Anyone can become "Instafamous" by adding a filter or a few hashtags to a cool selfie. The real pros live on video.
Vine and Instagram have provided unique platforms for users to showcase their creative ability. While a few seconds with a cellphone camera seems very limiting as a way to share videos, users continue to astound these social networking communities with their unique and clever approaches.
See also: 13 Vine Fails to Make You Cringe
One of the most impressive types of videos on these platforms is the special effect video. Hands free, reflection and cloning videos are among the most liked and shared on Vine and Instagram, generating hundreds of “Whoa, how did you do that?” comments from fans eager to learn the tricks.
Well, here at Mashable, we’ve mastered the techniques necessary for these special effects videos, and we’re giving them to you, free of charge. Here’s a rundown of how to create some of our favorite special effects.
Skill Level: Easy

This is actually the easiest trick to master, and it requires nothing more than your phone. While the current app for both Vine and Instagram require you to touch the screen to record video, you can still do a hands-free Vine or Instagram video using the assistive touch feature on your phone.
If you have an iPhone, this feature is already available in your settings. If you have an Android, you’ll need to download an app such as the Touch Me - Assistive Touch app from Google Play. After that, your setup should be very similar.
Go to Settings > General > Accessibility and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Under “Triple Click,” change your settings so that a triple click of the home button turns on Assistive Touch. Then go back one screen and tap “Assistive Touch” under “Physical and Motor,” to make sure that your assistive touch is activated.
Once it’s turned on, you’ll need to set up three gestures: a six second, one second, and instant touch. Tap “Create New Gesture” to create them. For the six second touch, touch the screen until the bar fills up the whole way. Save this gesture as “6 Seconds.” For the one second touch, you’ll need to move your finger, otherwise your phone won’t recognize the gesture for a whole second. We found that drawing a small circle gets the timing just about right. Save this as “1 Second.” For the instant touch, touch the screen for a second without moving your finger. Save as “Instant.”
Now, open your Vine or Instagram app, turn on assistive touch, select one of the gestures and record. Just remember to turn off assistive touch when you’re done filming, or every time you touch your phone it will hold for 6 seconds.
Protip: Even if you’re not creating a hands-free video, turning on assistive touch and using these gestures will keep your scene breaks even. This is a great tool for users who enjoy creating stop motion videos.
Skill Level: Moderate

Wall walkers and abductee wannabes can gain this spatial effect in a really simple way: Flip the room on its side. In the Vine video above, the room is set up so that the “bed” leans against a wall, not laying on the floor. That’s why the table is flush up against the dresser, for support. When the “abduction” occurs, he simply had to walk and pretend he was being beamed up.
The only difficult aspect to achieving this effect is getting creative with your surroundings. Use a curb as a ledge and “hang” from it. Flip a room on its side and walk on the “walls.” Your only limit is your own creativity. OK, well, gravity, too. But you get the point.
Skill Level: Advanced
Another popular special effect involves reflections that don’t seem to want to follow their real life counterparts anymore, such as the one in the video below:

There's also time-freezing clones:

This type of post gets a little more involved than simply fixing your phone settings. You’ll need a regular camera that shoots video, set up in a way that it cannot be seen in the mirror, in addition to video editing software.
The basic idea is to film both parts of the video — both the “real” you and the cloned or reflection you — and then use your video editing software to splice the two together into one video. For a more detailed look at how to do this, check out this video tutorial from Joey Salads. While the tutorial focuses on reflection, cloning is very similar.
Once you have your custom video created, you’ll need to download two programs — Handbrake and I-Funbox — to upload it to Vine or Instagram. Important: Your video need to be under 7 seconds long, or it will be too large. For a more detailed look at how to use these programs to upload your video to Vine or Instagram, use this tutorial from Dustin Walters.
Note on the above tutorial: Due to encoding reasons, some users find that the above method doesn’t always work. Try this: After you copy and paste the file name and go back to Vine or Instagram, and before you hit "Next," record one frame by tapping the screen once quickly with the camera covered, so you only record a black screen. This will probably help you upload the video.
Additionally, users have complained that Vine has removed their videos from the site, due to terms of use violations. This is a possibility, and it stops a lot of users from uploading custom videos out of a fear of a ban from the service. Upload at your own risk.
What are some other special effects you've seen in Vine and Instagram videos? If you're a video wizard, show us what you’ve got in the comments below.