As a video production student, I still don't know what direction I'm going in. I don't know if I want to make music videos, and I don't know if I want to make documentaries. I could be doing corporate video, or I could be operating a TV camera at a football game (fortunately, I've already gained some experience in each of these).

So when I'm feeling frantic and disoriented in life, I go to the Internet to gain insight on what people are doing with their video careers. But instead of hogging all this information to myself, I thought I'd share it with you. Check out these four online video community sites, and try to learn something!

DVXUser

The DVX User forums seem pretty awesome. I found them via a tip from Reddit, and I was quite pleased upon my arrival. This site features discussion about everything you can think of video-wise, including cams, software, techniques, festivals, and more. As a matter of fact, the forums helped me decide on a replacement for my recently broken camera, so I'm very grateful to the site.

Another cool thing about DVX User is simply the ability to share your work on the site. The site provides plenty of online fests and sections to put your stuff out there, so take advantage of it! Also, if you want to pump up your skills, check out the forum's Film School.

r/Videography

Moving right along, r/Videography is actually the subreddit that I discovered DVXUser in. After posting an inquiry about my potential replacement camera, I received a variety of responses each detailing information on the camera (and maybe one that was absolutely irrelevant). Basically, this is one of the better subreddits on Reddit, and it is a very friendly community.

What I like about the Reddit format rather than the forum format is that you can post any topic, and the most popular ones get voted to the top. With r/Videography, you get a smorgasbord of video-related topics, and it semi-constantly changes. Albeit a slower-updating subreddit, the community is very active and willing to help or critique your skills.

Creative Cow

I've lurked on Creative Cow a little bit, but I will be the first to admit that I'm not an avid user of it. However, if I have ever had a video-related question on my mind or inquiry, I've ended up on CC before Googling it. Furthermore, based on what I've seen, it's an authoritative website, so you should use it.

Creative Cow is bent on being a community for creativity in general, and it focuses on drawing many individuals and their personal resources together. Along with the basic forums offered, it brings lots of tutorials to the table covering all the major media editors and techniques. This site is fairly well-known, and although I've not been a regular visitor, you can rest assured that I will be changing that.

Videomaker Forums

Back when I was in high school, I received a lot of support by an older mentor who helped me become more active in videomaking. He even went as far as to give me his copies of Videomaker magazine whenever he was finished looking through them (or even before he looked through them at all), and thus, my interest in video soared.

Seeing how interesting Videomaker magazine is, I ventured into the depths of the Internet and discovered that they actually have forums. With that being said, you can assume that the folks that read the magazine are likely to be pretty involved with their field, and those same folks use the forums. I'd suggest going to Videomaker's forums and getting involved, because the community (and the site itself) offers a wealth of information that you should know if you want to get into video.

Conclusion

So there you go, my fellow video buffs. These are just a few of the many sites out there that you can use to polish your video knowledge, so have some fun.  Let us know in the comments if you swear by another site.

By the way, I know there has to be a lot more of you out there who get into this videomaking nonsense. Do us all a favor and leave us a comment with some of your favorite websites for tips, tutorials, and communities. Also, what kinds of stuff have you found using the online video community sites mentioned here?

Image Credit: clarita