A Professional Viner’s Take On Instagram Video

I’ve already said my piece when it comes to the Vine vs. Instagram video debate, but what do other users have to say about it?

Instagram and Vine user Meagan Cignoli posted the same stop-animation video on Vine and Instagram, and asked her followers which was better. She’s a power user on both platforms, with nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 200,000 followers on Vine.

And the overwhelming consensus? Vine FTW!

Only one person, of the hundreds who responded, chose Instagram.

Here is the Vine:

Here is a link to the Instagram version.

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As you can see, the Instagram video looks slightly grainy and has a zoomed in aspect ratio compared to the Vine. Cignoli explained that, for the type of stop-animation that she does, she must use the Cinema feature to shoot in Instagram video. When shooting in Instagram, the app’s stabilization software is automatically running, which means that your preview is slightly zoomed in.

You can turn this feature off after you’ve shot the video, which should yield a higher quality video, but that means that it’s impossible to frame a stop animation without showing what’s outside the frame, or “the reality of the set,” as Cignoli put it.

Other than the Cinema difference, the videos are exactly alike. Cignoli said that she used the same iPhone 5 for both videos, in the same exact tripod, and even pushed the record button the exact same number of times. And when all was said and done, the vast majority of responses seemed in favor of Vine.

Of course, this isn’t… like, science or anything. Meagan’s mini poll doesn’t solve the riddle for good.

She’s a professional photographer who now makes a full-time living on Vine, shooting “Vads” for brands like Loews.

She says that she started posting her photography on Facebook and Twitter in order to gain new clients, but held out on joining Instagram for a long time. “I didn’t want to take pictures with my phone,” she said. “I’m a photographer!”

But eventually she caved. “I joined late for Instagram, so it was hard for me to get on the Popular page and really get any traction,” Cignoli said. “I joined Vine early enough to get on the Popular page early on and pick up followers.”

Ever since, she focuses on Vine full time, working with around 12 to 15 brands.

That said, Meagan’s following on Instagram is more like a cult than her army of Viners, so we can’t necessarily trust their accuracy (even if all but one chose Vine). You can determine for yourself which of these stop-animation videos are better.

For Meagan, it’s Vine all the way. That’s not to say that she doesn’t enjoy Instagram video. “I like that Instagram video looks like Instagram pictures,” she said. “That’s why I used a filter, because that’s the draw in Instagram. It’s why you use it. And I wanted to show both services at their very best.”

Warning: Viewing of Meagan’s Vine stream will likely steal hours from your day. Be prepared to get engrossed.