“Media” in UpStage means a digital file such as an an image, animation, sound or video that has been uploaded to the UpStage server. These files can then be assigned to your live stage as backdrops, avatars, props, audio tracks and streamed videos.
You must first create your media before it can be uploaded to UpStage. You can use existing media that’s in the public domain or under a license which allows you to use it. Usually, you’ll want to create your own media that’s specifically designed for the show you’re creating. The following chapters in this section give some tips on creating audio and graphics for UpStage, and then explain how to upload and manage media files on UpStage.
File formats
Here’s a list of file formats that you can upload to UpStage (note – this list is always evolving along with changes in technologies; if you have a format that’s not listed here, you can try uploading it and see if it works).
| Images | Audio | Video |
| .png .jpg .jpeg .gif .svg |
.wav .mpeg .mp3 .aac .aacp .ogg .webm .flac .m4a |
.mp4 .webm .opgg .3gp .flv |
Small is beautiful
UpStage is a venue for live online performance, and audiences can be located anywhere in the world on all kinds of devices and internet connections. In order to ensure the best possible experience for everyone, you should always keep media file sizes as small as possible. Data speed is more important than rich media. If you have a lot of media on a stage and the file sizes are large, it will take longer for the stage to load and real-time performance could be impeded.
For these reasons, there is a default limit of 1MB for graphic and audio media uploads, and 300MB for video uploads. An UpStage administrator can override this limit for individual users, but this should only be done when there’s a good reason.
Ownership
UpStage has system of permissions for all media items uploaded to the server. This allows you to restrict access to your media, or to make it available for general use by other players on the same UpStage server. The next section, Copyright and Permission, explains this system.
As an open source project, we believe in open access and sharing; however, as an artistic project we also understand the needs of artists to protect their work.
Delete or Dormant
You should always keep copies of your media on your own computer in case of accidental deletion or a failure of the UpStage server which you uploaded your media to. If you are using the public instance, UpStage Live, this server is maintained by volunteers and we do not take responsibility for backing up your media.
And we encourage you to delete unwanted media from the server – such as duplicate or replaced files, or media for a show that has finished and won’t be performed again. UpStage is not a file storage service, and data storage is not free.
There is an option to make media items “dormant” rather than deleting them; this removes media items from the Media list, but keeps them available for any replay recording that they have been used in. If you make a media item dormant and later want to revive it, you will need to ask an Admin to do this.
The buttons to delete or make dormant are found in the Edit interface of a media item.