Vimeo Video School is basically a curated and categorized directory of filmmaking tutorial videos on Vimeo, as well as original tutorial series by Vimeo themselves that take the form of both posts and videos.

The videos range from the very broad (“Shooting Basics“) which are geared more toward beginners, to the very specific (“Nighttime Shooting with a DSLR“). Some are very technical and professional, and some are oriented towards a much larger and less professional audience (like a post on how to make a great Christmas video).

In fact, one of the things we found really useful about this series is an entire series by Vimeo on DSLR filmmaking. They paired a DSLR expert with a DSLR newcomer which makes the videos much more watchable than having one person talk at you.

Vimeo put a lot of resources into creating a lot of tutorial videos as well as indexing a lot of the best tutorial videos on their site, which makes it a fantastic “first stop” if you are looking for a tutorial on a specific topic. It definitely beats searching for tutorials on YouTube.

However, Atom.com prides itself in blending mainstream and indie media. One aspect that highlights this point may also be particularly useful to the DiY-Filmmaker, and that aspect is Atom’s World Famous Cash-Money Internet Comedy Tournament. The rules are simple, and best described by the site itself:

WHAT IS THE TOURNAMENT? The Tournament is a weekly competition beginning April 19, 2010 celebrating the funniest and most popular original comedy videos recently uploaded to Atom.com (“Atom”).

HOW DOES ONE ENTER THE TOURNAMENT? Entering the Tournament is simple. Just upload an original comedy video to Atom.com and in the process, agree to our User Content Submission Agreement, Terms of Use, and these Official Rules. Video specifications including video formats and file size limits are communicated during the upload process.

Readers of this blog know we aren’t the type to just tell you about an online comedy video tournament for no reason. What makes Atom’s World Famous Cash-Money Internet Comedy Tournament so great is not the prizes (though the prizes are kinda sweet), the real value of this tournament is the Creator’s Kit that Atom.com provides for contest participants.

Homemade Jib-Arm not included in Kit.

In this kit you will find a great fourm about the tournament, a short list of web resources for production, and best of all, a list of dozens of “free” production music provided exclusively for use in this contest. You read that right, Atom.com provides free production music to use in project submitted to their tournament. And this isn’t some crappy recycled loops like you get from a royalty-free music DVD, these are professionally made music trackes composed by Matt Messina, the composer of Juno and other films.

I entered the contest a year or 2 ago, not because I wanted to win anything (which I didn’t), but because I wanted to use the provided music to see what I could come up with. It turned out awful, but the music was perfect! So, I post my contribution here with the request that someone, anyone, make something better and link it in a comment at the bottom of this post.

So when I am doing something video related, I like to bring a checklist. You know why? Because checklists are simple. They are idiot proof as long as you actually look at them. Here’s a primer 101 on how checklists work:

1. The checklist has a list of things to do.

2. If you do a thing, you check it off.

3. You keep doing things on the checklist until they are all checked off.

4. When they are all checked off, you are done.

Check that out. Simple. Effective. Idiot Proof.

You might say, though – what if I am making a checklist and I forget to put something on the checklist, thereby defeating the purpose of a checklist?

Have no fear, because our crack team at DiY Filmmaking has scoured the internet for the best checklists we could find. Here are 5, in no particular order.

Pro tip: You might want to check off which ones you have checked out as you go along.

1. General Things to Think About For Your Production Checklist

From Red Pine Studios. Good list to help you think of some things you might have not thought to think about. Not really useful for going out in the field, but useful for pre-production and planning. Check it out here.

2. Comprehensive Shooting Checklist

From MediaEd. Great list for a shoot that includes both equipment/practical needs and other intangible considerations about what and how you are shooting. Check it out here.

3. Camera Equipment Checklist

From a user on Scribd. This list includes basically what you should need for your camera for a shoot. Should be adapted to your specific setup, of course, but a great basis to start with. Check it out here.

4. Before/After Shot Checklist (film only)

Didn’t think it could get this specific, eh? Well this one comes from the same Scribd user as #3 – a before/after shoot checklist for shooting on film. This is going to be a lot shorter for video, but the idea is correct – having a checklist to remind you to check your exposure and your audio is a great idea. Check it out here.

5. Simple Video Equipment Checklist

From uhh..some site. This may be the most useful checklist for the DiY Filmmaker – just a list of stuff you need to go out on a shoot, with some more practical items such as turning your cell phone off. Check it out here.

Have your own production checklists you like to use? Give us a shout in the comments or on Twitter (@diyfilmmaking)

According to the official About Us page, Xtranormal’s mission is:

to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and we believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.

Our revolutionary approach to movie-making builds on an almost universally held skill—typing. You type something; we turn it into a movie. On the web and on the desktop.

Basically, by providing pre-created characters, sets and camera angles, Xtranormal allows you to write your own script, set your own stage directions and frame your own shots without having to actually record any video or audio yourself… creating a great tool to help you lean some of what goes into shooting a movie, without having to actually shoot one.

Now, I know what you may be thinking: “This idea is fun to mess around with, but nothing with any substance can come from a movie made on xtranormal.com.” While it is true that the pre-defined characters, sets and actions (not to mention the computer generated voices) can hinder your creative process slightly, there is still the potential to make some pretty great stuff using nothing more than the tools provided by the site.

The perfect example of this is the series Howard & Leslie, created by Donald Glover. There is a total of 38 different shorts in the series, but here is the first 5 so you get an idea what it is all about (Warning: Explicit Content):

Now, it requires a lot of creativity to come of with some of the stuff found in Howard & Leslie, something Donald Glover has no shortage of. Donald Glover is a writer, actor, DiY-filmmaker, rapper and stand up comedian. The guy has creativity seeping from his pores. But, that is the point.

If your story is compelling, twisted, funny or simply interesting enough to hold someone’s attention, it doesn’t need to be shot on a RED camera or edited in Final Cut Pro; it can be made on a site with pre-created content and computer generated voices. After all, Howard & Leslie is a lot more creative than most of the films you will come across that use a PVC pipe dolly or homemade jib-arm. That’s because it isn’t “professional shots” or “cool camera tricks” that make Howard & Leslie great, it is the story. The twisted, violent, hilarious story.

Note: Xtranormal actually interviewed Donald about Howard & Leslie, so visit his blog if you want to check it out.

However, even if you vow to never post another one of your films to YouTube again, and have converted exclusively over to Vimeo, odds are you’ve still got a handful of videos that are already on YouTube and have been for quite some time. If this is true, then it’s just as likely that you’ve received plenty of feedback from fellow YouTubers on these videos, and that none of this feedback is particularly useful, helpful or encouraging. In fact, a lot of this feedback is probably cruel, hateful and often totally unrelated to the work itself.

As with any other place on the internet that give anonymous users the chance to voice their opinion, YouTube attracts people with problems. Seriously.

For example, here are a few comments found on this video:

LOL eww i just think your very FUCKING fay , ugly .bad dancing , got a penis, your a lesbian , you like fat cunt ,

does any one els think this fat fuck should become lez {if she alrady isent} because no boy will ever like her so u should just cut off one of ur rols of fat and kill urself wit it u suck and and ur fat and uglyyyyyyyyyyyyy

fat ass you suck big monster cock dont ever do this again

Bitch was asking for it.

OK, point made, YouTubers are cruel, time to move on, right? Wrong, because here are a few more comments from the exact same video:

You are amazing. YouTube needs more freakin awesome people like you. Keep it up, girl!!

your the best person on youtube.

you just officially made my dayy!! i love your videos!

Now, we all know this girl is not the best person on YouTube, nor should she kill herself, so what does this all mean? It means that YouTube comments are not representative of real life feedback. People say all kinds of crazy stuff online and most of it isn’t even worth the time it takes to read it.

Do you know why I used this video as an example? Because in just over a year, this video has received 623,398 views. Yes, you read that right, this video of a girl awkwardly dancing in her bedroom has well over half a million views… and this isn’t even her most popular video (she has one dancing video with nearly 6 million views!).

She really hits her stride with this one.

Some of the worst videos imaginable gain popularity on YouTube, and they make it difficult to gauge whether your video is successful or not. How are you supposed to feel if the short film that took you months to finish has a total of 78 views in the past year, while this guy gets millions and millions of views every time he posts a video. Every. Time.

I guess that shirt took a while to make.

It’s important to take everything on YouTube, or on the web in general, with a grain of salt. What qualifies as a successful video on YouTube does not necessarily mean it is going to be successful in any other place. YouTube has its own set of standards on quality, and it is not an adequate way to determine anything other than your worth on YouTube specifically. And while YouTube provides a lot of helpful insight on where your views are coming from, most of the user generated comments and ratings reflect very little on how your film may actually be received by people who matter (like people in the film industry, potential investors and film festival judges).

So, while YouTube can be a helpful tool in promoting and broadcasting yourself or your work, at the end of the day, your film is competing with a lot of stuff that isn’t even in the same category, and is being judged and critiqued by a lot of unqualified individuals.

However, if you are a Final Cut user, and you know you’re way around the program pretty well, check out the FCP Daily blog. I have been a Final Cut Pro user 6 years and found a ton of great tips that I am definitely putting to use. There are also a lot of great free resources you’d probably miss otherwise.

Be aware that this is not an ideal place to start for beginning Final Cut Pro users. We’ll be posting some basic tutorials in the coming few days for those interested in learning the ropes.

So Final Cut Pro power users, put this in your feed reader and starting impressing women with these sweet tips.

Below are some things to consider about Vimeo and using an online video service in general as a DiY filmmaker.

Consider the Venue

Traditionally, the DiY filmmaking community seems to have gathered around YouTube, which is free and easy to use. There is nothing wrong with YouTube, but consider this: you’ve poured your heart and soul into a project, and you’ve spent hours making sure that every detail is the way you want it. Then you upload it to YouTube and it hangs out with gems like this:

And that’s some of the good stuff. Seriously.

Sure, put your cord wrapping tutorials up on YouTube, but for final products, I say go for something a little more pro.

Vimeo is Built for Filmmakers

While you can literally turn on a webcam and blather on to create a YouTube video, Vimeo is built specifically with people who make original creative works in mind.

In fact, they are kind of dickish about it in their lengthy guidelines:

You may not upload videos pertaining to Multi Level Marketing (MLM), get rich quick, cash gifting, work from home business, or any other dubious money making ventures.

Damn! I have plenty of dubious money making ventures.

These guys are good to go, however.

If you do qualify to use Vimeo, the interface is much cleaner and sleeker, and allows you to present your creation in a much classier environment instead of hanging your creation in the digital equivalent of a bathroom stall. Along with the class, the interface has much nicer looking ads (and much less of them) as well as nice little controls like allowing you to add Flickr stills and uploading your own thumbnail.

Also, the Vimeo community is generally much more respectful and helpful than YouTubes, which is generally considered to be the internet manifestation of pain and despair. That means you will get far less comments along the lines of “meh” and “lol ur fags”.

No comment.

Limitations and Vimeo Plus

Unlike YouTube which is completely free, Vimeo has a pay version as well as a free one, and they have some restrictions for the free versions. Basically, you get 500mb a week of upload space and 720p HD. You can’t embed in HD with the free service either.

Vimeo’s pay program, called Vimeo Plus, is a $59.95 (or $9.95/month) service that gives you 5GB of upload space a week, plus HD embedding, and even some cool controls like allowing you to control which domains can embed each video. You also get some great stuff like customization options for the video player, 2 pass encoding, and priority spaces in the upload and conversion queue. Neat!

One important thing to note is that the number of HD embeds. You get 25,000 free, but then you gotta pay for ‘em. $24.95 gets you 10,000 more. This is probably not really a problem for most content, but it is something to be aware of. HD views at the Vimeo page are unlimited.

Community

Another thing I really like about Vimeo is a hidden gem: their community forums which you can get some helpful advice and help from other content creators. Since the Vimeo community is made up of primarily very knowledgable and reliable content creators, the help and advice is top notch.

Vimeo is the heated toilet seat of online video options

There you have it – give your masterpiece the respect it deserves and put it on Vimeo. However, if you’re not ready for it yet, you know who you are.

"60 bucks???"