I’m working on a guide and some tips for the DNxHD codec but the going is slow (probably because I can only work for five minutes at a time before being called away!). I am making progress. If anyone gets going with it in the meantime and has any specific questions, be sure to e-mail me. Thanks.

That is good, Mike.
I'm pretty much offline the next few days due to family visiting.
After that I will try to check out our alternatives for the ftp file submittings.

Stay tuned. I'll keep you updated.

Update:
Mike Sims and I have now started testing the UWOL Vimeo page, to see if we can use that one to submit the contributions. (Thank you Lorinda and Chris for approving this!)

So far, with mixed results. Full scale (my uwol 26 entry encoded with DNxHD) failed, a short video successful.
Testing continues the next couple days.

Update:

Mike Sims and I (in cooperation with CC) have been testing the UWOL Vimeo account this week, and still haven't made the final conclusion if we can use it or not for submitting the videos to editors.

Problem:
Uploading of large video files encoded with DNxHD, fails. From my testing, anything above around 45sec -1min, gave me upload issues. Short files with the same encoding are uploaded successfully.

I have also tried the Cineform codec. Which Vimeo does not accept at all. (Upload goes well, but as soon as upload completes, I got an "unknown codec" message.

Then we began testing with different raw videos from various video cameras. Here we have had more success. My uwol 26 entry (Raw video encoded with Canon MXF as it was straight from the camera), was successfully uploaded, and I could then download the source file from Vimeo a few days ago.
(Upload took a good 5 hours on a 10mbps network)

Discussion now is if the best might be to have everyone submit their contributions in whatever raw video format their camera record. And then editors (Mike and I) do the conversion to DNxHD prior to the edit process.

Another option we are thinking about, is if it will be less trouble to have everyone submit their videos on a DVD-R via the good old postal service.

...............
CC has still not heard from Chris Hurd about possible access to the UWOL Vault and all the old entries.
Working on it, and I am trying to contact Jeff Kramer. (Thank you Meryem for the heads up about him)

I haven’t had a lot of extra time this week (fighting a Closteridium infection in my Dad) but I just wanted to clarify a couple of things from Trond’s post. When he says “raw” he means the native format that your camera records in, not the raw sensor data (I think most everyone got that but some might get confused). Also we are talking about a DVD-R data disc not a DVD video disc encoded to MPEG2. If your camera records MPEG2 you would still make a data disc. Ask if you are unsure how to proceed.

If we agree to go with delivery by disc and mail there will be some expense (postage). Depending upon where you live it will likely be much cheaper to send it either to myself or Trond. Send to whichever is best for you and let us sort out the rest of the logistics. From some parts of the world either might be a significant cost. If you find it prohibitive, please let us know. We may be able to find some subsidy or an alternative way to deliver for you. We don’t want the cost to prevent anyone from participating.

Hello everyone,
Sorry it has been quiet here lately.
Unfortunately Dale had to withdraw from the project. Not sure if he will be able to join in again at a later time.
CC is therefore reduced to Paul Wood and myself at the moment.

Testing of the uwol vimeo page is completed, with the results Mike and I mentioned in our last posts here.

Still no luck in getting access to the uwol film archive. But I have not given up hope yet. Hopefully Chris Hurd or Jeff Kramer get back to me with positive answers soon. Emails have been sent to both of them.

So, how are you guys and girls doing?

If anyone plan to submit their submissions by mail instead of via the uwol vimeo page, please write an email (through dvinfo) to either Mike Sims or me, so we can work out the best and least expensive way.

Trond,

Are we supposed to just use Vimeo's published parameters, or is there some special way this footage should be provided?

You should upload with best possible quality.

That means whatever native file type your camera provides, and then Mike or I will convert it to DNxHD before editing.

Uploading DNxHD encoded files longer than about a minute, failed during our tests, and Cineform is also impossible to upload to Vimeo. Therefore I say "the best possible quality you camera can provide".

If anyone has trouble with this, we will work out an alternative.

You are probably aware of this, but Vimeo recommends certain compression settings that are definitely not the best that most camcorders, or editing software, can produce. Here are their guidelines.
https://vimeo.com/help/compression.

To upload 1920 x 1080 material you have to be a paying member.

Do not follow the Vimeo compression guidelines. They are intended to provide the best possible results for playing the video on Vimeo. That is not what we intend. If the author sets the permission while uploading we can later download the original file. We want the original file. We don’t want to download or even watch the Vimeo compressed file. It will be deleated after Trond and I download the original high quality file. We are using the account provided for UWOL by Chris Hurd and 1920 x 1080 is no problem.

Thank you, Mike for adding the details.

IMPORTANT:

The UWOL Vimeo account has a 50GB capacity limit, with only about 40GB available at the moment. (Which we didn't notice until yesterday)
Therefore we have to limit the simultanious uploads of your videos.

(As a reference, first submission was uploaded yesterday and is about 12GB in file size. It took between 18 and 21 hours to upload, and so far I have spent 11 hours downloading - 78% completed)


New procedure:
When you are ready to upload your submission, post in this thread:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/uwol-challenge-our-newest-contest/518317-around-world-behind-scenes-guide.html
Mike or I will then notify you when you will be allowed to upload.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

If anyone plan to submit their submissions by mail instead of via the uwol vimeo page, please write an email (through dvinfo) to either Mike Sims or me, so we can work out the best and least expensive way.

The cheapest and easiest way to send a DVD is via Airmail letter (not parcel) post. Simply sandwich the DVD (without plastic box) between two pieces of A5 card and place it in an A5 envelope. If using cereal box card you may need three pieces to make it a little firmer. A well-tried and tested method.

Thanks, Marj! Now I'll be watching the post for your letter. ;)
Hope things are going well with your big project.

Pleasure Mike - possibly quicker and easier than uploading. :)

Re my project, yes, thanks, but as a result it won't be possible for me to be involved in this.

I look forward to seeing the outcome of your efforts.

IMPORTANT:

The summer months (in the northern part of the world), was probably a busy time for many, and maybe not the best time to have deadline for your submissions.

Therefore, CC has decided to extend the deadline:

NEW DEADLINE: OCTOBER 31.

Also: UWOL 27 will be included with the same rules and conditions as UWOL 26.
This means: Anyone who sign up for the September challenge (UWOL 27), and / or signed up for the June challenge (UWOL 26), can submit for the Around the world!

Hopefully these changes will give more people a chance to be a part of this film.

PS, if you haven't done it yet, remember to sign up for the September challenge!
Let's have fun!

The UWOL Vimeo account has a 50GB capacity limit, with only about 40GB available at the moment..

This doesn't have to be an issue. Let me know how much capacity might be required, and DVi will provide it.

Chris,
Thank you for the offer. It is impossible at the moment to know how much space is needed, as it depends on how many submissions we get.
If we need more capacity, I will get back to you.

Thank you once more for everything you have done to make DVInfo what it is today!

Hi Trond,

No worries, if and when we approach the bandwidth limit, just let me know and I'll get it increased!

Thank you very much, Chris.

By the way, isn't it about time you sign up for an uwol challenge now? :)

Trond good to see an extension. Will be busy harvesting for another couple weeks.
Thanks.

Gordon

Hi there - how is everybody doing?

How is the progress of this project going?
Hope there will be many who are part of it.
The deadline is still set to 31 October?
Do you have a solution for uploading?

Status update for the project:

The CC members (Paul W, Mike and myself) have all had some "setbacks" lately. Some have lost family members, Paul is in the process of moving across the world, and I have become involved in helping a friend in the recovery process for some health issues, which takes up a lot of my time.
(Won't share details in an open forum, but CC members know more details)

Anyway, this has caused delays. (again, unfortunately)

The bright side:
Mike has done some experimenting with old uwol films from the archive. So far, we see that transforming uwol films from the submitted file size / image resolution into a HD project, gives challenges. Some files in the archive is also corrupted, so hopefully the uwol members still have their original films.

The bottom line is:
The project is still alive, and will go forward.
We kindly ask for understanding for some further delays, and hope that the CC will be able to get back on track within the middle of November. Due to the delays, we are also considering if the December challenge should be included, as the June and September challenges was.

We are also thinking about maybe go away from "deadlines for people to submit", and instead directly approach those who initially stated interest in the project.
Something like "Geir Inge, we would like to use xx sequence from your uwol entry yy".

We will keep you updated, and if anyone has questions, feel free to ask anytime.


Trond

Hi all,
Well this is my first post on this subject. Not sure where i was while all this was going on, but clearly i didn't have the time then to put to this sort of project.
I do recall seeing some posts about it though, just couldn't add anything to it at the time.
Last night though, for what ever reason, i was thinking about a collaborative project & had an idea. I am sorry if this has already been suggested in this thread, i haven't actually read all the posts.
My idea was to have a year long project that everyone would contribute to by means of the usual quarterly UWOL challenges. If before we started, everyone could have input in to the theme & what we would like to achieve for a film, then we would have a solid plan & a common goal. Each different challenge would be done just like it is now, only the theme would be chosen by everyone to fit with the overall theme. Each challenge if you like would be like a sequence in the overall film. Of course, for each challenge there would still be winners voted for, & perhaps the winners films would be part of the overall film.
By organising things like this, i thought it might be easier to come up with a project that would flow well, & should be relatively easy to edit together since there would be a common plan right from the start.
Anyway, just a thought.
Regards,
Bryce

That is an interesting idea. Maybe it would be easier to complete a "long form" / collaborative project the way you describe it.

I am definitely open to try again if there is interest in it.