Submit one or two examples of youth arts projects and activities for the Arts Map

You will note that there is a separate data section in the survey form for each item. If you are only submitting one item you can skip to the end of the form to submit. For further information on content sharing guidelines and detailed technical guidelines see here:

File sharing/content sharing

In addition to collecting demographic data,we are inviting organisations to submit two pieces of art content which represent the kind of arts activities you engage in.

Content may include anything that encompasses art, including, but not limited to painting/drawing, sculpture, performances of music or theatre, and  written word. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

All content submitted to the project should be in digital form (mp3 audio for sound/music; jpg or .png images for photographs and scanned drawings). You can also include written word (poetry/stories)- these can be sent as word documents or pdfs. Short original films and/or videos of performances can also be included by sending a youtube or vimeo link.

Please do not send original video files as they are too large for the map. Please send us embed codes/links instead

Please use the submissions page to submit up to two items which represent the best of what your organisation has created through Youth Art initiatives.

Please name your submitted items using the following format: organisationname_item1 or organisationname-item1

You can abbreviate the organisation name if needed. This will help us in correct placement of files on the arts map.

Basic Guidelines for sound recording/photography

Sound recording

It is possible to make reasonable quality recordings of performances, spoken word, interviews etc with a smartphone or low cost audio recorder.

Equipment Recommendations

Smartphone (android or Iphone). With a smartphone you can use the included “voice memo” function to make reasonable quality recordings, assuming that you follow a few simple recommendations.

Using the voice memo app or similar , you need to place the phone physically close to what you are recording. For example if you are interviewing someone, you should place the “speaking end” of the phone as close to the person’s mouth as you would if you were using the “speaker” function for a call. With a loud performance or musical recital, you can maintain a little more distance.

There are a few additional pieces of equipment which will make the recording process easier, and produce better results.

The Rode Video MIC ME (https://amzn.to/2kBXVPm) costs about 45-50 euro and will significantly improve the quality of your recordings. It plugs directly into Apple smartphones and should work with android devices.

Similarly, the Rode Smartlav+ (https://amzn.to/2lW124E) is a wearable (clip-on) microphone which is designed for smartphones. You can clip the mic onto your own clothing if you are narrating, or you can clip it onto another person if you are interviewing them. There are other options available as these microphones may not be compatible with all android smartphones.

It is best to record in quiet spaces (unless it’s a performance), and to record indoors, wind noise can be a problem in outdoor recordings.

Other equipment options

Another option is to use a hand-held audio recorder. There are many options available. But, to keep things simple, we will recommend just one.

The recorder we recommend in terms of performance and cost is the Tascam DR-05 X (https://amzn.to/2kolk6I)

We also recommend the use of a miniature tripod if you plan to record with the DR-05X. The Manfrotto “Pixi” (https://amzn.to/2kO9FOx) is ideal.

The same guidelines apply to recording with the Tascam device, you need to place the recorder close to what or whom you are recording. The device has options to set recording sensitivity which is easily done by trial and error, the device will warn you if your recording is too loud. You should always wear headphones while recording.

Basic Photography guidelines

  1. Try to fill the frame with what or whom you are photographing, look around the screen before taking your photograph and see if repositioning the camera, or yourself will yield a better picture which more clearly shows what you want to show.
  2. Avoid using the zoom or screen pinch function when using your smartphone, it doesn’t really zoom the image, it just “blows-up” what’s on the screen and reduces the image quality. Instead, try to get physically closer.
  3. If you have the option to photograph outdoors or indoors, generally choose outdoors. The light will usually be better,
  4. Avoid photographing with the sun behind the subject as it will affect the exposure (lightness/darkness) of the image and will generally result in poorer pictures. 
  5. Avoid photographing people in very strong sunlight, instead see if there is an open, shaded spot, they will thank you for it, it helps to avoid deep shadows on the face and squinting.

If you are using a digital camera instead of a smartphone, please ensure you save and send your files as jpeg (there will be an option in your camera menu-usually under “file quality” or “compression”. If the images were taken previously in some other format (e.g. “raw”) then it would be helpful if you could edit the files using a free picture editor like GIMP (https://www.gimp.org/) and save them as jpg files.

Basic Video guidelines

A lot of the same principles of photography apply to recording video. You can produce very high quality video on your mobile phone or Ipad if you follow a few basic tips.

  1. Turn your camera on its side, and shoot horizontally. Vertical video leaves black bands at either side of your video and except for certain social media uses, vertical video is strongly discouraged.
  2. Try to keep your camera or phone steady. There are various adapters for phones which are very cheap which will help you to keep the phone steady whilst shooting video. For example
  3. Shoot a piece of video for 8-10 seconds, and then move position slightly and shoot for another 10seconds.
  4. If you are using an Iphone you can use the free app Imovie to do some basic edits to your video. It’s easy to use. On Android devices Powerdirector, Kinemaster and Inshot are recommended.
  5. Try to exclude distractions by moving physically closer to what your are filming, try changing position. Do not use your fingers to zoom the onscreen image as this will degrade the video quality. Move yourself and the camera closer instead

Please note that because of the scale of the project we will not be able to edit your video, photographs or other content.

If you have any questions please contact Damian Drohan at damian.drohan@ucc.ie

Please name your files using the system: organisationname_item1 and organisationname_item2. This will help us in organising files and placing them correctly on the Arts Map.

Send your files (max file size 50mb) using wetransfer.com to damian.drohan@ucc.ie. Please ensure you spell damian with an A not an E. If you encounter any issues please email Damian at the same address.

Re: video files, please don’t send these directly. If you send us a youtube link or embed code we can include them in the map in that manner.