Short videos are the rage on social media.

Text and photographs are passé. Short videos are the rage on social media.

There are so many sights and sounds around us that many of us would like to capture as memories, be it of your child driving his first bicycle or your best prank on a friend. A video, needless to add, is leagues ahead of a photograph — and even a photo, they say, is worth a thousand words. These could be a fewsecond clips, or loops of funny incidents that go on and on.
So how would you like to be able to make small videos and upload them online, share them with your friends and family, whether via email or on your social media networks.

There are a couple of ways of doing this. The first one is the standard --- use a camcorder, record the video, process it on your computer, and then send it out to the virtual world. Then there is the alternative: snip off small videos right off your mobile phone, and share them in real time.
Let us look at some utilities that let you do this second alternative, and for free.

CINEMAGRAM

[Free on iOS and Android]

Sign in to create your account (you can do this with your email i-d, or facebook / twitter username), and follow a 3-step process. Record a video to a length you want, add effects to the capture you have done that range from retro to a scratched film to even a sepia tone, mask out areas you don’t want on the screen, and you are ready to share.

You can capture the first steps of your child, or someone reacting to a prank call, or whatever, in as short as 4-second videos. Like Instagram, you can also browse videos that people have made, or see trending cinemas.

VIDDY

[iOS and Android]

This does not make a loop video like the other two, but if you wanted a video with a sound track and some retro colours, such as blowing out candles at a birthday party or shooting waves while relaxing on a beach, Viddy lets you do all this. You can add effects before shooting or after, and if you change your mind, you can change the effects too. Trim or change speed of the video, edit brightness, add one of the many available sound tracks, and you are ready to share.

Viddy also is usable on the Web by visiting www.viddy.com.

KLIP

[Android and iOS]

Klip starts by asking your favourite topics, and suggests users you can follow while giving you access to the application. It lets you use both front and rear cameras, but what klip does not let you do is post-production, so choose your effects and settings with care before you start shooting. This is by no means an exhaustive list of available alternatives. Trawl the Net and you may find better stuff. But when you are filming strangers (and even friends) do remember to take their permission to shoot — and share.

 

LOOPCAM

[iPhone only]

This is a different approach to creating loop videos. Tap in the frame to shoot, and once you have a couple of taps done, push the arrow and a loop is created. ‘hairline guides’ to tell

There are you if you are shooting properly, and an interesting ghost mode. You can also switch the front camera to put yourself in the frame. If things get too dark, it lets you use the LED light on the back camera.
Build the loop, share it, and get your laughs. It cannot record audio, though, but building your first loopy video is simplicity itself.