2021 H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival - Film Media Form for Portland

Congratulations on your selection! Thank you for coming with us on this journey! This is the deliverables form for our Portland, OR screenings at the historic Hollywood Theatre October 1-3, 2021 AND the streaming festival on Eventive October 8-10. We are presenting this year's show as a hybrid event, with films showing both in the theater and streaming on Eventive, plus some streaming exclusive films and presentations.

Many of our audience members are raring to get back in the theater, but due to the ongoing pandemic and virus variants, over half of them (not just Portland residents, but many from the entire Pacific Northwest, across the US, and even other countries) that would normally attend in person, have indicated that they are only comfortable or able to attend a streaming show. The streaming edition we held in 2020 also opened up the festival to those with mobility issues, the hard of sight and hard of hearing, and the elderly, who could finally "attend" the festival from their homes, in comfort. Hosting a hybrid show is the only scenario that makes compassionate sense now in 2021 and likely going forward, and is a gift to a great deal of enthusiastic Lovecraft fans, especially during these times.

Once you submit this form, you will be able to download your Official Selection laurels (if you haven't already gotten them).

This form is to streamline film traffic and make sure we have all the pertinent information for your film listing, including download links. Because of the complexity in ramping up to a hybrid event, we are working on a very short timeline. Please help us by completing this form as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, with your film assets coming no later than the end of day Tuesday, September 21st (We can work with you on this, so let us know in the form what you need).

Please read this all carefully. The form is simple, but there is a lot of information to help you accurately provide the info and files we need. It may seem demanding at times, but that's only because we want to showcase your film in the best way possible, and we need certain specific things to do that! If you get lost, or you have questions, we're here to help, and we can do a lot to help, so please reach out.

 

 

While we can get much of this information in one way or another, this helps us put it all in one place, and gives you the opportunity to give us the fully-vetted and proofed information, exactly as you'd like to see it on our Web site and program.
Upload up to 3 full size frame grabs from your film, with no overlaid text or logos (this should not be your poster, it should be action shots from your film). Exciting moments that feature foreground closeups of a character (or monster) work the best at large and small thumbnail sizes.

Be sure to click to the "upload" button before submitting the form.


Files must be less than 5 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg jpeg png.

Files must be less than 5 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg jpeg png.
Files must be less than 5 MB.
Allowed file types: jpg jpeg png.
Link to a trailer on YouTube or Vimeo, if you have one
Enter a round number of minutes, number only (example: 15 ). If your film is more than 15 seconds into the next minute, round up to the next minute (so, 5:05 and 4:25 would both be just 5).
The year your film was completed.
Country where the film was made or produced. Please designate only one country.
What is the main language that is spoken in your film?
(LIMIT 300 CHARACTERS). Keep it a short teaser, avoid clichés - "not what/more than she expected/bargained for", "turn for the worse", etc. - and avoid spoiling your film for our audience. IMPORTANT: If you paste a longer synopsis, it may be cut off in our system. Check your character count before submitting.
Please confirm that your film is not available publicly on free streaming sites like YouTube or Vimeo, or on commercial home media or VOD (such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Shudder, etc.)
Is your film playing for the first time in any of these regions on our festival dates of October 1-3 2021?

Normally people travel from all over the world to take part in the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival. Our current plan is to make our streaming event available anywhere in the USA, as we did in 2020, and to offer limited streaming to fans in Canada and other countries, made up mostly of our biggest fans and Kickstarter backers. Streaming will take place on the Eventive platform, which supports full studio-grade DRM (Fairplay, Widevine, forensic watermarking, etc.) for the safety of your film, and only ticketed audience members of our festival - all enthusiastic Lovecraft and Weird horror fans - will have access. Choose all areas below that we can securely stream your film to:

23.98/24fps is the international exhibition film standard, so it's best to supply your film at that frame rate, if you have it. If you don't, let us know what you do have, and we will convert as necessary.

We DO NOT recommend supplying 29.97 or 60fps, as these will typically look quite jerky when converted (but if it's the only thing you have, let us know here).

File information

We need TWO file types no later than Tuesday, September 21st (if you can't get us files by that date, just let us know so we can work with you).

File #1 for Theater screenings:

  • 2k or 4k DCP with 6 channel audio (ideally with at least L, R, AND Center channel for dialogue), if available. If your DCP is stereo L and R only, it is better to supply an Apple ProRes as below.
  • OR Apple ProRes 422, 422HQ, 4444 with 6 Channel audio, if available. If not, stereo is okay.

If you do not have a DCP, we will make one for exhibition from your ProRes file, and can supply it to you on request after the festival for any future screenings you might have.

File #2 for streaming edition on Eventive:

  • 1920x1080 (letter boxed or pillar boxed if necessary) Stereo only, H.264 MP4/MOV at 10-20 Mbps

We can work with almost any kind of file, but note that if you supply different kinds of files, we will need to do extra processing on our end. You will be saving us A LOT of time if you supply the correct format, and also be able to ensure that your file looks and sounds great on your end.

Please accurately select the information below that matches the film files you are supplying. If you're not sure, you can open your file in Quicktime or VLC and view the file info (usually Cmd-I or Ctrl-I in both of those apps). You can also use an application like MediaInfo. It's important that this information matches the file you supply, so please take a moment to examine it and make sure the information is correct.

File information For Streaming

We need your file no later than Tuesday, September 21st (if you can't get us files by that date, just let us know so we can work with you).

  • 1920x1080 (letter boxed or pillar boxed if necessary) Stereo only, H.264 MP4/MOV at 10-20 Mbps

We can work with almost any kind of file, but note that if you supply different kinds of files, we will need to do extra processing on our end. You will be saving us A LOT of time if you supply the correct format, and also be able to ensure that your file looks and sounds great on your end.

Please accurately select the information below that matches the film file you are supplying. If you're not sure, you can open your file in Quicktime or VLC and view the file info (usually Cmd-I or Ctrl-I in both of those apps). You can also use an application like MediaInfo. It's important that this information matches the file you supply, so please take a moment to examine it and make sure the information is correct.

Files for Theater Screenings
If you can supply this exact type of file, choose the first option below. If there is any difference, please select the second option.

Can you provide this format?

2k or 4k DCP with 6 channel audio OR Apple ProRes 422, 422HQ, or 4444 file, stereo or 5.1, max vertical resolution 1080.

Which file type are you providing?
Mbps
Please enter an accurate number as Mbps (1000kbps = 1 Mbps). To check your file, open in Quicktime or VLC and use Cmd-I or Ctrl-I to check bitrate. Also, in Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, and look on the Details tab under Video. Bitrate is an important indicator of quality for exhibition on a big screen. We need a film file with a bitrate of 20Mbps or more for successful projection.
If you only have a stereo mix for your DCP, it may be better to provide an Apple ProRes 422.
Files for Streaming

If you can supply this exact type of file, choose the first option below. If there is any difference, please select the second option.

Can you provide this format?

H.264 mp4 or MOV at 10 - 20 Mbps, STEREO ONLY

Bitrate is an important indicator of video quality and needs to be high enough for quality streaming, so before you choose "yes", please ensure that it is between 10-20 Mbps. To check your file, open in Quicktime or VLC and use Cmd-I or Ctrl-I to check bitrate. Also, in Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, and look on the Details tab under Video.

Mbps
Please enter an accurate number as Mbps (1000kbps = 1 Mbps). For quality streaming, your video file should be at least 10 Mbps. Less than that will look fuzzy or blocky. To check your file, open in Quicktime or VLC and use Cmd-I or Ctrl-I to check bitrate. Also, in Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, and look on the Details tab under Video.
Download Links

Please use Google Drive, if at all possible. Storage there is inexpensive and both upload and download speeds are significantly faster than services like Dropbox or WeTransfer. Vimeo downloads are not accepted, because Vimeo compresses your film too much for our own exhibition needs.

Download links should remain active until October 12, 2021. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes technology fails and we need to download your file again at the last minute, without notice. If this isn't possible and you use a service that limits the date of downloads, note the deadline for downloading in the Comments field at the end of this form.

Download links must not be limited to specific email address or user (which is the default in Dropbox and Google Drive, so please pay attention to these notes and make the correct settings). All download links, in whatever service, should be set to allow download by ANYONE with the link. You can absolutely trust the security of this form, which is only seen by the directors of the festival. We use a number of different email accounts for different services to download your files to our system, so making files downloadable only by one Google or Dropbox login will typically not work, and just waste time.

If using Google Drive (recommended) or Dropbox, set your sharing options to "link" sharing that allows anyone with the link to download the file (in advanced sharing options), and paste that link here.

If using WeTransfer or similar use the "get transfer link" option and paste that here.

Most file transfer services allow you to get a shareable link; that's what we need here. You can usually find this option by poking around their interface, or googling it.

If you can supply download links below for your film files now, that greatly simplifies our film traffic management and is highly recommended.

If you don't have download links ready, choose the "I'll email them later" option below and complete the rest of the form now. Email the download links to submissions@hplff.com, no later than Tuesday, September 21st.

If you're not able to send your files by that date, please let us know when you think they might be available in the Comments box, so we can make arrangements with you.

Links
Paste the download link here (NO VIMEO DOWNLOADS, please read above recommendations):
Paste the download link here (NO VIMEO DOWNLOADS, please read above recommendations):
If you are interested in attending our screenings in Portland OR, we would love to have you take part in a short Q&A session after the block your film appears in. If you can come and take part in a Q&A, you will receive a full pass to the Portland festival. Let us know who's coming in the comment box at the bottom. There will be no remote Zoom/Skype Q&As possible at this event.
During the streaming festival, October 8-10th, we would love to have you participate in a live Zoom Q&A after your film or film block. We will be setting up a video chat so that you have a chance to talk briefly about your film and answer audience questions. We will use Zoom, which works great on a tablet, smartphone, or computer. If you'd like to take part, we encourage you to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with the software. The festival will be streamed between 12pm and Midnight, Pacific Daylight time, October 8-10, 2021. Are you able/interested to participate in a vide chat during those times?
Give us the names of the people who will likely take part in a Zoom Q&A chat. For short films, we expect to have a lot of people in the Q&A for shorts blocks, so please limit this to 1 (or max 2) people (unless you're all in the same chat window), so that we don't end up with a 20 window chat in Zoom. For feature films, 1-5 people would be manageable.
(Not sure? Google "what timezone am I in?")
If left blank, we will assume you are available at all times for the Zoom Q&A.
Questions or comments about the festival, Q&As, or other information we need in order to download your file or exhibit your film (like file availability dates or a format that wasn't listed)? Let us know here: