Submission Guidelines and Instructions for "Under The Blue 2007"

Guidelines and Instructions

The Under The Blue 2007 Competition is open to entrants of all skill levels. Please read the general rules before proceeding. All rules apply, except that Under the Blue 2007 is not open to professional photographers. Only amateurs and hobbyists can enter this contest! We loosely define a "professional" as someone who has been paid for his/her images more than five times. Generally, if you're a photo pro, you know it, but we will make a subjective determination

Entries must be saved in jpeg format and should be sized to be between 2000 and 6000 pixels in the longest dimension. Please limit your images to a maximum file size of 5,000KB (5MB). Images will be viewed on a large monitor and should be in the AdobeRGB 1998 or sRGB color space.

Naming Your Images
Name your jpg files according to the following template, or see below for your customized file name list. You must rename your images.

        CategoryAbbreviation-LastName-FirstName-Entry#.jpg

Categories are abbreviated as follows: The Majesty of the Oceans (O), The Macro World (M), Man and Sea (S), California (C), and Video (V).

For example, if your name is John Smith, you might submit the following files:

UTB-Smith-John.txt (see below)
O-Smith-John-1.jpg
O-Smith-John-2.jpg
C-Smith-John-1.jpg
V-Smith-John-1.jpg

... which would be a submission of 2 images to the Majesty of the Oceans category, 1 to the California category, and 1 Video Vignette.

Videos can come from any source, but must be submitted as a video file using commonly-available codecs. A good rule of thumb is that your video should be able to be played via Quicktime, VLC Player (MacOS), or Windows Media Player.

1. Acceptable file types are Windows Media (WMV), Quicktime (MOV), Audio Video Interlave (AVI), and MPEG-4 (MP4).
2. NTSC, PAL, interlaced and progressive video all accepted.
3. Preferred codecs are WMV9, DIVX, XVID, and H.264, but others are accepted. HDV is also acceptable, but in general, we prefer more compressed codecs.
4. Judging will be done on large computer monitors, so submit videos of the highest possible resolution and quality. A minimum screen resolution of 640x360 pixels is suggested, with a maximum accepted size of HD 1080p.
5. Judging criteria will focus mostly on video subject matter, content, and production, with video quality secondary.
6. Video files should not exceed 250MB, and should be submitted only via web upload or on CD-ROM (see submission details below).

Suggested toolsets for outputting appropriate video:

1. iMovie (Mac OS)
   For 640x480: Export->Quicktime->Compress Movie: Expert Settings->Share->Export: Movie to MPEG-4->Use: LAN/Intranet
2. Final Cut Pro/Compressor (Mac OS)
3. Quicktime Pro (Mac OS, Windows)
4. Autodesk Cleaner (Mac OS, Windows)
5. Sorenson Squeeze (Mac Os, Windows)
6. Sony Vegas (Windows XP)
7. Adobe Premiere (Windows XP)
8. uLead Video Studio (Windows XP)
9. Movie Maker, highest quality setting (free, Windows XP)

All entries must be received before the deadline date of 11:59pm (Pacific Time), May 12, 2007. There are two methods for entry submission, and both of the require a completed entry form.

Entry Form:

Download and complete an entry form (right click and select "Save As...") and fill it out. The entry form must be renamed once you fill it out. Please rename it UTB-LastName-FirstName.txt. Please -- only one entry form is necessary. Don't split your images up into multiple forms.

Note: please ATTACH the entry form as a text file in your submission, even if you choose to paste the text into the contents of your e-mail.

Electronic submission :

1. E-mail
   Submit an entry form with your entry images via e-mail to UTB2007@underwatercompetition.com . Title your e-mail, "Under The Blue Contest Entry". Try to keep the size of each e-mail message under 5MB (feel free to split up your submissions into multiple e-mails, but make sure you name your files properly). Video entrants should instead use options 2 or 3. You will receive an auto-reply if your e-mail was received successfully.
2. Web Upload
   Submit an entry form via e-mail, and upload entry images to us by using MediaMax (free, and easy to use). If you elect this option, make sure to send your renamed entry form via e-mail AND upload it to our web account.
   
   To upload the entry form and entry images using MediaMax Streamload, go to MediaMax Streamload's upload page and enter "wetpixel" as the username of the person to receive files.
3. Physical submission, via CD-R
   Download, complete and rename an entry form and submit it via e-mail to UTB2007@underwatercompetition.com . Copy the entry form and entry images onto CD-R media and send it to:
   
   Underwater Holdings, Inc. (c/o Horizon)
   Attn: Jason Heller / Under The Blue 2007
   630 3rd Ave
   New York, NY 10017
   
   If you submit physically, you can still pay the entry fee electronically, or you may mail in a check with your CD (see below).

Entry fees are $10 per image (no limit on number of entries). Payment can be made in one of two ways:

1. Electronically, via Paypal (safe, secure, and fast -- credit cards accepted)
   No Paypal account is necessary to pay with credit card via Paypal.
   

   Entrant's Full Name
   Entrant's E-mail Address

   
   In your Paypal shopping cart, change the quantity to match the number of images you want to enter, and the click on the "Update Cart" button.
2. Physically, via a check, payable to Underwater Holdings, Inc. and mailed to:
   

   Underwater Holdings, Inc. (c/o Horizon)
   Attn: Jason Heller / Under The Blue 2007
   630 3rd Ave
   New York, NY 10017

   Write your e-mail address and full name on your check, and make sure it matches what you have written in your entry form.

All entries submitted without matching payment will be disqualified.