What is the best way to share tips for you?

[alank99101739]

For anyone interested, how do you best learn?

• Do you find answers in these forums useful?
• Do you find written blog posts (like at Behind the Scenes – Extra Ordinary, the Series) useful?
• Do you think YouTube videos are more useful because you can see the UI of the tool directly?
• Do you think live streaming events (at particular times) are more useful because you can ask questions and discuss a bit more live? (E.g. people could bring along a puppet they were having troubles with, and we work through together how to fix it live.)

Why am I asking?

For me personally, this is all a hobby - I am not a professional or expert, but have played with the software a bit now.  I jump on the forums during breaks at work when I get a few minutes and try to get newcomers unstuck. I frequently learn something new in the process. I notice the same sorts of questions are frequently asked, or the same sorts of problems hit, so I am now getting into the habit of writing a blog post so I can refer back to it easily. But I was wondering how effective it was.

Another option for example would be to do a live streaming event instead. The advantage is low expectations of quality, and people with questions could jump in and ask questions in the chat session for expansion on topics etc. But if nobody turns up, its a waste of effort. (I find it hard to turn up to a live streaming event - its at a particular time of day, and working my schedule to fit rarely works out.) Also long videos are harder to find an example in the middle if it covers several topics. So I am not sure if its the right way to go. A simpler option is to record videos of one activity and just post them.

Adobe produces high quality tips and tricks videos. I am not considering anything like that. Rather I was wondering about creating some videos more like “this is how I put a scene together”. Or if someone shared a puppet to debug, “this is what I did to try and work out what is wrong with the puppet”. Not a quality recording, not an official word from Adobe, just sharing as I do something that I think might be interesting to newcomers.

Hence the question to anyone listening. Are answers in the forum here useful enough? I find frequently getting answers slower because without the actual puppet it takes longer to diagnose issues. Are blogs useful? Would a low quality video be better than a written blog? Would a live session be more useful given the time might not be convenient for you?

(My guess is live sessions probably not worthwhile because no-one would turn up. So its really a question of are written blogs useful or would it be better to do a video showing the software with a low quality video? The video would be low quality - lots of boring pauses, umm and ahs etc as I would not edit out the boring parts. Editing video just takes too much time.)

Here is a sample video - is this useful to anyone? Using Blends in Adobe Character Animator - YouTube

Further, is anyone else interested in creating videos or have content to share as well?  Do we need a central place to share content?

[AliciaGee]

Hi Alan,

My answer is - I find all of these things useful - answers in these forums, written blog posts, YouTube videos, live streaming events - though like you, I usually find the timing a problem and so watch a recording.

Forum answers - really useful, but in the way they are displayed, I can't just browse. Adobe - how about letting us see all posts, or at least provide a link for all answered questions in the same way that there is a link for unanswered questions? [I realise all the forums are like this, not just CA].

Written blog posts - really useful if they include lots of screenshots - but very time-consuming to create - and how to find them?

YouTube videos - very useful but how to find them? YT search is clunky. Re finding examples in the middle of a long video - Okay Samurai is the model here - with contents linked in the video description including timestamps. Just brilliant (like the rest of his output). Re video length - I love the Premiere Pro (and other) very short videos on the YT channel 'Adobe in a Minute'. However - I watched your supposedly "low quality" 'Using Blends' video linked in your post above and it wasn't boring at all - or low quality - the very occasional "pauses, umm and ahs" are just fine by me. The only refinement I would suggest - if you had time - would be to edit in a close-up view of the timeline (and maybe the properties panel) when appropriate. Thank you -  I hope for more!

"Do we need a central place to share content?" - Oh yes, yes, yes!  A continually updated list of resources would be great - maybe sectioned for 'beginning learners' and others?? Maybe all of us could contribute somehow?

[alank99101739]

“Forum answers - really useful, but in the way they are displayed, I can't just browse”. I think the desktop theme limits you to 10 max, but mobile you get a much longer list.

thx for the other feedback and offer - I will wait for any more feedback.

[alank99101739]

I put up another video: I love (debugging) Turtles - YouTube  - the overall channel is Extra Ordinary Behind the Scenes - YouTube if anyone wants to subscribe. I need to try different software. OBS Studio is going crazy on me too often - wasting too much time verifying the video and chopping out the corrupted parts.