YOU TUBE versus VIMEO

[Bob Lorrimer]

I have just received a request from Chichester Film and Video Makers to subscribe to their YOU TUBE CHANNEL.

No problem there; however the 'comment box' of the film they are showing has been disabled either by design or in error.

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It is a personal thing but I find VIMEO a much more attractive proposition as a forum to promote one's films........and for good reasons:

The VIMEO Image quality at their output of 720p is great....and one can Download the Video too. (if the author has permitted it).

The VIMEO 'Comments' rarely and I mean rarely attract the juvenile nonsense which YOU TUBE attracts.

The VIMEO Interface has NO advertising . YOU TUBE 'ads' have to be constantly clicked OFF as they obscure the film monitor.

VIMEO clicks once to go to full screen and you are up an running and ALL the comments can be seen and scrolled through as one. YOU TUBE requires you to SELECT your preferred resolution and then select screen size and then click yet again to expand comments.

YOU TUBE is a frustration of mouse clicking and to make matters more galling it then bangs another Video in front of you just when you are composing something erudite to say about the claptrap you have just watched!

If you want to go VIRAL with your 21 one year old 'Son' pedaling a rickshaw into a Greek swimming pool - YOU TUBE is the place for it.....but for the rest VIMEO is the place....and you can 'enable' your comments without fear of ignorant trolls lowering the tone of your masterwork.

This is because VIMEO has a membership who, by and large, are interest in film technique, Art and equipment. Here is a simple but rather profound 2 minute short film:

https://vimeo.com/98953952

The above film The Putter appeared briefly on Local BBC News......it seems it has revived the fortunes of the ailing scissor company...the LAST in Sheffield. (Half a million views and a pile of orders for bespoke scissors...at least for the time being!)

Bob

[TimStannard]

This is because VIMEO has a membership who, by and large, are interest in film technique, Art and equipment.

Which is all fine and dandy. If I'm directed towards a Vimeo video, I expect that I will see a film that reaches or surpasses a certain minimum standard.

However, your films, Bob, deserve a far wider audience than those who "by and large, are interest[ed] in film technique, Art and equipment". And I want mine to reach a far wider audience as well. If people are searching for a video, their first stop (and the early entries on a Google search) will be YouTube. Tell someone to search for <whatever> on YouTube and they'll only have to remember one thing. Ask them to search for <whatever> on Vimeo and that gives them two things to remember - so they're less likely to look.YouTube is "general release" whereas Vimeo is a bit more "specialist fringe".

As for comments, I'm also interested in comments by non-film makers/enthusiasts. If that means sifting through some juvenile nonsense, so be it. But to be honest none of my films has received any "dodgy" comments and I suspect only those films which do feature someone peddling a rickshaw into a swimming pool are likely to attract such comments.

These are no doubt reasons why, despite you comments above, I can find plenty (possibly all) of your films on YouTube. So you can have your cake and eat it As we all should.

More generally on comments: I find that posting, whether on Vimeo or YouTube is never enough to attract comments. My most useful source is http://www.videoforums.co.uk, a forum for film makers which fits my bill, mainly amateurs, a few pros, very few "wannabes" as they tend to get found out very quickly. The other source of comments is Facebook, but to be honest I hate having the comments on Facebook rather than on the site hosting the film itself (also they tend to be family & friends whose comments are rarely constructive)

I had hoped that the video section here (Advice on Films) might be better for that, but the delay and censoring due to all comments being moderated makes it rather redundant. I'd seriously recommend that we remove the requirement for posts to be approved. Anything too offensive will be spotted fairly quickly and the mods can do their deletion then.

[Bob Lorrimer]

Thank-you Tim, Yes my films can be found on my YOU TUBE page although my tendency is to leave it to it's own devices! I have been more active on VIMEO and have built up a larger subscriber base as a result.

My 'flagship film' ROCK BOTTOM has attracted 63K views which is truly amazing when one considers the hit rate of it's celluloid equivalent of the past! My old films were shown once at my old Club in CHELSEA and maybe viewed once more in the TOP TEN competition of the day......just as well I had a back up - no back up!

I have a FACEBOOK account, although I am not very attentive to it. However, there is no doubt that posting a short Video on FACEBOOK can start a chain of events....'circles begat circles' if the subject matter suddenly 'clicks' with the population at large for whatever reason.

I will take a look at the Forum you suggest.

Here is an excellent One Minute 'tingler' for you to admire!




Bob

[TimStannard]

My 'flagship film' ROCK BOTTOM has attracted 63K views which is truly amazing

Indeed it is Bob. Attracting that many hits on Vimeo is something of an achievement. Even on YouTube you have to include a cat or two to achieve that
(Although my biggest number of hits is for what must be the driest film I've ever edited - a craftsman describing the process of tuckpointing brickwork, and not a mention of cats or a hint of a nipple slip!)

I will take a look at the Forum you suggest.

Sadly it's all rather quiet at the moment, but it has its moments. I learnt a lot from it when I started shooting (I know, don't say it doesn't show)

Here is an excellent One Minute 'tingler' for you to admire!

https://vimeo.com/97259197

Indeed - I recommend everyone who comes across this thread spares a minute to watch it - great find!

[Michael Slowe]

I'm with Bob when it comes to Vimeo versus YouTube, mainly for the reasons he states. i do have most of my early 'cut to music' stuff on YouTube but I don't think they ever get looked at, despite winning awards galore in the old days. Quite honestly I don't really see the point. I went to Vimeo with my later films because I did get asked where they could be seen and I got a bit fed up with sending out BD's and DVD's and, as Bob says, the HD option gives awfully good pictures when you consider the compression.

I'm beginning to wonder why I make films at all nowadays, the pioneering element has gone now everybody and his dog can do it in fabulous HD (soon to be UHD), and at my advanced age, I'm finding it harder to dig deep and make the effort. Also, who are we making them for? I suppose I've just given ample justification for putting stuff on line!

[TimStannard]

I'm with Bob when it comes to Vimeo versus YouTube, mainly for the reasons he states. i do have most of my early 'cut to music' stuff on YouTube but I don't think they ever get looked at, despite winning awards galore in the old days.

But why would they get looked at unless someone directs them there or is looking specifically for it? If you only promote your Vimeo page, it is hardly surprising that the YouTube page never gets looked at.
As I said before, there is no reason not to do both.

[John Roberts]

I'm beginning to wonder why I make films at all nowadays, the pioneering element has gone now everybody and his dog can do it in fabulous HD (soon to be UHD), and at my advanced age, I'm finding it harder to dig deep and make the effort. Also, who are we making them for? I suppose I've just given ample justification for putting stuff on line!

Every novice can now film, edit and render to at least Full HD, but the equipment in itself doesn't a good film make. This is the art of film-making, which starts with the imagination and works with knowledge of how to use (and abuse) whatever equipment we have available to us, through to a finished vision. But it's equally important to study and learn from the work of respected and experienced peers in our circles, without whom we would not know what is possible, what is 'allowed' (and therefore experiment with what is 'not' allowed) and be able to realise our potential.

I am learning (and making lots of mistakes along the way) from your films, Michael - as well as from other very highly regarded filmmakers such as Bob Lorrimer, who is always willing to give guidance and an educated and informed opinion. I might not always agree with everything I see, but I am learning. And that is why we need to see your films, both old and new.

As for the Vimeo versus YouTube question, I would say both. Different target audiences.