You have a Vine and Instagram account, but which one is better for you as a filmmaker?
So your a filmmaker and you like to use social media. With so many competing apps and tools out there, which ones should you use for promoting your latest works? Facebook and Twitter both have a their successful uses for self-promotions, but about their sister video apps?
Vine and Instagram each have their own qualities and features, but which app is better suited for a filmmaker?
Twitter got ahead of the game and kicked off the social video trend with Vine. While it’s launch was surrounded by numerous uncertainties, the community has been steadily growing over the last year fed by its incoming users from Twitter and has a strong base of core users. However, even though Instagram was late on the game, the upgrade was made to an app already used by millions, giving Instagram the advantage on the user base.
6 Seconds or Less
Vine users have come accustomed to three things; funny ass 6 second videos, creative looped stop-motion animations and an endless array of cat videos. We can also argue that the shirtless douchebag has his own category as well.
But for an artist, at its core, Vine is a creator’s tool. It can be used to shoot behind the scenes teasers, but your best bet is to create original and artistic content. 6 seconds is your canvas, but you can make it last forever (in a loop of course). Like twitter, hashtags are an easy and convenient way to tag your videos, making it easier for users looking for the same interest to find you. Vine also has a neat set of categories which help filter out anything you would not want to see in the “popular” feed, like animals. Unfortunately there are no “Film” categories, and would have to manage with categories like “Magic”, “Art” or “Comedy”.
The ability to easily create stop-motion animation on Vine makes it a fun social tool for animators, and with recent updates they have encouraged stop-motion further more by adding the “Onion layer” option when filming.
For Halloween Oreo created a series of clever short remakes of scenes from popular horror movies, using Oreo cookies as the main characters.
While others will find fun and new creative ways to entertain using the square, 600×600 canvas.
The Endless 15 Seconds
It took me a while to get used to videos on Instagram, mainly because people didn’t know what to film at first. 6 seconds is short for some, but 15 seconds can be really an eternity for others. Video length is the most notable difference between the two apps, using your time wisely is the key to an interesting video and always keep in mind that 15 seconds is the maximum and not minimum.
No Animation or Loop
One feature that seems so easy and fun on Vine is impossible on Instagram, the ability to create a stop-motion video. It is hard to understand why a quick tap will record about 1 second, as on Vine a user can record frames at a time by quickly tapping. Instagram also aborted on the looping videos, it might be a little less annoying but also less addictive.
Photos and Users
The are many positives about using Instagram, including the fact that you probably already had an account far before Vine came out, with your share of established followers. Creating an account from scratch with no followers can be rough and long experience, so use this to your advantage.
Re-Instagramming
Instagram also decided to opt out on the re-posting. A decision that is understandable as it’s primary use is to share your own personal moments, and not pollute feeds with the same things over and over. But in a case where you have a trailer up, you would like people to share it as much as they can on their own feeds! There are ways around this with apps like Repost Whiz, InstaRepost and Repost for Instagram.
Tipping Point
Ultimately as a filmmaker and curator I chose Instagram over Vine for most of my posts. The most simple reason would be Instagram’s decision to allow uploads from your personal library. A use frowned upon by some purists, but comes very handy to filmmakers where camera phones are not their primary tool.
This means endless possibilities for filmmakers (within 15 seconds that is), opening doors to mini shorts, quality HD imports from your DSLR or film and to our highest delight; InstaTrailers! Tease your viewer with little scenes or trailers of your upcoming film, you’d be surprised at how fun it is to create a 15 second trailer.
The process is not as simple as a drag and drop, but for a regular editor it should be a breeze. We suggest recreating your InstaTrailer with the proper Instagram export settings and resolution, to ensure a crisp final video, and more so to center each scene appropriately. Avoid leaving the black ‘widescreen’ bands to give a true Instagram experience.
Conclusion
To conclude, the ultimate choice comes down to your use and needs, Vine can be a fun exploration and pass time for stop-motion lovers, and a great way to gather followers if you are good at what you do. Instagram is a perfect mix of photos and videos, and a great place to show mini-teasers of your recent work! Both are great for behind the scenes instant clips, so having both accounts and using them both equally is not sin.