There is this issue, though! Which format makes it easier to go back and review a particular topic? I often hear that my video and eBook on sharpening have so much information, that it's necessary to go back and review. I find the Lynda.com approach much easier for reviewing topics.
Please, give me feedback. I have other full-length video tutorials in mind. Which format do you prefer?
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LL Videos Closer to Lynda.Com
I've been lookikng over the videos from Luminous Landscape today. Although they are zipped up in some hefty downloads of around 500MB each, the individual episodes are closer to Lynda.com length. Typically, 10-15 minutes.
That's probably a pretty good length. Make them too short and the user has to download a gazillion files or be interrupted every few minutes to start another segment. Make them too long and the downloads become lengthy or streaming performance can be adversely affected.
Chapter Markers
Some of the Adobe Camera Raw videos from Luminous Landscape use chapter markers. Smart idea when videos get longer than 10 or 15 minutes. They're helpful for moving around and reviewing topics with longer videos. A point I need to keep in mind for future TLR videos.
I look forward to your
I look forward to your review of their ACR video. i almost bought that video a few months ago until I heard they would be updating it to take in to account the improvements to ACR - local brush adjustments. Much time has elapsed since then. I pretty much figured out how to use them on my own. But I might buy it if it is helpful on how to use ACR's sliders for problem photos (or ones where I DIDN'T get the exposure right). That, plus I've never seen the Schewebacca in video form - only experienced his aura through his blog reports/forum replies. But I risk censure - I best wait and see.
Re. I look forward to your
I thought you spent time on the Luminous landscape forums?! I avoid them precisely because Jeff is such a presence there and MR lets him be abusive.
If you're looking for details like difficult retouches, you won't find detail like that with the LL videos on ACR. For example, the video on exposure is nearly 15 minutes long and provides none of that. There's a cameo where Thomas Knoll talks about the difficulty in reducing exposure v. increasing exposure. Schewe nods and agrees with MR about exposing to the right and a few minutes later says you should aim to get the exposure right for the scene.
You don't even get to anything like "real world" adjustments until the eighth video. That's where Jeff finally gets to explaining the sliders on the Details panel. The content there is introductory. Here's the Black slider, see what it does to the image. They do briefly discuss the difference between exposure and brightness. And they talk about setting the mighlights, the shadows, etc. But it's all very general.
There's nothing like a walk-through with problem photographs.
You'll learn more with Jeff's book than you will from these videos. The videos have good, solid technical content. That's separated with many minutes of long-winded crap. But that content is all introductory.
I figure, out of seven hours and forty-five minutes, maybe two-and-a-half hours were technical content. The rest is self-flattering, self-congratulating prattle. And, five hours is an awful lot of prattle.
I would strongly recommend Martin Evening's book on Photoshop. It gives you all the essential details without all the unnecessary filler that Jeff adds to prove to the world that he hangs with Thomas Knoll, etc.
As to censure, I'll leave that to Jeff! :) I'd hire him any day to run a customer abuse department. LOL.
Schewebacca?! LOL. Nah. Chewie had character. And personality.
It's a hoot watching Jeff stare at the monitor where nothing is going on while Michael talks. Rarely does Jeff turn and look at MR while they converse. Jeff's very body language screams, "I'm the guru here and you're just a prop." Oh, and all those times his eyes roll and he visibly restrains himself. Priceless.
I spend some time on the
I spend some time on the Luminous
landscape forums. But the content of the forum is for advanced professionals/artists and their workflow is far too advanced for me, a photo hobbyist/enthusiast. But I still go there to educate myself. Now that ACR employee Madmanchan, rather than just Jeff, is giving input I find it worthwhile.That said, the first question I ever posed about ACR was answered by Jeff - who pushed me towards Fraser's ACR book - and it has changed my life. I owe him a lot.
What I want is "real world" adjustments like I saw in Fraser's ACR book. There are several panels of adjustment sliders - it's good to know when one should use them. until
the eighth video. But now that I have a hang on the local adjustment tools I find I can just use them to acheive my goals. I was hoping his video might show me work flow efficiencies, as well as when to use the curves or split toning tabs.
Jeff's ACR Book and Martin Evening's Photoshop Book
Jeff's book on ACR is well done. It has both basic overviews and some good technical information for the intermediate user. The sample photos illustrate the points well. The technical prose is very competent.
If you were to pick just one book on ACR, Jeff's is the book I would pick.
Martin Evening's book gets better with each edition. I did not purchase the earlier versions. But I very much like the CS4 version. Again, I think it is well-written and has a good mix of topics.
Both Martin and Jeff tend towards an arrogant presentation of self in their books. You can see it in their exaggerated biographical blurbs and in their incessant need to remind users just how much experience they have, how well connected they are to folks at Adobe, etc. Jeff is the worst offender, but Martin has the same tendency. These are minor blemishes to their books, however.
I stay away from LL forums because of Jeff Schewe and Andrew Rodney. I just don't need the hassle. Plus, there are a few regulars there who believe they know a lot and and sometimes get very snotty. That's why I disagreed with MR's comment that the forums on LL are among the most civil on the Web. I find it to be among the least civil because of some very dominant aggressive personalities. I would rate the LL Forums second to worst. Second only to Adobe's forums which can be like a cock fighting ring sometimes.