One of the wonderful things about Vine is that it's entirely self-contained. Everyone has the same tool, with the same set of strengths and limitations. But that doesn't mean you can't 'hack' the recording experience here and there to make your Vines a bit more flexible and fun.
To start Vine recording, you need to tap and hold your finger on the screen. In a way, it's a clever prerequisite. Instead of poking the phone to start and stop video, and potentially introducing shake, a stabilizing finger touch starts the video recording and a simple lift ends it. But not everyone wants to keep their finger glued to the screen. Some have even resorted to elaborate hardware hacks. There's an easier way - at least if you own an iPhone.
Using the built-in accessibility features on the phone, you can tap the screen once and instruct it to keep a 'software finger' on the screen for you. This is great for shooting Vines that involve elaborate camera moves. On your iPhone head to Settings > General > Accessibility. Scroll down to Assistive Touch. From here you'll want to create a Custom Gesture.
Tap on Creature New Gesture. Just tap and hold on the screen for six seconds. When you're done, tap Save in the top-right corner. You'll be prompted to give your new gesture a name. Call it Vine, Six Seconds, or whatever will help you remember it's for video creation. After saving the new gesture, you'll be kicked back to the Assistive Touch screen. You should now see your new Custom Gesture.
Turn on Assistive Touch and a white dot will appear on your screen. Launch Vine and initiate a new video. When you're ready to start shooting, tap on the white Assistive Touch dot. Next, tap on Favorites. The custom gesture you made will now show up as one of your favorites. Tap it again and the Assistive Touch menu will recede and you'll see a blue circle on the screen. Tap it and it'll register as a tap and hold. Now do that Vine thing you do.
Before you do anything else, when you're done shooting, tap the white Assistive Touch button and then tap the screen outside the popup menu to recede the menu. If you don't, every time you tap your iPhone, it'll register as a tap and hold.
After you're done shooting your Vine, just head back to Settings > General > Accessibility and turn off Assistive Touch to remove the white button.
Roberto is a Wired Staff Writer for Gadget Lab covering cord-cutting, e-readers, home technology, and all the gadgets that fit in your backpack. Got a tip? Send him an email at: roberto_baldwin [at] wired.com.
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