Using CineSend Festivals
With CineSend Festivals, you can accept DCPs and other digital file formats electronically for your film festival or venue without the headache of hundreds of different download links. With CineSend CS6 Hardware, you can electronically deliver content directly to your base of operation and easily manage traffic to each venue.
1. Opening CineSend Festivals
If you already possess any CineSend Hardware, this will be the first thing you see when you open CineSend Festivals - you will see your device and the content contained on it, and a separate window if there are any physical drives attached to it. The tab for file requests will be right next to your device name near the top of the page.
If you do not possess any CineSend Hardware, the File Requests tab will be the first thing you see when you open CineSend Festivals.
2. Sending Requests
When you’re ready to request content from filmmakers and content providers, click the Add Requests button. A window will pop up, asking for the title and email address of the content provider. You can enter as many as you like, either manually by clicking the Add Another Request button below each title, or use the Import .csv function by clicking the tab above, where you can find the .csv template.
The titles you add will be listed in the File Requests window below, along with the corresponding email address. You can now send your request to upload content to the content provider by selecting the vertical ellipsis (⋮) at the end of the row, and select Send Email Request. Alternatively, you can select Copy Request URL to copy the dedicated upload page and send that to the content provider.
Through that link, the content provider will be given several options to upload their content:
Upload Files:
The content provider can upload any file type that contains video and is readable using this option. This option will not work for DCPs. Beyond that, you can upload anything from a ProRes to an MOV. However, if you’re looking to deliver that content to any CineSend Hardware, it will need to be converted to DCP, and to do that, you will require a CineSend Files account.
Upload DCPs:
If the content provider is providing a DCP, they will need to select this option to upload DCP content.
Using the Standard Upload Tool:
All content providers have the option of uploading DCPs and files through our free standard upload tool. This upload option uses the TCP protocol, meaning your regular bandwidth is being utilized to upload the file. If the upload freezes or crashes, you will need to restart the upload from the beginning. As such, we recommend only using this option for smaller files, as larger files may struggle against limited bandwidth capacity.
Using the Aspera Connect Upload:
For content providers subscribed to a paid plan (starting at Standard level), there is also the option to upload through the Aspera file transfer tool. This tool uses the UDP protocol, meaning it is not connection-based in relation to the bandwidth. In effect, your internet's upload capacity is maximized to support the transfer of large files to the cloud, without having to rely on fluctuating bandwidth capacity. File transfers are faster, more secure and more reliable through this method; if the upload freezes or your internet cuts out, simply resume the upload from where it left off.
Select FROM MY CINESEND ACCOUNT:
If the content provider already has a CineSend account, they can select this option to pick from the content already uploaded to their CineSend Files account.
3. Receiving and Organizing Requests
Through the Requests window, you can monitor all uploads in real time, and keep track of who has uploaded and who hasn’t. You can even see which files are in progress, and view estimated completion times.
Once the content is uploaded, it will be available in your Festivals account for three months, after which it will expire and no longer be accessible.
Click the ‘v’ button to view the submitted files; a green checkmark will tell you the file is fully uploaded and ready to use. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) for additional options, including
- Labels: you can apply a color label to your content to help keep everything organized
- Edit Request: if you need to change the title or contact email, or add any additional notes about the title
- Close Request: content providers can go back to their Request URL and upload multiple files, if they wish. If you want to prevent this, you can select Close Request to prevent any more uploads from occurring
- Delete Request: if you want to remove this title from your requests
Clicking the check box to the left of the title will also provide you similar options at the top of the window to manage the content, with one additional option to move content. If you need to move content into a different folder, use this method to click the Move # Request button.
You also have search and filtering options to help you easily locate any of your requests. There is also an option to create folders to further organize your requests. And you can download a .csv list of all your requests by clicking the Export Requests button.
With these options, you can color code file requests and save notes so that teammates remain up to date with all active requests. Optionally sort file requests into different “groups” to separate shorts from features, or however else makes sense for your team.
4. Downloading Content
When viewing the submitted content, you will find another vertical ellipsis (⋮) for that content, clicking that will give you options to download the content to your desktop or to delete it.
If the content is DCP and you have CineSend Hardware, your hardware will appear under these options. Select your hardware to download the content to its internal storage.
