General Info & Rules

About OPERA

• OPERA is an annual event held in June with the same dates every year.
• It is strictly non-competitive.
• There is an emphasis on giving feedback to all videos.
• Participants collaboratively create a Playlist for the submitted videos & participate in an official Guessing Game.
• The event takes place in private BentoVid Discord channels.

How to Participate

• You do not need to submit a video to participate. Anyone in the server can join, but everyone must sign up beforehand.
• To submit a video, you must have joined the server by 30 April, before OPERA starts.
• No one should have seen your video beforehand. OPERA is a blind event.
• Videos can use any source.
• Videos must be between 30 seconds and 8:00 minutes long.
• Each editor may submit only 1 video. Any number of editors may collaborate.

Guessing

• Publicly guessing who edited which videos is prohibited. Private guessing is also expressly discouraged.
• OPERA has an official Guessing Game where participants can submit their guesses through a form.
• The official Guessing Game is the intended place for participants to make their guesses.

Collaborative Playlist

All submitted videos will be featured in a collaborative Playlist.

• Each video appears only once, in the Act containing its category group(s).
• Videos are played alphabetically by title within each Act.
• The Playlist is public to the entire server and will be uploaded as a YouTube video when possible.
• The Playlist reveals the editors behind each video and displays their associated Guessing Game statistics.

All participants are encouraged to:

• Review all videos and provide feedback according to each video's stated preference.
• Vote on which category groups should appear in each Act of the collaborative Playlist.
• Suggest and vote on Act Names.
• Participate in the official Guessing Game.

Video Submission Rules

Discord Server Membership

• Anyone submitting a video must have joined the server by 1 May.
• You do not need to submit a video to participate in OPERA.

Video Count & Length

• Each person may submit only 1 video.
  • Collaborations and MEPs count as each editor's 1 video.
  • There is no maximum number of editors per collaboration.
• Minimum video length: 30 seconds.
• Maximum video length: 8:00 minutes.

Video Sources

All video sources are accepted.
Your video can be live-action, animated, or anything else.

Content Restrictions

Your video must be safe for BentoVid. This is a loose PG-13 / PEGI 16 / ESRB Teen rating.
There are no other content restrictions. If you would feel comfortable posting it in BentoVid, you can submit it to OPERA.

File Specifications

Submitted videos must meet the following specifications:

• .MP4
• 8-bit
• H.264 (AVC) or x264 codec
• 250MiB or under
• Soft subtitles must be a separate SRT file

Files exceeding 250MiB will be recompressed with the original file discarded.

Files outside the specs will not stream properly on the platform we use to view and comment on videos.
If your video does not stream properly, a proxy version will be made.

Participants can download original files, but many only watch the streamable versions.
Make sure your submission meets the specifications so everyone can view it properly.

Subtitles & Captions

Subtitles and captions are used for accessibility, such as understanding song lyrics or spoken dialogue.

Upload a separate SRT file for captions. Embedded soft subtitles will not display on the streaming platform used for OPERA.
Only italic is supported in the SRT. All other style and position data is stripped.
If special styling is needed, burn the captions into the video.

OPERA Process: What to Expect

Everyone involved in OPERA is considered a participant, whether or not they submit a video.

Before OPERA Starts

In May

• The OPERA channels open to the public.
• Anyone wishing to participate must click the "Participate!" button in #OPERA-news.
• If you have any content warnings (CWs, VPRs, or otherwise) that you would like mentioned in videos, fill out the CW Request form.
• Video submissions can be made through the Video Submission form.

During Video Submission

When submitting your video, you will:

• Select up to 3 category groups that your video may fit into:
  • Characters
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Feelings
  • Freestyle
  • High Energy
  • Relationships
  • Unease
  • Upbeat & Fun
• Select your feedback preference:
  • No feedback
  • Light or summarized
  • Extensive

Category groups determine which Act your video will appear in, as explained under Act Composition.

Your feedback preference tells other participants what kind of comments you would like to receive. Please note that OPERA does not enforce adherence to these preferences.

Updating Your Submission

If you make changes to your video based on feedback received during OPERA, you may submit an updated version toward the end of the event.

The updated version will replace your original submission in the Playlist.

The deadline for updated submissions is 23 June.

During OPERA

The Discord channels become private on 1 June, the video submission deadline. Only participants will be able to see the OPERA channels during the event.

Once videos are released, participants can take part in several activities that help shape the Playlist.

Guessing Game

The official activity where participants try to guess which editor(s) made each video.

• Participants submit their guesses through a form.
• The form opens when videos are released.
• Submission deadline: 23 June.
• Guessing results are revealed during the final Playlist.
• Private guessing is expressly discouraged; the official form is the intended place to submit guesses.
• There are no winners or prizes. OPERA is strictly non-competitive.

Act Composition

The process where participants decide which category groups will be included in each Act.

• The form opens when videos are released.
• Submission deadline: 8 June.
• Videos will be played in the Act containing their selected category groups.
• If a video belongs to category groups split across multiple Acts, it will be played in the Act containing most of its selected category groups.
• If the selected category groups are evenly split between Acts, the video will be played in the shortest Act.

Act Naming

The process where participants suggest names for the Acts.

• The form opens on 8 June, after the Act Composition results are revealed.
• Submission deadline: 15 June.
• Acts always retain their permanent prefixes: Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3.
• Participants can suggest names for each Act. For example: "Act 1: The First One".

Act Selection

The process where participants vote on which suggested Act Names will be used in the Playlist.

• The form opens on 15 June.
• Submission deadline: 22 June.

The Playlist

The Playlist is the "Expo" part of OPERA where all submitted videos are presented.

Playlist Structure

• The Playlist consists of 3 Acts.
• Acts are always played in order: Act 1, Act 2, then Act 3.
• Videos are played alphabetically by title within each Act.
• Every video is played only once.
• If an editor submitted an updated version of their video, that version is played instead of the original.

Streaming the Playlist

• Although OPERA takes place in private Discord channels, the final Playlist is streamed to the entire server.
• The Playlist will be uploaded as a YouTube video when possible.
• Acts may be streamed at separate times, depending on the overall length of the Playlist.
• The first stream is scheduled for 25 June.

The Reveal

The final Playlist also marks the end of the blind portion of OPERA.

During the Playlist:

• The editors behind each video are revealed.
• Each video's Guessing Game statistics are displayed, showing how participants guessed.

Other things to know

• 2027 is the first year OPERA will run.
• By submitting a video, you're consenting to that video being saved and archived to the Kondate site (like how RICE works).
• If you have any questions or concerns, contact Vars (@standardquip), the coordinator.