It took little more than 14 years to carve Mount Rushmore, five years to write the first Harry Potter book, and more than four years to paint the Sistine Chapel. But now, it takes only seconds to create your own work of art. Six seconds, to be exact.
Vine Defined
The newest social media sensation is Vine, which is a free app for iPhone and Android. This app allows users to create short videos that play on a loop. What makes Vine unique is that you can share your videos with Twitter or on Vine’s website so you can follow your friends and share your adventures. In January, the Vine app partnered with Twitter to widen their platform of users.
Similar to the Twitter character limit, Vine challenges its users to fit an entire story arc into six seconds. The stop-motion animations are great ways to document activities that are too animated for Instagram  but not worth full video editing. By pressing your touch screen, it allows you to record sound and video, and by releasing the screen, the recording stops, allowing users to cut and paste full segments together. Check out this awesome “underwater” Vine for an example!Â
“[I like] being able to tell my story but in video instead of pictures like Instagram. I also love it because it allows me to be my silly and goofy self!” says Itopia Mills, a senior from Florida A&M University.
The app lets you chose who to follow, but it also allows private Vines to be created and not be shared over the Internet, allowing for user discretion.
How to Vine
What makes a good Vine? Basically, everything! Try making one with multiple shots of friends shopping, or of a road trip with video clips of the road signs, maps, and participants. Or, think of Vine as a video collage, come up with a common theme (like “a day at the beach”), and collect shots that embody that theme. After you shoot your six seconds, it will stitch together your video into a loop and allow you to share your adventures with your friends.
Once you Vine everything in your daily life, get fancy with scripts and story arcs to impress the Twittersphere. Who knows, you could become the next Coppola in six seconds!
Leah Tully a senior at University of New Hampshire, warns when cutting your Vine to make sure you don’t say “start” or “stop” when recording. “Those are total humor killers,” she says. The time limit is meant to inspire creativity, requiring users to shoot decisively, but the problem becomes that many beginner users have choppy sound or the video cuts off what they’re saying.
Which Vines to Follow
Another reason why this app is so awesome? You can follow your favorite celebrities on Vine. For Vine inspiration and out-of-this-world Vine creativity, check out these suggestions for users to follow:
1. Harry Styles: Because who wouldn’t want a closer look at One Direction’s lives?
2. Jimmy Fallon: The late night host loves Vine, and we love Jimmy. He doesn’t post as much as other celebrities, but when he does, his Vines are pure gold.
3. Josh Peck: What happened after Drake & Josh? Josh shows us with his car musings and other random but hilarious Vines.
4. Tyra Banks: Wanna be on top (of the latest Tyra happenings)? Tyra’s hilarious account will keep you on top of the Vine-sphere and informed about her life.
5. Wiz Khalifa: Wiz posts 24/7, giving followers an all-access, six-second look into his life and thoughts. Â
And Vine wouldn’t be a true Internet sensation without cats. Vinecats.com constantly pulls cat videos from Vine and Twitter and compiles them into one feline-tastic website. On Twitter, be sure to follow Vine’s official account and top parody account Best Vines. #vineart pulls from some of the most creative Vines on Twitter.
This app allows six seconds of total freedom, so what will you create? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo Credits
Iphone Vine
Vine icon screenshot