HOW DO I UPLOAD AUDIO FILES?

• Audio files can be uploaded directly from the audio tab on your profile. They do not need to be approved by us. If they contain offensive material, auditionconnection.com has the right to remove them from the site.
• Audio files MUST be MP3 format.  Also, make sure there are no spaces or punctuation in the file names.
• If you would like us to convert and upload your audio files for you, there is a charge of $10 per song.

INFORMATION ABOUT VIDEOS

• Generally people submit an up-tempo and a ballad in the musical category, two contrasting comic/dramatic/contemporary/classical pieces for non-musical auditions and two contrasting pieces that show range for opera. You can also include your film reels.

• All videos must have adequate lighting and good sound. Zooming and panning are allowed.

• Your membership fee is the same price regardless of the number of videos.

• No audition piece should exceed four minutes.

• No live footage from Equity productions or Equity rehearsals will be allowed.  We will take no responsibility for any performer who uploads a video that is not in accordance with union rules or for which they do not have the rights.

• Videos will be screened for quality and appropriateness by auditionconnection.com.

• For musical and operatic pieces, do a test shot and play it back to make sure there is good balance between voice and accompaniment.

• If your video audition is not of acceptable picture quality we will notify you and you can re-submit using higher quality camera and lighting.

• Static shots from the rear of a theatre are not recommended.

• Videos from cell phones will not be of acceptable quality.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE A CAMERA OR
I WANT COACHING ON MY AUDITION PIECES?

If you prefer, you can come to one of our New York sessions where we will provide a videographer, accompanist (for musical selections) and coaching by New York director (and auditionconnection.com creator), Michael Unger. You can see information about his work at www.ungerware.net.

• These sessions cost $150 per hour for musical and opera auditions and $120 per hour for monologues.
• These fees includes studio rental, coaching and accompaniment as well as editing, converting and uploading.
• Depending on your preparation, we estimate that we can do two audition pieces per hour.
• This fee is less than the price of some private coaching in New York City - and will get you so much more.
• To read testimonials from students who have worked with Michael Unger, click here.
• Prices are subject to change without notice.

HOW DO I UPLOAD MY VIDEOS?

NOTE: Small Quicktime files (.mov) have a very low resolution on our large player so we recommend you upload from avi or mpeg format if possible.

• EASIEST WAY: HIGH-SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED. We have a free video converter built into our website. After you have transferred the video files from your camcorder or camera to your computer using a Firewire or USB cable, log in and go to your video tab on your profile page. Click the "Upload Video" button.
• The page that comes up will ask you for song or monologue information as well as ask you to browse your computer to find the video file you want to upload.
  • Files must be under 1 Gigabyte, under 4 minutes and file names cannot contain punctuation marks.
• Click on the "Upload" button and our uploader will automatically convert from just about any format (avi, mpg etc.) to the flash video format we need and store it on your profile. Flash format files (flv) will simply upload.
• These are huge files so keep in mind that even with a high-speed connection, it can take up to 30 minutes or more to upload one minute of avi format and up to 5 minutes to upload one minute of mpg or flv format. As long as you don't close the upload window, you can do other work on your computer. After the upload is complete, it takes about the same amount of time to do the conversion.
• Once the conversion is complete, we will be notified that your video is ready for viewing. We will view it as soon as possible. It is automatically approved unless we deem it inappropriate in some way. If so, we will notify you and we will make it inaccessible.
• If you have any trouble with transferring your videos to your computer or with uploading on our site, please feel free to email us at info@auditionconnection.com. Give us a phone number where we can reach you and we'll talk you through it step-by-step.

HOW DO I CONVERT FROM A DVD?

• If your materials are on DVDs that are NOT copy-protected, there are several inexpensive programs that can convert them to any number of formats. Because DVD's separate image from sound and compress both, transferring directly from your DVD files will absolutely not work.
• We recommend avi (although that is a very slow upload) or mp4. Keep in mind that the conversion from DVD to any of the above formats can take more than twice the length of the video.
• Click Here for a link to a page of several DVD converting programs
• Many of these programs offer free trial versions although they either have a time limit, insert a watermark over your image or both until you pay for them. We would recommend trying the free trial version to see if it works, then purchasing the full version if you like it. We will not accept any videos with watermarks on them.
• REMEMBER - ONLY NON-COPY PROTECTED DVD'S CAN BE CONVERTED USING THESE PROGRAMS.

IS THERE A FASTER WAY TO UPLOAD FILES?

• THIS METHOD AND WILL SAVE YOU TIME.
• You can convert your files to Flash (FLV) format on your own using a convertor such as the Riva FLV Encoder (http://rivavx.com/index.php?encoder&L=3). You can install this program for free.
• After you install your FLV convertor program:
  • launch the program and it will ask you to browse your computer for the source file
  • then browse for the target file (they can be the same folder but make sure you remember which folder it is in for when you upload to our site).
  • Use the following settings:
    • On "VIDEO" tab:
      • VIDEO
        Movie size: 640x480
        Framerate: 29.97
        Bitrate: 1000
    • On "AUDIO" tab:
      • AUDIO (enable)
        Bitrate: 128
        Sampling Rate: 44100
        Stereo
      • Don't worry about Offset, Duration, Padding or Crop.
  • Click "Encode" - the program screen may go blank for about 10-20 minutes but don't worry, it is converting the file. You can do work in other windows while it is converting.
  • When it is finished converting, you will see the normal program screen.
• Then you will simply upload the FLV file through our upload component on the video tab on your profile.
• You may have to experiment with the settings to get optimal quality.
• We have found that if you aim for your final, converted .flv files to average about 8 megs/minute, your video and sound quality will be fine.

If the RIVA program does not work for MAC users, click here to link to a page that WILL help you convert to FLV (flash format) on a MAC.

Make sure settings are for higher resolution then for YouTube or IPods. Again, try and average about 8 megs per minute on the final FLV file.

NOTE: Before installing any of the above-linked software, make sure your computer system is compatible with the programs. auditionconnection.com accepts no responsibility for harm done to your system as a result of installing any software. We offer the above links merely as a convenience for you.

We reserve the right to deny acceptance of any video we deem inappropriate for any reason. PROFANITY WILL BE ALLOWED ONLY IF IT IS PART OF THE AUDITION PIECE. NUDITY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED FOR ANY REASON.

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