Film Upload Form (Scroll down for Upload Specifications)

Upload Specifications

Preferred: H.264 video compression, AAC audio compression

Please follow these instructions as closely as possible when uploading your film.  The resulting file should be somewhere in the region of 150MB (for a 5 minute film) if you follow the guidelines below.

The basic specification is to use H.264 compression for the video, with AAC compression for the audio.  The terms H.264, AVC, and MPEG4 are more or less interchangeable, and the output settings vary according to the editing software being used.

On some editing systems you will need to specify QuickTime as the output format (.mov file), using H.264 compression.

On others (eg. Premiere) you will need to specify H.264 as the output format, which will then be saved as an MPEG4 (.mp4) file. On other systems (eg. Vegas) you will need to export as “AVC/AAC” which will be saved as an .mp4 file.

Frame Size:            

If you have trouble outputting a file using these specs please use the closest preset that your editing software seems to offer, make a test file, upload it to YouTube and make sure that it looks good, sounds good, and displays with the correct aspect ratio.

Windows Media Video:  If your editing software only supports output of Windows Media files, please follow the same instructions as above but using the Windows Media codecs.

Submitting as a Quicktime DV File

If none of the above options above are available to you with your editing software, you may also upload NTSC or PAL “DV” files. You may upload QuickTime (.mov) or AVI (.avi) files using the DV Codec, or DV files with the “.dv” extension. The file size will be in the region of 1.0 GB for a 5 minute film.

For widescreen (16:9) films there should be NO letterbox (black bars at top & bottom of screen). Please export using “DV NTSC Widescreen” or “DV PAL Widescreen” presets. You may also see the term “anamorphic” in your export settings. USE THIS if you see it!  This will ensure that the full frame size is utilized by the video, with no letterbox.

For widescreen (16:9) NTSC material, the frame size is 720x480, with a Pixel Aspect ratio of 1.2121

For non-widescreen (4:3) NTSC material, the frame size is 720x480, with a Pixel Aspect ratio of 0.9091

For widescreen (16:9) PAL  material, the frame size is 720x576, with a Pixel Aspect ratio of 1.4587

For non-widescreen (4:3) PAL material, the frame size is 720x576, with a Pixel Aspect ratio of 1.0940

Audio should be 48 kHz /16 bit / Stereo in all cases.

Please remember these very important tips:

PLEASE remember to test your file on another computer prior to uploading. If this is not possible, please make sure that your QuickTime file is self-contained and does not reference other files on your hard drive. Playing your film on another computer is also a good way to check that you have not used any proprietary codecs that are only available on your editing system.

Music & Effects: Often these are recorded too loud in comparison to the dialog. Please go carefully with your audio mix, and make sure all audio is present on both tracks (Left & Right) It’s a good idea to check the final mix using a pair of headphones, which makes mistakes easier to spot.

Scrolling credits: These are notoriously hard to get right; they often stutter rather than roll smoothly, spoiling an otherwise well-made film. Consider using a sequence of still frames instead.

Please give as much info as possible in the file name of your movie. Eg.“filmtitle_1280x720_23.976fps_16x9.mov”  If you are unsure of the exact technical specs please still try to be as descriptive in the file name as possible; “filmtitle_widescreen_NTSC.mov” is much more helpful than just “filmtitle.mov”.

Sending us Your Releases:

All paperwork must be either e-mailed or faxed this year.  Again, we are not accepting mailed submissions.  Please specify your team name, film title, and contact information on the cover sheet or in the body of the e-mail.

Sending via E-mail:  Please send the releases (preferably as a .pdf or .jpeg) to nycmmm@msn.com.  Please use Film Racing Grand Prix 2010 Releases in the subject line.

Sending via Fax:  Please fax your releases to (646) 478-9385 and please remember to include your team name, film title, and contact info on the cover sheet or on the first page of your paperwork.

Questions?