Video Submissions for the Pickering GTA Music Festival

The following requirements apply to video recordings submitted to this Festival.

Videography
You may record the video in any location with suitable lighting.

Professional recordings are not required. While good audio and visual quality is important, video recording equipment made for personal use, and even cell phone cameras, are capable of producing video at a satisfactory level of quality.

The recording must offer a clear picture of the performer, showing face or profile, and, in the case of instrumentalists, hands and instrument.

The recording need not offer a clear picture of any professional accompanist during the performance.

The camera must remain stationary to the greatest extent possible. For performances with stage movement or choreography, the zoom settings must be set such that the camera requires as little movement as possible to track the performer, while still offering a clear picture of the performer's face as described above.

Instrumentation & Accompaniment
When performing in a piano class, you may perform with any piano or keyboard instrument capable of reproducing piano tones. A digital piano is permissible, while, for instance, a harpsichord is not.

If your performance is accompanied, you must observe physical distancing measures in effect as described above in order for your accompanist to be present. Your accompaniment may be included by any of the following means:
1. Your performance may include live accompaniment.
2. Your performance may include pre-recorded accompaniment, which may either be recorded by your accompanist or consist of a backtrack you have acquired by other means.
3. Your performance may include simultaneous remote performance by your accompanist, if technology permits.

Video Editing
You must prepare one video for each class. For example, if you are are entering three different classes, please submit three videos. If that class requires performance of multiple repertoire selections, you must include all repertoire for that class in a single video.

You must record each repertoire selection in a single, continuous take. Editing or splicing of any given performance in any form is prohibited and will result in disqualification of the performance. However, you may make the following edits to your video:
1. You may add in a title card as a post-production edit. For more information on title cards, please see the Performance Protocols section, below.
2. You may edit together distinct recordings of separate repertoire selections, or distinct recordings of individual movements of a multi- movement work, into a single video.

Performance Protocols
At the start of the video, the following information must be displayed in the order specified, whether in the form of a sign held up by a performer or assistant during the recording, or a title card added in by means of post-production editing:
1. The discipline and class. (For example: Class 7-27 – Piano Solo – Grade 5 – List A)
2. The name of the performer. (For example: Christopher Ng)
3. The name of the repertoire selection(s) and composer(s). (For example: Sonata in G Major, K. 63 (Domenico Scarlatti))
Taken together, identifying information should appear in a format identical to the example below:
Class 7-27 – Piano Solo – Grade 5 – List A
Christopher Ng
Sonata in G Major, K. 63 (Domenico Scarlatti)

Please undertake the performance for your recording as if undertaking a live Festival or recital performance, or as if preparing a video audition, with the appropriate comportment and dress.

Ensembles
Where possible, ensemble performances must follow the above requirements, modified as required for each ensemble's instrumentation. Ensemble members must respect physical distancing measures in effect as described above in order to perform in the same space.

As long as each individual ensemble member's performance is recorded in a single continuous take, the performances of the ensemble members may be edited into a single video. In addition, editing the audio output of ensemble performances is permitted to balance instruments against each other.

Alternate Recordings
Instead of creating a new recording of repertoire using the guidelines above, you may submit an existing prior recording instead. Any such recording must reasonably satisfy the videography, video editing, and performance protocol requirements described above and must not have been used in a previous competition (i.e. Provincials 2020)