MACHINIMA

Partner upload & live streaming guide

June '12

YouTube Partner Guide

WELCOME!
Welcome to the Machinima Network! We're proud to call you a Partner and have you as a member of
the Machinima team. The partnership team looks forward to working with you to continue to
revolutionize the way people watch media, while providing you and your channel with unparalleled
service and support.
This guide will teach you how to properly upload and claim your videos, and how to set up a live
stream. Following the instructions provided will ensure that you are maximizing your channel's income
potential.
Please remember that you can only upload content to YouTube that you have created yourself or have
received permission to use. Whether or not you've claimed a video has no bearing on copyright
enforcement.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Upload Guide.... 3
Claiming and Ad Options... 4
Thumbnails....... 5
Annotations.......6
Live Stream Guide.....7
Claiming Live Streams.8
Ad Formats....9
Stream Settings.... 10
Wirecast...11
Promotional Tool.12
The End!..13
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YouTube Partner Guide

UPLOAD GUIDE
1. Make sure you do not upload videos that contain copyrighted material (such as copyrighted
music). This can result in your videos being removed for copyright violation. The official YouTube policy
is to ban accounts that have 3 copyright violations.
2. Comprehensive metadata optimized for your videos will generate an increase in search results,
views, and more money for you.
3. Claiming your videos allows you to get paid through advertising for uploaded videos. Claim your
videos immediately upon upload to monetize. You will not be paid for any unclaimed views.

Upload Form

Notice that keywords

and branding are in
the title for search
optimization.
The description
should always include
the title and game.
There's a 5000
character limit so be
as descriptive as
necessary.

Setting the category to

"Gaming" makes this
video appear in the
gaming section on
YouTube. If you are an
entertainment partner,
select "Entertainment."

Tags have a 500

character limit. Be
sure to include the
name of the game, as
well as any unique
bits from the titles.
Use quotes for keyword
phrases such as "Splinter
Cell"

YouTube Partner Guide

CLAIMING OPTIONS
The Importance of Claiming and "Advertising Options"
If you don't properly claim and turn on advertising options, you will not be paid for views on
your videos. It's in your best interest to monitor your ad options closely and claim your videos
immediately upon upload to maximize your claimed views.
Make sure "Claim this video"
is selected for "Audiovisual"
and the applied policy is
"Monetize Everywhere."

Double check that all ad

options are checked after
claiming a video!

For videos longer than 10 minutes,

you have the ability to
add mid-roll advertisements.
Also for videos longer than 10 minutes,
Trueview Inslate ads allow the viewer
to choose to watch one of three ads
or see regular commercial
breaks during the video.
Claim the asset for web
and enter a project title.

YouTube Partner Guide

THUMBNAILS
High-quality custom thumbnails act as visual advertising for your content and are an important
component to attracting additional viewership whether through sub boxes, related video, or channel
page presentation. Always look for visually compelling imagery to promote your video.
Thumbnail Specs and Tips

640 px x 480 px (or 480 px x 360 px)

The visible content lies within the "safe zone" -- center 640x360 (or 480x270)

While the "safe zone" is the main visible location, it's suggested to have a continuous image
throughout the entire thumbnail. Be sure to frame the image accordingly.

Use high contrast images for extra pop.

Make sure the thumbnail is relevant to your video, show, or your channel. If you have a
gameplay video and discuss another topic, the focal point of the video is still the gameplay.

Don't use copyrighted images for your thumbnails. The same rules apply. If you didn't create
the image or have written permission, you shouldn't use the image for a thumbnail. A
Google image search does not mean that it has no copyright.

Creating thumbnails with irrelevant or copyrighted content could lead to a community

guideline violation or copyright strike. YouTube is punishing users who game the system
including misleading thumbs and false tags. You may lose the ability to upload custom
thumbnails in the future.

YouTube Partner Guide

ANNOTATIONS
Strategic annotations can drive channel engagement by increasing viewership and subscriber
numbers. Finding creative measures to implement annotations can keep viewers engaged with your
content whether past or present.
Recently, YouTube's algorithm for revenue generation shifted towards favoring user engagement
versus singular views. Thus, raising the importance of annotations. Always optimize your
engagement levels with call to action annotations to videos, playlists, and subscriptions at the end of
videos or near drop-off points.
Optimal annotation use cases:

Add additional context or information

Create interactive segments within the video

Direct viewers to your channel page, video, playlists, or subscription

Encourage community building activity such as liking or favoriting

Types of Annotations:

Speech Bubble

Note

Title

Spotlight

Label

Pause

Always
annotate to
playlisted
videos to
keep viewers
engaged!

Example of annotation usage to direct viewers to additional

videos in the series and an interactive subscribe button.

YouTube Partner Guide

LIVE STREAM GUIDE
To create an event, navigate to the Live Events manager in the video
manager and click 'New Live Event'. If you have a copyright strike or
community guideline violation, your channel will not be able to live stream.

Use the metadata tips provided on

page 3 of the Upload Guide!

Select "Enable" under recording

to provide a VOD of your live
stream after the conclusion.

The start/end time selected here is for public

notice and not indicative of the actual start/
end time. Your stream will not officially start
or end until selected in the live control room!

Be sure to read over the terms and

conditions and check the agree box before
hitting 'Create Event'.

YouTube Partner Guide

CLAIMING LIVE STREAMS
Claiming your live stream is imperative for monetization. You will not be paid for live
stream views without properly monetizing your stream.

'Standard in-stream ads' might not be

checked by default after 'Claim this video' is
selected. Be sure to check it in order to
maximize monetization.

Select 'web' asset and

enter your title.

YouTube Partner Guide

AD FORMATS
After claiming your video, make sure to verify your ad settings to ensure all ad formats have been
selected and activated properly.

A few selections may not be

chosen by default. Make sure to
click 'Overlay in-video ads',
'TrueView in-stream ads', and
'Show post-roll ads' to maximize
monetization.

Mid-roll ads can be selected with, at

minimum, seven minute intervals. Be
aware of the times selected while
streaming. Enter the times separated by a
comma with the format of hh:mm:ss. The
example shown here will show mid-roll
ads at the 10, 20 and 30 minute marks.

YouTube Partner Guide

STREAM SETTINGS
YouTube now offers Wirecast as a full suite production, mixing, and encoding software for live
streams. It simplifies the entire process by syncing with your YouTube account.

To get started, navigate to 'Stream

Settings' in the live event manager.

Within the Stream Settings,

choose 'Wirecast for YouTube'
as your encoder.

Select your resolution(s)

and save the settings.

For third party encoding software such as

Adobe Flash Media Encoder or xSplit, select
the resolution and enter the YouTube entry
point RTMP's and Stream Name into the
encoder of your choice.

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YouTube Partner Guide

WIRECAST

Once you've logged into Wirecast

with your YouTube credentials,
select 'Connect to YouTube'.

Choose the event and resolution, and hit connect. At this point, you will be
outputting to YouTube. Choose between the Wirecast options for audio and video
sources to broadcast. At this point, you can preview the stream in the Live Control
Room panel or within the video page.

Once satisfied with the preview, navigate to

the Live Control Room in the Live Event
Manager and select 'Start Streaming'. This is
where you'll also end the stream.

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YouTube Partner Guide

PROMOTIONAL TOOL
Q: What is the Machinima Promotional Tool?
A: This is the Machinima partner promotions hub that your programming manager told you about.
Q: What does authentication do?
A: Authentication allows Machinima to interact with your YouTube account to perform certain
promotional functions, such as adding a video to your "Likes," Favorites or subscribing you to a
particular channel. If you have not authenticated your channel, and cannot find the invite we sent you
when you became a partner, contact us at partner@machinima.com.
Q: How does this help me as a partner?
A: This tool can be used to promote your own videos as well. If you are planning to upload a great video
to your channel, tell us! It may be promoted through the Machinima network thanks to other partners.
Q: Can I remove authentication from my YouTube account?
A: You can revoke the partner promotion hub's access to your YouTube channel if you so choose.
However, please contact your programming manager if you choose to do this.
Q: What do I have to do to have one of my videos promoted?
A: In order for your video to be considered for promotion, you must have authenticated the promotional
tool on your channels. If your channel has authenticated the promotional tool and you would like to
submit a video, follow these instructions:
1. Make sure the video is your best work. Please do not submit every single video you upload. Only
the best of the best has a chance. Channels of all sizes have a shot at being promoted, but we do insist
on quality.
2. DO NOT publish your video on YouTube. Please wait. Instead, you can submit one of two ways:
A. A private link on Vimeo. Be sure to include the password.
B. A private link on YouTube. Note that if you share a private link with us you will need to reupload the video once it is chosen, and we determine a date the next week to promote it.
3. Submit your link to promotions@machinima.com only. The entertainment management team is
on this e-mail so please do not submit it to any individual person. We will consider every submission.
4. Submissions are due by Thursday 6 PM PST every week. If you miss the deadline you will just be
considered for the next week's submissions.
5. We will inform the person being promoted on Friday. If you don't hear back from us by Friday 6
PM PST, then your video has not been chosen and you can upload at any time. Videos not chosen will
be considered for a social media push. (Please disregard the promo calendar. That is no longer being
updated and we are removing it from any correspondence.)
Let us know if you have any questions.

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YouTube Partner Guide

THE END
That's it!
By properly claiming videos and live streams and activating advertising options, you'll maximize your
opportunity to generate revenue on your personal channel(s).
Remember: DO NOT UPLOAD OR BROADCAST ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL.If you are unsure
about a particular video, please ask us!
If you have any specific questions related to claiming videos or your live stream, and/or your partnership
with Machinima, please send an email to partner@machinima.com.Include your channel name, as well
as screenshots of the issue you are experiencing in your email and we will provide a response as soon
as possible.
We look forward to working with you to continue growing your channel(s).
Thanks,
-Machinima Staff

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