# Instructions for Contributed Talks and Posters

# Instructions for Contributed Talks

You can deliver your talk in two ways:

  1. Both your talk and Q&A session will be performed live (since we value the authentic atmosphere of live-conferences, we encourage you to choose this option).
  2. You can pre-record your presentation in advance, and only the online Q&A session will be performed live.

During the conference, you will need only a web browser to connect to your live Q&A session (and optionally to give a live presentation). Make sure that your Internet connection is stable. We will send you the link to your session a few days before the conference.

Recording format

  • The minimum resolution of the recording should be HD / 1280x720. The aspect ratio should be exactly 16:9. There is no upper limit for the resolution. You can record your talk in 4k, as long as you keep a 16:9 aspect ratio. However, the maximum broadcast quality on our conference platform is Full HD / 1920x1080.
  • Please export the video to any of the major formats like mp4, avi, mov or m4v.
  • Your talk should be no longer than 20 minutes.
  • We encourage you to record your talk in a way that makes it possible to see both your slides and yourself. It will provide a more similar experience to the real-life presentation.
  • Please do not add any watermarks to the video.

Recording software

You are welcome to use any software you want to record your talk. If you do not know which software to use, we recommend OBS (https://obsproject.com/), which allows capturing both screen and webcam footage and arrange them into one movie. It is completely free and available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

Submitting your talk recording

Please submit your recorded talk before 3 November using this form: https://mlinpl21cfc-files.paperform.co/

# Tips for giving a talk online

Environment

  • Select a room or place where you will NOT be distracted while giving/recording your talk.
  • Try to avoid any sound distractions in the room. Avoid background music, sounds from roads, sounds from other rooms.
  • Turn off the sound and notifications on your phone and computer.

Backdrop & Attire

  • Try to create a professional atmosphere.
  • The easiest way is to have a white background, find a spot with a white wall and record there.
  • A nice bookcase in the background can also work well.
  • Although casual dress code is standard in ML in PL conference community, please keep in mind that appearance affects the presentation effectiveness.

Lighting

  • Your light source should be in front of you. The best light source is indirect natural light.
  • When using artificial light sources, you do not want the light in the camera frame or have it too close to your face.

Audio

  • Having a dedicated microphone will make you sound much better. That’s why every presenter on TV uses a microphone of some kind.
  • You do NOT need to buy an expensive microphone. Any headset microphone or USB microphone should do better than a built-in laptop microphone.

# Instructions for Posters

Poster session

The poster session is going to take place on the Gather Town platform (https://www.gather.town/), where conference participants control their avatars. Participants whose avatars are close to each other are connected to the same video call. In this virtual space, each poster will have its own dedicated stand that will allow one to see it in full resolution. The posters will be available during the whole Saturday. During the Poster Session we ask the authors of the posters to stand near their posters to present its content and answer the questions. The poster session will not be recorded and the posters will be only available for the conference participants during its duration.

Poster format

Due to the virtual nature of the event, there are no specific design constraints when choosing fonts and dimensions. It can be either a one-page document or a few slides presentation (we recommend a small number of slides, around 5). Remember that the poster will be viewed on the participants' computer screens.

Submitting your poster

Please submit your poster before 3 November using this form: https://mlinpl21cfc-files.paperform.co/

# Tips for preparing a poster

Those of you for whom this will be their first poster session might find it a bit intimidating. There are many tools that facilitate poster creation, e.g LaTeX/Beamer, Powerpoint, Keynote. Our number-one pick is latex due to its flexibility. A good place to start might be Overleaf poster gallery: https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/poster There, you will find many templates for your poster. Also, if you are a student, you may ask your supervisor for the template by your organization.

Despite the selected tool, try to follow these simple rules:

  • Simplicity is the key to easy understanding by your audience.
  • Less is more – don’t try to fill as much text as possible. Your poster should read like a good story, not a detailed manuscript.
  • Highlight the most important parts of your poster for the best effective.
  • Remember that typically viewers will only dedicate at most a few minutes to read a single poster. What is it that they should really learn about your work in that time?

Tips from our scientific board

“I typically start working on the poster with a set of images that will catch passer-by's attention. I try to fill at least 50% of the paper with graphics: visual examples, diagrams and graphs, as these are much easier to digest for the readers. They should convey the main message, i.e. looking at the graphics only, you should be able to understand what the poster is about. Remember that people look at the top of the poster to read the title first and then they reach down to the central part of the poster. This is where your shiniest, prettiest graphics should sit!” - Tomasz Trzciński, PhD. Eng.

“The aim of your poster is to make the your viewer curious. It should present a catching story, a big idea you want to “sell”. Do not be worried about telling only part of the story. The poster is not meant to be self-contained, once the viewer is attracted it did its job to foster interactions between you and the reader. Then it is your turn as a presenter to make the viewer even more curious.” - Piotr Miłoś, PhD

“At a poster session, the easiest way to find an interesting collaborator, advisor, employer is to show what you are interested in - you will surely find many like-minded people among your audience! Think about projects that you had at university or for private companies or just some for-fun projects.” - Przemysław Biecek, PhD. Eng.

“I like * bulletpointed posters with keywords in bold. Your poster is not an essay - it's rather an elevator pitch of your brilliant idea. It doesn't have to disclose all the technical details including your learning rate parameter or batch size, it should rather intrigue the reader into reaching out and asking "that sounds like an exciting idea, can you tell me a bit more?"” - Tomasz Trzciński, PhD. Eng.