We all know that one of the great things about the Internet has been the ability to share information. For some that may mean seeking out information and help on a particular topic. For others that might be sharing their expertise to help others. And to take that one step further I would say that one of the Internet’s “killer apps” are message forums, discussion groups, chat rooms and the like, where people are able to ask questions and seek out advice, almost always for free. Then there are those of us who take time to try and answer questions posed in these message forums. There is generally nothing to gain other than knowledge of the fact that maybe you’ve helped someone out. One personal reason that I answer questions in a number of Final Cut Pro and Avid forums is that in responding and fleshing out the answer to someone else’s question it often helps me understand the application or issue better myself.

Second to discussion groups comes the availability of tutorials that are available all over the Internet. A Google search for Final Cut Pro tutorials will bring back hundreds of links to video, text and even audio tutorials on pretty much any topic you might want to cover about Final Cut Pro. And even though there seems to be about a 50:1 ratio of Final Cut Pro to Avid tutorials a search for Avid tutorials will bring about a lot of them as well. There are just a lot of people out in the world who want to help others learn how to edit better. Or maybe they don’t have any real work to do and spend time making tutorials. But of course the same could be said about blogging so who’s counting.

This particular rant is focused mainly on some of the video-based Final Cut Pro tutorials out there. I am sure it takes a lot of time to put these video presentations together. In my editing career I have watched and used many of them and I still do as there is always a lot to be learned. I’ve found indispensable shortcuts and new techniques that I would have never even thought of without watching. And to those who produce the good ones on a regular basis I say thanks. But lately I’ve come across several websites and blogs offering FCP tutorials that really aren’t that good. Maybe it’s not that they aren’t “good” as the info offered could be helpful but what has stuck me is how shoddy the actual production and pacing of many of them are. So here’s a few tips to a better tutorial video. If you are guilty of any (or all) of these offenses then you know who you are:

• If you are offering up the Quicktime or Flash video at 320×240 (or similarly small) screen size then it might be a good idea to zoom in on the portion of the screen you are talking about. Don’t show the entire screen at that small size because the viewer can’t see the cursor and what you are doing!

• Please try to make the audio audible. Your voice over might be fine (though often it’s not) but remember that any other audio that comes from the system or edit media might need to be audible as well. Audio is half of the viewing experience btw and come on … you are working with an application suite that has audio tools available.

• Check your spelling. FCP has no built in spell checker but you can create a text document else where and check the spelling there first. And considering that most video tutorials have very little on-screen text it shouldn’t be hard to spell it correctly.

• Avoid split screens at a small screen size. This goes back to the first suggestion but remember when you have a small screen size and you then put up 2 or 3 split screens then they get even smaller.

• Finally, and most importantly, remember that you are giving a tutorial on a video editing application. That means you can edit out portions of the tutorial video. The viewer really doesn’t need to sit through real-time progress of a 2 minute render bar. You can edit out that one minute 59 seconds that the computer does the render and still get the point across. And if you make a mistake … edit that out too. There is nothing that makes a tutorial seem more amateurish than some kind of mistake made during the presentation and then leaving that mistake in the final video, especially when the teacher acknowledges they made a mistake. Final Cut Pro edits so get it out of there!

I won’t mention any by name or link to any of the specific tutorials in question. And of course he who lives in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones so I’m sure if I do some video tutorials in the future then I might be guilty of some of the above offenses. But it seems that lately I’ve been seeing more and more FCP tutorials that do one or all of the above mentioned things. So I thought I would offer that as food for though. If any guilty parties pass and read the above suggestions then you are welcome!