Calvin is going to be making a video of one of our guides for his school project. Any input you could give him would be very appreciated! I'm excited to see what he comes up with.

[quote|Kyle Wiens]Calvin is going to be making a video of one of our guides for his school project. Any input you could give him would be very appreciated! I'm excited to see what he comes up with.[/quote]

Hi Calvin!

Preparing a video repair guide for projects like you see here at iFixit is a great idea.

There are a bunch of video repair guide examples on You-Tube ... Check them out. Most are very poor. (eg: bad camera angles, lack of detail/sharpness, poor lighting, no explanation of tools used, the demonstrators narration is too technical, etc.).

Working on micro components close-up is difficult, even if your eyesight is excellent. When working on small electronics, I usually wear a head magnifier with lights (ie: similar to what your dentist might use while working on your teeth). Because computer components are close to microscopic, you need to consider camera angles, lighting, video resolution and the other stuff I mentioned previously. If your video camera doesn't have a macro setting (most don't), an alternative is to use your digital still camera to take macro shots of the key areas you'd like to highlight. While you are editing the video, you can place the still shots in areas you'd like to emphasize (eg: tools needed, screw order, difficult case latches, soldering components, etc). Be sure to annotate with text when possible.

I love ifixit and it would be great to see your video project here once you have finished it.

Good Luck! I'm off to do your survey now.

[quote|Speedracer]Hi Calvin! Preparing a video repair guide for projects like you see here at iFixit is a great idea. There are a bunch of video repair guide examples on You-Tube ... Check them out. Most are very poor. (eg: bad camera angles, lack of detail/sharpness, poor lighting, no explanation of tools used, the demonstrators narration is too technical, etc.). Working on micro components close-up is difficult, even if your eyesight is excellent. When working on small electronics, I usually wear a head magnifier with lights (ie: similar to what your dentist might use while working on your teeth). Because computer components are close to microscopic, you need to consider camera angles, lighting, video resolution and the other stuff I mentioned previously. If your video camera doesn't have a macro setting (most don't), an alternative is to use your digital still camera to take macro shots of the key areas you'd like to highlight. While you are editing the video, you can place the still shots in areas you'd like to emphasize (eg: tools needed, screw order, difficult case latches, soldering components, etc). Be sure to annotate with text when possible. I love ifixit and it would be great to see your video project here once you have finished it. Good Luck! I'm off to do your survey now.[/quote]

I just wanted to leave you a short comment concerning your survey. I do not understand question # 5. It seems to me to be a rather vague question. I do not understand if you want to know what hardware problems I have faced, or what problems I have faced following guides? Maybe you could reword it to help clarify your meaning.

Just a thought.

[quote|gwrivest]I just wanted to leave you a short comment concerning your survey. I do not understand question # 5. It seems to me to be a rather vague question. I do not understand if you want to know what hardware problems I have faced, or what problems I have faced following guides? Maybe you could reword it to help clarify your meaning. Just a thought.[/quote]