Meta-video Tutorials.

Last night I was looking for information on how to edit avi.-files in Windows Movie Maker. My Google-search directed me to user generated threads, company FAQ’s, and to YouTube.

Videos about how to do almost anything are widely available at video sites like YouTube. And some of the most useful how-to-do’s are computer tutorials. They are extremely convenient and you can gain the expertise or knowledge you are looking for in just minutes.

First you go to the video site or any search engine and type the name of the application you are having problems with and add the word tutorial. Of course you can also type the name of your specific problem, narrowing your search. Hit enter and choose your tutorial.

Then you watch and listen to the tutorial on your computer. What is really smart is that you can use the application you are learning about at the same time. So you are actually not just learning by listening and paying close attention. You are learning by doing, while being guided. And anytime you want to; restart the tutorial, pause it, or go to the next one.

Most of the tutorials, and often the most useful ones, are created by users like you. Companies post their own tutorials about their programs, but user created tutorials tend to address the potential problems within each application better. Tutorials created by the company actually selling the application naturally do not focus as much on potential problems and sometimes look more like advertisements than tutorials.

Of course finding the right tutorial can require some patience. Since there are many tutorials for each application you might have to check out a couple before you get the answer you were looking for. However, even the ones that do not answer your exact question will probably teach you something new about the application.

Last night, when I was searching for a tutorial on avi.-files in Movie maker, the tutorial I watched didn’t actually address my problem. It turned out that it was not a tutorial about how to edit avi.-files in Movie Maker, the tutorial itself was an avi.-file. This is a good example of one of the problems that might occur when looking for the right tutorial.

Even though the tutorial did not address my specific problem I did find out things about Movie Maker, that I did not know before. And it appears that Movie Maker is just not created to handle avi.-files. And what a shame that the program cannot handle these files. Movie maker comes with most new Windows computers and would be the easiest for anyone with a pc to use.

Granted, it is not as extensive as other applications, but it would serve my needs right now…And I would be able to do my editing from home. But in stead I will have to use the iMovie and Final Cut Pro applications, that are available at my school. At least until Windows decides to release an avi.-codec for Movie Maker.