Recently I have visited one or two CMS project sites and have noticed how effective video tutorials/screencasts are at communicating the features, power, methodology, etc of the overall project.
It would be really nice to have a couple of cool video/screencasts right on the front of the MODx home page. There are several MODx videos scattered across the web but some are old, Evo focussed or are too small to read the fields and boxes that the commentary is highlighting.
MODx documentation has always been a thorny issue. The only commercial book is out of date and Bob’s new book is in the process of been whittled down from 1500 pages. Video/screencasts are a very effective means of explaining and showing how things work. I would love to see a couple of fresh video/screencasts features.
I think two main approaches would be useful. Maybe this:
* Overall overview on the UI, Manager and how it all sort of fits together.
* Present a full, complete working demo website that has most of the features/snippets that CMS developers, designers and users would need. Show the working front end page and then show the Manager backend and explain how the page works, which snippets/tvs/chunks etc were chosen. Explain why they were chosen and how they work. By seeing alternating visual views of the front and back ends of critical pages with added commentary viewers will really get a better grasp of how it all knits together.
One of my long rants about snippets and modules is how dry all the documentation is. Some of its very good, but it often lacks that visual imaginative spark that draws people in. Video/screencasts can SHOW how cool snippets and core features are: you can SEE them working. And then show how and why they work. Most snippets etc are presented as useful building blocks. What I would love to see is more visual samples of them WORKING.
I was thinking about doing this myself. I even got permission from a local coffee shop to take pictures so I could design a fictitious coffee shop website. I wanted to show how one can design a site graphically, build a template, CSS, images etc and then make it all happen with MODx. Unfortunately I got sidetracked and then Revo burst onto the scene. I still use Evo and I honestly think the main video/screencasts should focus on Revo at this point? I can help edit and do some technical work if needed. I use Final Cut Studio.
Not sure if this idea will catch on but I hope it will. I think some group thought and effort would be nice. It would help identify what to cover and how to demonstrate it...
Cheers,
Max
I did something similar for Evo, a series of videos showing a site build, although I started from html/css rather than from design. I will probably do the same for Revo at some point. I agree with you that this kind of screencast would be immensely helpful.
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I’d just like to point to Bridgecourt’s youtube account while we’re on the subject:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bridgecourtinc
I guess he’s the one making the most progress on that, at this point.
There can never be enough though
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