I posted something else about technology, but here's something along the same lines ...
There is some fabulous instructional stuff, both in print and on the internet for knot tying, including pages on the IGKT site. Stuart Grainger's diagrams sure take some beating, and the animated knots web site is superb
(
http://www.animatedknots.com/index.php )
There's nothing like sitting with a master craftsman and learning "live" by doing and watching at the same time. However good this is at the time, there's no permanent record of the event though, and some of us struggle to remember afterwards!
"A picture paints a thousand words" as the saying goes, so how many does a video paint? The best video training material I've ever come across (it was for CorelDRAW for anyone who's heard of it) came from a company in Australia, and it's like having a personal tutor who I can bring back to my PC as and when the need arises.
Anyone who's tried to produce video training material will know what a long, laborious process it can be - producing 10 minutes of training video (whether it's for DVD/TV or for the PC) might take many, many hours of filming before you get it right. Believe me, I've done it! Having said that, some people are better than others at demonstrating.
I still maintain that visual instruction works better than words. I'd like to investigate the possibility of producing video training, as I think it will appeal to a larger audience. Imagine a scout wandering around a store and he sees a book entitled "How to tie knots", and next to it a DVD with the same title. Which is he likely to buy? Sure, he can pick up the book and scan through it in the store, but I think the DVD is more likely to be purchased, as he's more likely to watch that than read the book when he gets home.
Are there any Guild members willing to give it a try? If any of you are willing and confident, maybe I could do some filming at the May Jubilee? Probably best to keep it simple to see how it goes, and time will be against us as we will have lots of people to visit and talk to. On top of which, there's a couple of hours need putting aside to trawl through Des's and Liz's stall (I don't think I'm unique in that, am I?)
Of course, our target audience is likely to be relatively small, but promoting the Guild using modern technology might just bring a few more into the fold.
Ta!
Phil