| |
| Frequently
Asked Questions |
|
| General |
| |
| |
| Q. What does "Infusician" mean? |
| The name "Infusician" is an amalgamation
of letters taken from the phrase that describes what Infusician
is: an international fusion of musicians. The "i" in fusion
and the first "i" in musicians are shared in the word
"Infusician" to emphasize that the website is all about
musicians collaborating together (fusing creative works).
Please see the About
section to read more about how this name was chosen. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What can I do if I'm not registered with Infusician? |
| As an unregistered user of Infusician, you can perform all the search functionalities - artist, mix, jam, raw video, and soundtrack - to search for a particular artist. You're welcome to browse the profiles of Music Fans and Musicians and also listen and/or watch the audio/video demos, mixes, jams, soundtracks, and raw videos that have been submitted to the website. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What can I do as a Music Fan
member? |
| In addition to all the functionalities an unregistered user can access (please see above "What can I do if I'm not a registered with Infusician?), Music Fan members can contact other members of Infusician, share the works of Infusician artists that they like, add favorite Infusician artist works to their profile page, post comments and ratings, participate in forums, and listen to live jam sessions. Music Fan members can also upload raw videos to the site to inspire musicians to create soundtracks. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What can I do as a Musician
member? |
| Musician members have the most important access to the website - uploading of audio/video files, mixing music, jamming online, and creating soundtracks. Uploading your audio/video files allows other Infusician members to build and improve upon your works. In turn, you can build and improve upon other artist's works who submit their works to the website. As a Musician member, you are given access to everything on the website that a Music Fan member has. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Is Infusician.com free? |
| Yes! At this time joining Infusician
is free. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I become a featured artist? |
| Please Contact us to let us know you
are interested in becoming a featured artist. We will
get back to you on this process. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Your
Account |
| |
| |
| Q. What is a demo
song? |
A demo song is your personal audio/video
file that users of Infusician can view so they can get
a taste of what you sound like. The demo song will play
when your profile page is accessed.
NOTE: Demo songs uploaded to the site are not covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How come my image is not uploading or my image appears weird? |
Images must in be in a .jpg or .gif format and be less than 100 KB. The image name must not have any spaces or extra characters. For instance, if you named your file "My Awesome $$$ Photo.jpg" you have to change the format so that there are no spaces and extra characters. Renaming the file as "MyAwesomePhoto.jpg" is acceptable.
If your image is greater than 100KB it needs to be resized or compressed. An awesome website where you can do this is http://www.shrinkpictures.com. Upon visiting this site, browse for the image on your computer that you want to resize, select your size preferences (or use the preset size settings), and click "Resize" for your image to be processed. (Spiffy, huh?) If the newly resized image fits your liking, save it and upload it to the Infusician website.
You can also download a FREE software program called IrfanView from http://www.download.com. In addition to resizing your images, the software allows you to sharpen, blur, and basically touch up your image. Customization can really be this easy. =)
To prevent your image from appearing distorted on the website, make sure the image dimensions are at least 960 pixels by 720 pixels. When you upload an image to the site, it is stretched to fit the preset image dimensions. So, if your image is itty-bitty (e.g. 60 pixels by 40 pixels) it will appear distorted on the site. (Remember those trick mirrors in the carnival fun houses? Right - you're going to appear either very wide or very tall. Not exactly one of your best sides to show on the website!). |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How can I change
my personal information? |
| Click on the link "Edit Profile" in
your personal profile page. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How can I remove my work from the
website? |
| In your personal profile page click
on the "Delete" buttons for the work you wish to remove
from the website. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I remove a comment from
my work? |
| In your personal profile page find
the comment you wish to remove. Click on the "Delete"
button to remove the comment. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I retrieve a forgotten password? |
| From the homepage, click on "Forgot
Your Password?" and enter the email address that you signed
up with. Your password will then be sent to the email
address you provided. Based on some email account settings, you may need to check your junk mail to retrieve your password. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I change my password? |
| In your personal profile page click
on "Account Settings" and then "Change Password" to change
your password. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Who can view my profile? |
| By default, your profile is viewable
by anyone once you register with the website. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How can I restrict others from
viewing my profile? |
| You can set-up your profile so others
cannot view it. In your personal profile page click on
"Account Settings" and check the box that says "Make my
profile private (only I can view my profile):" |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I block a user? |
| As a member of Infusician, you can
block a user from contacting you through email. On the
profile page of the member you wish to block, click on
the "Block User" link. The member will no longer be able
to email you. You must be logged-in to block members. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I cancel my account? |
| In your personal profile page click
on "Account Settings" and then "Cancel Account". Fill
out the form to cancel your account. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Mix |
| |
| |
Q. What is a mix? |
| By definition, a mix is a blending
of sounds and tracks. It is essentially a mash-up - a combination
of various audio files that can be instrumental, vocal, or both. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I "Mix"? |
| As a member of Infusician,
you can search for and download audio files that other members
have uploaded to the site. Once you download an audio file,
you are free to make derivatives of the audio files (such as
incorporating your own audio files with the one you downloaded)
as long as you give credit to the original author. Please view
the Licensing of Works
section of this FAQ and the Creative
Commons section of this website for more information
regarding making derivatives of works. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. When I mouse-over a mix image, I don't hear the 15 second music clip. |
| Some audio files take awhile to load since they have to be split in order for you to hear the first 15 seconds. Once the files are loaded, you should be able to hear the mix.
Due to settings in Firefox and Safari, you will not be able to sample the 15 second music clip in these browsers. Please use Internet Explorer to optimally view and interact with Infusician.com. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Jam |
| |
| |
General |
| |
| |
| Q. What is a jam room? |
| Jam rooms are where you get to improvise, ad lib, or basically create music on the fly. Anyone around the world can join a jam room to play or just listen. (Hey, you could be performing live to a worldwide audience or even a talent scout!). |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Am I jamming in real-time? |
| You are jamming in near real-time. Latency is unavoidable on the internet but it makes jamming online a unique experience. As you jam, you play on the previous measure of other participants in the jam. The other participants play on your previous measure. (It's sort of like what came first, the chicken or the egg?). Basically, a loop is formed so that it feels like you are playing in real-time. It may seem weird at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time! |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How is online jamming made possible? |
| We leveraged open source software from a program called Ninjam. Under the GNU GPL (General Public License) we were able to incorporate Ninjam's awesome online jamming technology into the Infusician website. To read more about Ninjam, go to this url: http://www.ninjam.com. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. When I mouse-over a jam image, I don't hear the 15 second music clip. |
Some audio files take awhile to load since they have to be split in order for you to hear the first 15 seconds. Once the files are loaded, you should be able to hear the jam.
Due to the settings in Firefox and Safari, you will not be able to sample the 15 second music clip in these browsers. Please use Internet Explorer to optimally view and interact with Infusician.com. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Joining/Playing in Jam Rooms |
| |
| Q. How do I jam/join a jam room? |
Just click on any of the jam images in the jam room homepage, in the jam room search results pages, or in a musician's profile page (under the "My Music: Jam Rooms" section). If this is your first time to jam, you will be prompted to download the Ninjam exe file. This application is what connects you to other musicians around the world to start jamming in the various jam rooms.
In order to download the Ninjam application, you must change your ActiveX settings. You will need to "enable" or set to "prompt" the "Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting." This can be found in your browser's Tools --> Security --> Custom Level --> ActiveX Controls and Plugs-ins --> Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting. Once you install this application, allow the Ninjam exe file to run on your computer when you are prompted. The Ninjam application will then open from your browser. Click the "Connect to Jam Room" button in the top right corner in Ninjam. Once connected, you are officially in the jam room and can start jamming!
At this time, the online jamming application works only in Internet Explorer. We are working on making the Ninjam application accessible through Firefox and Safari. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What equipment do I need to play in a jam room? |
| All you need is a microphone, an audio interface/sound card, and a broadband connection for the computer you are using to jam through. (Most computers have a built in microphone and audio interface/sound card, so you may not need to hunt for this stuff.). Once your equipment is hooked up to your computer, click on a jam room image and start playing in the Ninjam application! |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Do I have to have a MIDI instrument to play in a jam room? |
| Nope. You can play your real saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, etc. A MIDI instrument is not required to play in a jam room. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Do I have to play/sing an instrument/vocal listed for a jam room in order to join that jam room? |
| Not necessarily. The instruments and vocals listed for a jam room are what the jam room owner prefers to have in the room. Anyone can join a jam room even if the instrument/vocal you play/sing is not listed for the room. Bringing talent to a room like this is what jamming is all about! |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How many people can be in a jam room? |
| A maximum of six people can be in a jam room. This is inclusive of people who are just in a jam room to listen. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Can I join a "Private" jam room? |
| This is up to the jam room owner. When you click on a jam room that says it is private and requires a password, you can email the jam room owner to ask to join the room. It is up to the jam room owner to let you join by providing you the password to the room. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. No one is playing in the jam room. |
| "Patience is virtue." =P But, seriously, just wait a bit to see if anyone else joins the room. If anything, you should just continue to play in the jam room because you never know when someone may drop by to just listen (and discover your unique sound!). |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. I get the message "Error opening audio device, try reconfiguring!" when I click the "Connect to Jam Room" button. |
| Before clicking the "Connect to Jam Room" button, go to Options --> Audio Configuration. Select one of the four input/output systems from the drop down menu and change the other selections as appropriate. Try connecting to the jam room again by pressing the "Connect to Jam Room" button. If this still doesn't work, you may need to install an additional driver on your computer to reconfigure your audio settings. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. I get the message "Disconnected from server" or "Error! Can't connect to host" when I click the "Connect to Jam Room" button. |
| The server may be too busy at the time you are trying to access the jam room. Wait a couple of minutes and click the "Connect to Jam Room" button again. If you are still getting the message "Disconnected from server" or "Error! Can't connect to host" the jam room may have reached the capacity level (6 people in a jam room.). In this case, try joining a different jam room that is In Session Now. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Creating Jam Rooms |
| |
| Q. How do I create a jam room? |
| Simply click on the "Create Room" link and specify what you want for the jam room. For instance, you can create a room where alternative, indie, and rock music will be played. You can specify that you want five players who are looking to play just for fun and are able to jam on June 15th, 2007 from 8PM to 9PM PST. It's that easy! |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What's the difference between "Open" and "Private" jam rooms? |
| An open jam room is available for anyone to jump right in and join. A private jam room requires a password to join. The jam room owner creates this password when he/she indicates that the room is private. It is up to the jam room owner to provide this password to the musicians he/she wants in the jam room. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. I only want certain people in a jam room. How do I prevent other people from joining? |
| If you only want certain people to be in your jam room, make it private. When creating your jam room, select "Private" in the "Jam Room is Open or Private" field and enter a password in the password field. Provide the password to the people you want in your jam room. Only people with your password can join your jam room. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I get people to join a jam room? |
| Simply jump into a jam room and start playing! Other musicians will most likely join the jam room right after you if they are not already in the room. Another way to get people to join is to search through the Infusician website and find people you want to jam with. Once you find people you want to jam with, email them and let them know you want to jam. The site is all about collaboration so it's up to you to decide "How do you want to fuse?" |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Jam Room Settings |
| |
| Q. How do I change the tempo (BPM) in a jam room? |
| At this time, you are unable to change the tempo. The tempo can only be changed from the server side and not client side of Ninjam. Given the volume of jam rooms, it is impossible for us to manually change the jam room tempos for every jam room that is created. We are working on addressing this need and will let you know when it becomes available. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Why did my jam session close? |
Jam sessions close for two reasons. One reason is your reserved time is up. Please monitor the counter in the top right corner of the Ninjam application so you are aware of how much time you have left to jam. Jam rooms automatically close after a session time is up.
The other reason your jam session closes is that you have been inactive for 15 minutes. The Ninjam application automatically closes after 15 minutes of idle time. This allows other users to join the room and contribute to the jam session. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Saving Jams and Jam Ownership |
| |
| Q. Can I save the music that's created in a jam room? |
| Of course! In "Options" and then "Preferences" select how you want to save your music. Once saved, feel free to upload the jam to the Infusician website so others can discover your sound and perhaps build upon your work. Remember to acknowledge the people that participated in the jam by entering their names and locations in the Upload Jam form. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How do I credit the people who participated in a jam? |
| When you upload a jam to the website, enter the names of the people who participated in the jam in the "Names of Additional Creators" field. Make sure you indicate where they are from in the "Location of Additional Creators" field. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Who owns a jam from a jam room? |
| Basically everyone that participates in a jam room owns what they contributed to the jam. So, if you are a guitarist, you own the guitar riff you played in the jam. If you jammed with a drummer or an electric violinist, the drummer owns the licks and the violinist owns the music they individually performed in the jam. By participating in the jam rooms you are consenting to the Creative Commons license that is attached to the works in the jam rooms. Also, when you upload a jam to the Infusician website, you again consent to the Creative Commons license. Agreeing to the Creative Commons license allows others to freely build upon your work which is what Infusician is all about - open collaboration. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Soundtracks |
| |
| |
| Q. Who is the soundtrack section for? |
| Do you have a great video but don’t have that killer soundtrack to make it an awesome video? Or do you aspire to be a film composer but don’t have the visual inspiration to create music? Then both of you are in luck! The soundtrack section is for video creators (home video, short film, video game, etc.) to find music for their video and for aspiring composers (film, video game, etc.) to make music. This is your platform to collaborate together! |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How does the soundtrack section work? |
Any registered user can upload an unlimited number of raw videos to the site. These raw videos, itching for some musical genius, are viewable by anyone and especially viewable by musicians. When a musician browses through this plethora of raw videos, they are bound to find an awesome clip that they want to compose music for. The musician can download the video and using their recording tools, create a soundtrack. Once completed, the musician can upload the soundtrack to the site where it is merged with the associated raw video. Multiple soundtracks from different musicians can be uploaded for a particular raw video. This means that a person viewing a raw video on the site can select from a huge range of soundtracks to play along with the clip. It’s almost like a “choose your own ending” storybook with a different twist – you can choose to hear a music composition for a video to your personal liking. (NOTE: Both Musician and Music Fan members are able to submit soundtracks for raw videos. We figured with all the collaboration going on, that Music Fans will get the music bug and want to try composing music for videos, too!).
As a video creator, you now have several original music compositions to choose from for your video. As a musician, your musical talents now have more exposure. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What if I wanted to do the opposite of what the soundtrack section is about – create a video
from a music composition?
|
| Great question! For all your music inspiration needs, check out the Mix and Jam sections of the website. You’re sure to find a composition that will spark your video making creativity. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What is a raw video? |
| A raw video is any video that does not have background (soundtrack) music. It is a “naked” video that needs to be “dressed” with the right music to make it an even more enjoyable video to watch. Please remember to limit your video size to 10MB. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How many soundtracks can be made for a video? |
| An infinite number! The more soundtracks there are for a video, the more exciting it is to discover the best music score. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Who owns the raw video? |
| The person or persons who created the raw video owns the raw video. By uploading the video to the site, the video owner is allowing others to build and improve upon the video. For this site’s purposes, this means that others are allowed to create soundtracks to the video. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Who owns the soundtrack to the raw video? |
| The person or persons who created the original soundtrack owns the original soundtrack. Any user who builds and improves upon the soundtrack owns that modified soundtrack. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Can I sell my soundtrack to the raw video owner? |
| This is a decision between you and the raw video owner to work out. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Musings |
| |
| |
| Q. What is "Musings"? |
| Musings is a forum for members of
Infusician to discuss and stay abreast on music happenings
in local and global locations. This is a great place to
view, post, and discuss member reviews of bands or music
venues in the Music Review sub-forum, post and search
for band members or rehearsal space needs in the Classifieds
sub-forum, or provide and seek advice from other musicians
in the Advice sub-forum. All of this information is specific
to the country you select from the drop down menu. You
must be logged-in to access Musings. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Can I contribute to "Musings"? |
| Any member of Infusician can contribute
to Musings. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Uploading
of Works |
| |
| |
| Q. How do I upload
audio/video files? |
| From your profile page click on
the desired "Upload" link to upload your audio/video files.
You can also upload audio/video files from the sub-tabs of each
main tab section. For example, click on the sub-tab "Upload
Mix" within the Mix homepage to upload a mix audio/video file. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. What audio/video files
do you accept? |
| Currently, you can upload audio/video
files in the following formats: mp3, wma, ogg, m3u, mpg, wmv, wav, avi, and flv.
These file formats will be converted to Flash in order
for users of the website to view your submissions in the
Flash Player. When you download an audio/video file to your
computer, the audio/video file will be in the file format it
was originally submitted in. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How many audio/video
files can I upload and download? |
| As many as your heart desires!
Please only upload audio/video files that pertain to the website. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Is there a size
limit to the audio/video files I can upload? |
| Please only upload audio/video files that are less than 10MB. We ask that you indicate how long your file is to make it easier to search e.g. short (less than 4 minutes), medium (4-8 minutes), or long (greater than 8 minutes). |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. How come my audio/video file is not playing? |
| Make sure that you have no spaces or extra characters in the file name. For instance, if you named your file "My First Demo.mp3" you have to change the format so that there are no spaces and extra characters. Renaming the file as "MyFirstDemo.mp3" is acceptable. Audio/video files must be less than 10MB. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
|
| Licensing
of Works |
| |
| |
| Q. Do I lose all the rights to my
music (work) by posting it on Infusician? |
Through the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.5 License, you are stipulating
how others may exercise your copyright rights regarding
your work. You are permitting others to build and improve
upon your work as long as the original artist (you) is
given credit for his/her (your) work. You must agree to
the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.5 License before you
can upload your work to the website.
NOTE: Demo songs uploaded to the site are not covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Is it legal to modify and distribute
the music (work) on Infusician? |
Under the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.5 License, both registered
and non-registered users of Infusician are allowed to
modify and distribute music on Infusician as long as the
original artist is given credit for his/her work by the
person modifying and distributing the music.
NOTE: Demo songs uploaded to the site are not covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Whose responsibility is it to make
sure I get credit for my work? |
| The person who builds and improves
upon your work is responsible in giving you credit for
your original work. Infusician is not responsible nor
can control a person providing you credit for your original
work. Through good faith, the person will give you credit
by abiding by the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.5 License |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. If multiple people collaborate
on a work, who owns it? |
| If you submit an original audio/video file
you are the Original Author of that audio/video file no matter
how many derivatives are made of the original audio/video file.
For example, if Murphy uploads his original bass audio/video
file to Infusician and Frank combines Murphy's file with
his original keyboard audio/video file to create a mix, Murphy
is still the Original Author of the bass file in Frank's
mix. The bass and keyboard mix are considered a derivative
of Murphy's original bass file. The licensor of the derivative
work is Frank, the copyright owner of the bass in the
mix is Murphy, and the copyright owner of the keyboard
in the mix is Frank. To honor the Creative
Commons Attribution 2.5 License, Frank must
credit Murphy as the Original Author of the bass in his
mix. This process can continue indefinitely. |
| Back
to Top |
| |
| Q. Where can I find more information
about licensing my works? |
| Please visit creativecommons.org
to learn more about licensing your work for others to
build and improve upon. |
| Back
to Top |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
