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Upload Films on Eventive Virtual
Upload Films on Eventive Virtual

How to upload virtual film content, closed captions, audio descriptions, and more on Eventive Virtual.

Iddo Patt avatar
Written by Iddo Patt
Updated over a week ago

Learn about the accepted file sizes, file types, audio specs, and more for uploading film content on Eventive Virtual.

Sections included in the article:



Film File Requirements

File size: 1920 x 1080p h.264 @ 10Mbps

Recommended size is under 10GB (a 90 minute film is approximately 5GB).

File types: .mp4, .mov and/or .mkv

DCPs and ProRes files are not accepted.

Audio Channels: Stereo AAC

5.1 surround is not accepted.

Learn more about audio specs here.

Closed captions: .SRT or .VTT files

Available Video Layouts

When uploading a new asset, you can select the Video Layout for the encoder to use when transcoding your content. Learn more about each video layout here!

Default

The default video layout should be used for all non-360° video content. All aspect ratios are supported.

360°/VR

The 360°/VR video layout is designed for 360° content. These assets will be delivered using a special player format that allows users to experience the video in 360°.

How to Upload Films

Films can be uploaded either manually by you, the organizer, or you can send an upload invitation directly to content creators (highly recommended).

Option 1: Send Upload Invite

Use this option to send an upload invitation to a content creator via email, enabling the email recipient to upload their own film and closed caption files. This option is highly recommended!

Navigate to Films on your dashboard, then click "Edit" next to the film you'd like uploaded.

Click the blue Send Upload Invite button, enter the content creator's email address, and click Send Invite. The recipient will immediately receive an invitation via email from noreply@eventive.org, asking them to upload their film to your event bucket.

Send the upload invitation to the wrong person, or perhaps your original recipient wants their colleague to upload the film file? Simply open the film's edit page, click Send Upload Invite again, and enter the new recipient's email address!

NOTE: Content creators cannot upload materials other than their film file and .SRT/.VTT closed captions through the Creator Hub. Your organization should reach out to content creators directly for assets such as posters, film stills, and trailers, which you will need to upload in the Films section.

Option 2: Upload Directly

Use this option if you or someone on your team is in possession of the film file.

Open the film's edit page, scroll to the Virtual Content box, then click Upload Directly.

Upload the file from Dropbox by clicking Dropbox or click the blue Upload Content button to select the file from your computer or hard drive.

How long does an upload normally take? Uploading generally takes as long as your file size divided by your upload speed. For example, 5 GB / 10 Mbps would take a little over an hour. Search "[file size] divided by [upload speed]" in Google to find your anticipated upload duration!

Option 3: Use External Link

These are the platforms that we've confirmed work as sources for external content: YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitch, SoundCloud, Streamable, Wistia, Mixcloud, DailyMotion and Kaltura.

External content and trailers must be "embeddable anywhere" and not password protected. We recommend private links, and removing any external player livery such as "share" and "watch later" options if possible.

NOTE: As a reminder, films using external links for virtual content will not be protected with DRM and won't stream through Eventive, but rather an external provider. External content does not play on Eventive TV apps.

Upload Audio Description Tracks

If the film has descriptive audio, the descriptive audio must be included in the film file as a secondary audio track. You cannot add audio description tracks after the film has been uploaded. Learn more about audio specifications. If you have any additional questions about descriptive audio, please reach out to Eventive support.

Add Subtitles / Closed Captions to Films

We highly recommend uploading caption files for all of your content to make your screenings as accessible as possible. Upload captions as either .SRT or .VTT files.

Visit the Creator Hub, click Manage Asset, then click Upload Subtitles to upload caption files. Captions can be uploaded at the time of film file upload or afterward!

NOTE: The timecode in caption files must begin with 00:00:00:00 to ensure they will sync properly.

  • Can I upload multiple caption files? Yes, you can upload as many caption files that are provided by the filmmaker or distributor.

  • Can my audience turn captions on and off? Yes, closed captions can be turned on and off by your audience by clicking the CC button on the video player.

  • Can subtitles be burned in (open caption) to the film? Yes, burned in subtitles must be included in the film file, rather than uploaded separately.

  • What platforms are captions available on? Captions are available on browser-based platforms and our TV apps: Apple TV, Roku, and Fire TV. Please note that closed captions are not currently available on AirPlay.

If a film has subtitles due to a language difference - ie. a Spanish language film playing for an English-speaking audience - we suggest that the subtitles are burned into the uploaded film file. If you upload foreign language subtitles as .SRT or .VTT closed captions instead of burn-in, your audience will need to manually turn the subtitles on by pressing the "CC" button.

Quality Check Your Film

We recommend that event organizers preview their asset(s) before their screening's availability window opens. You can preview how each asset has uploaded & transcoded either by clicking Preview beneath the Virtual content in each film record.

Alternately, you can find the assets in the Creator Hub. For organizers, the Creator Hub can be found in the menu on the left side of your dashboard, under the "Global" heading by clicking More > Creator Hub. In the creator hub, click Manage Asset next to the film file you wish to preview. Then, simply click View Preview and you can quality check your uploaded film!


Film Upload Troubleshooting Tips:

Audio:

  • Please use AAC CoreAudio

  • Only the first two tracks will be heard if you use 5.1 surround

  • Learn more about audio upload specs here

Video:

  • Please make sure you use H.264 main profile as your encoder

  • If your current file does not have an accepted frame rate, please re-encode the file

  • We suggest using Handbrake, a free encoder, with the following settings to whichever accepted frame rate you would like: 23.976, 24.000, 25.000, 29.970, 30.000, 48.000, 50.000, 59.940, or 60.000

Transcoding:

  • Please remain on the upload page until the status changes from vod_upload_started to vod_transcoding_queued. Navigating away prematurely will kill the upload. Do not close the tab until the status has changed.

  • If your file has been stuck in the upload status for several hours, it may have stalled. Please contact Eventive support through your dashboard to halt the upload and retry.

  • Vimeo, YouTube, and Google Drive links are not accepted for ingesting DRM content. Please download the content to your computer or Dropbox and upload from those instead. Links can only be used in the case of directly initiating a download upon being clicked.

  • If you receive a transcoding error, please check that your file conforms to the above specifications and consider re-encoding with the suggested Handbrake settings.

  • Check that your file conforms to specifications by inspecting its properties with Quicktime Player under Window → Show Movie Inspector. This will expose the metadata of the file including bitrate, source format, resolution, frame rate, and size. This program comes installed by default on Apple devices and can be installed for free on Windows and other devices.

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