We invite all authors of accepted IMWUT papers, ISWC Notes and Briefs to submit a 60-second Video Teaser, which will be featured in the UbiComp/ISWC 2025 Video Teasers Playlist hosted on the official SIGCHI YouTube Channel. Submitted Video Teasers will be advertised widely by our Social Media chairs, and will increase the visibility of the work to the broader research and public community. Example UbiComp/ISWC Video Teasers from 2020 can be seen here.

The Best Video Award committee will select the most creative and impactful video teasers. The winners will be officially recognized at the conference and receive a certificate.

The following technical requirements apply to all video submissions for UbiComp/ISWC 2025. Please note that videos that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be processed. It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that these requirements are met.

Deadline

Please submit your video by 11:59 pm on September 22nd, 2025 (Anywhere on Earth).

Time Requirement

The Video Teaser should be a maximum of 60 seconds.

Language

All spoken audio and on-screen text in the video must be in English. Submissions in other languages will not be accepted.

Filename

Please name your file as follows:

• For IMWUT papers: IMWUT-[month][year][submission ID]-teaser, where:
  • [month] is a 3-character month label, e.g. Feb, May, Nov corresponding to the cycle in which your paper was submitted;
  • [year] is a 2-digit year label, e.g. 24, 25, corresponding to the year in which the paper was submitted;
  • [submission ID] is a 4-digit submission ID, e.g. 1234, 2000, etc.
  • Example: IMWUT-May241234-teaser
    • Teaser Video: IMWUT-May241234-teaser.mp4
    • Caption File: IMWUT-May241234-teaser.srt
• For ISWC: ISWC-[submission-ID]-teaser
  • where [submission-ID] is the PCS id of your submission.
  • For example if your submission ID is 1234 you would have
    • Teaser Video: ISWC-1234-teaser.mp4
    • Caption File: ISWC-1234-teaser.srt

Format

• Resolution must be at precisely 1080p (1920 x 1080);
• All videos must be encoded as an MP4 using the H.264 codec;
• Videos must be in a 16:9 aspect ratio;
• A closed caption file must be included and in .srt format.

See below for further instructions on format.

File Size

Max size: 30 MB

Encoding to MPEG-4/H.264 (.mp4)

All the videos should use MPEG-4 encoding using the H.264 codec (file format .mp4). Most video editing software (such as iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Camtasia, and Final Cut Pro) provides an exporting option to MPEG-4/H.264. There are also several free encoding solutions you can use:

• x264 can encode any video into H.264.
• For Windows users, Freemake Video Converter and Handbrake both provide good results.
• For OSX users, we recommend Handbrake and other free converters available through the Apple App Store (e.g. Miro Video Converter).
• For Linux users, ffmpeg is a well-known transcoding solution.

Important: Encode your video using square pixels for the pixel aspect ratio to avoid your movie looking stretched when projected.

Note: We do not endorse or are responsible for the use of any of the software mentioned in this guide.

If you compress your video with unusual software or codecs, you risk the possibility that your submission as a Video Teaser will be invalid. UbiComp/ISWC 2025 does not accept software applications or digital video clips requiring a specific computing platform or additional software to play. You can also upload your video to YouTube (as a private link) and check that it plays correctly.

General Guidelines

Mandatory Introduction Slide

All submitted videos must begin with an introduction slide that clearly displays the paper title and the full list of authors. The slide template can be found here in the .ppt and .key format (please change “UBICOMP PAPER” to “ISWC BRIEF” or “ISWC NOTE”, if necessary). This slide must stay on during the first four seconds of the video. We recommend you review the examples from a previous year (note that the intro slide requirements were similar, but not the same as this year’s requirements).

Captions

Although video teasers can be submitted without any voice over description, or any spoken part, if they contain any spoken information, these parts must be closed captioned. If there is no spoken information, closed-captioning should still be provided to describe what the video is currently showing to increase accessibility (see below). Submit a closed-captioning file in .srt format with the video. Here are two examples of closed captioning done well: Example 1, Example 2.

YouTube provides free tools for generating closed captions, either starting from a transcript of the dialog (recommended), or using their automated speech recognition and correcting the result. YouTube will add the timings to sync it to the audio. Download the .srt file and delete your video when you are finished.

If you use automatic speech recognition, or other AI-based captioning tools (e.g. otter.ai), it is essential to review your closed captions and correct any errors.

Content Guidance

Your video is a “teaser” intended to attract a broad audience to your work. We encourage you to be creative and focus on the high-level motivation and impact of your research rather than overly technical details.

Accessibility Considerations

In addition to providing closed captions, use the tips for creating an accessible presentation provided by this 5 minute video. Remember that some people will not be able to see your video, so the presentation should be understandable from the closed-captioning alone, even if there is no spoken content

Please avoid using effects in your video that could trigger an adverse reaction. For example, flashing lights can induce seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Avoid using animations (simple appear/disappear is ok), unsteady camera work, flashing strobe lights, loud sounds, or repetitive alarms. If you include components, such as police car lights and sirens, consider warning viewers at the start of the video or right before the content so they can look away or mute their computers. The Trace Center offers an analysis tool to help authors assess whether their video is safe for people with photosensitive epilepsy (https://trace.umd.edu/peat/).

Third-party material and Copyright

It is very important that you have the rights to use all the material that is contained in your submission, including music, video, images, etc. Attaining permissions to use video, audio, or pictures of identifiable people or proprietary content rests with the author, not with the UbiComp/ISWC conference. You are encouraged to use Creative Commons content, for example music available at ccMixter or Newgrounds. If you need to use copyrighted protected work, you are required to review and comply with ACM’s Copyright and Permission Policy and ACM’s Requirements about 3rd party material. In addition, YouTube’s copyright education website provides useful information on reusing third party material.

Sanity check

Please ensure that content is appropriate in terms of rights and taste, and that does not contain inappropriate language, viewpoints or imagery and is unlikely to cause offense to any individuals or groups either present at the conference or beyond.

Submission Form

Please upload your Video Teaser video to this form.

Contact

For any questions, feel free to contact the video chairs: videos-2025@ubicomp.org.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to the ACM CHI ‘21 organizers (original page) and UbiComp/ISWC ‘23 organizers (original page) for providing part of the guidance below.