I followed some online instructions when I rooted my SGS3. Video instructions are not very easy to follow because you are unlikely going to be able to do the steps at the pace of the video. Written instructions are better because you can go through the process at your own pace. I read the instructions a few time before hand just to understand the whole process and what not so obvious steps I need to do. For instance, I didn't know I had to use a PC for a number of steps, so I made sure I got all the hardware and information I need ready.
I also did some searching on the internet and these forums. Not all phones are the same and they vary from carrier to carrier. There was no universal rooting method that works for all phones of that model. This was another thing that I didn't realise before rooting my phone.
I think the total time effort I spent on rooting the phone is a couple of hours. I'm not sure if I fully understand the reason for all of the steps. I know that part of it is saving a backup image to allow for recovery if something goes wrong. I didn't need to do any back out as I followed the steps correctly. I did find that if I made some mistake such as selecting something wrong, I wouldn't know for sure exactly what I did wrong and recovering may not be so simple.
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On another note, writing instructions for people to follow is a skill. Some people can do it better than others. A person who knows how to do something well doesn't necessarily mean he is good at instructing others how to do it. It is important that instructions need to be simple and straight forward and someone who has not done the process need to be able to understand what to do.
The instructions I used included screen shots of what I should see on the PC or phone. At each step, I check the screen shot and compare it to my phone. That way, I know whether or not I did each step correctly. I was a little lost at one point of the rooting process, but I was able to get back on track.
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