Getting Video content right the first time
[Why]
[How]
Why?
Audio and video can add significantly to the effectiveness of a learning resource. However it can also exclude certain groups of students.
- Many students work online from home computers or laptops set up to their own specifications. They may not have the necessary plug-ins or software for specific multimedia formats.
- Captioning is needed to make multimedia accessible for individuals who are deaf or have a hearing impairment.
- Blind or partially sighted students will require alternative information, to compensate for animations and video files.
For all of these reasons text equivalents should be made available.
How?
The starting point of accessible multimedia, regardless of the media type, is having a transcript. Audio presentations, such as a spoken passage, require a transcript. Video presentations, such as a movie or animation or sound, require an audio transcript, synchronised with what is currently happening in the programming, otherwise known as captioning.
To create a transcript for an audio presentation
- Where audio presentations are included, a link to a text file giving a full description of what is being said or played can be made very simply using a hyperlink to a text page. This includes transcribing spoken words as well as other things that convey information. For example, a phone ringing in the video should be indicated in a transcript such as [phone ringing]. Transcribing things like this helps to clarify the situation, because it tells the viewer the phone has rung rather than the person is making a call. Pick-up cues or off screen things that convey context should also be included in the text, such as pauses and sighs, as they may significantly contribute to the meanings the sound presentation is attempting to convey.
- The size of transcribed sentences can vary in length, and depends directly on the amount of room available for the captioning as well as the size of the font. It is best practice to keep things in proportion to one another and typically display only one or two sentences at a time. If you want larger fonts, create more space for the captioning. However, larger fonts with a small captioning space mean less text on the screen, so the larger the font size the more rapidly the text on the screen changes. On the other hand, the smaller the font size, the more difficult it is to read and the greater the likelihood of getting lost in the transcript, not knowing which text currently relates to what is occurring in the video .
Captioning for video presentations
Two software programmes commonly used for captioning video:
- Windows Media On-Demand Producer (WMODP) offers flexible capabilities beyond captioning, although it requires you to cut and paste each caption into the timestamp.
- Media Access Generator (MAGpie), designed for the sole purpose of adding captions to video, offers the time-saving benefit of loading captioning from a file into the presentation. Whilst free, however, it cannot work with the Windows streaming video format or an .ASF file.
When installing Windows Media On-Demand Producer (WMODP) , be aware that it only works with the Window operating system and the video formats of .AVI (Audio Video Interlaced) or .WAV files.
- Download the Windows Media On-Demand Producer software (824 KB) and save it to your desktop.
- Begin the installation of the WMODP software by selecting or double-clicking on the WMODP file saved to your desktop.
- As the installation progresses, you'll be prompted to make decisions about various settings. It is recommended that you go with the automatically selected settings.
- When prompted by the installation wizard, select the Finish button to complete installation.
- To use the WMODP software, either select the On-Demand Producer icon on your desktop or select Windows Media Producer item from your Start menu.
Load the video:
- Select the On-Demand Producer icon on your desktop or select Windows Media Producer item from your Start menu.
- Go to the View menu and select full view mode.
- Load your video file by going to the File menu , then Open/Add and browse to and select the desired video file (NB: the video screen will be black).
- Select the space bar to view the video.
To get the transcript:
- Print or open in a text editor (such as Notepad) your transcript file, resizing the window such that Windows Media and the transcript can be seen at the same time.
Then to insert commands:
- Select the Beginning button in the playback toolbar to ensure you're at the start of the video.
- Select the spacebar or the Play button in the playback toolbar to start the video, feeling free to periodically pause the video and scroll to view more of the text in the editor.
- Insert commands at the beginning of each sentence until the video ends, either by placing your cursor in the timeline window and selecting the C key, or selecting the C button in the lower-left of the timeline (directly below the M button). To remove the command, right-click on it and select Remove .
To convert commands to closed captioning:
- For each command, access the Script Commands Properties dialogue box by right-clicking on the command in the timeline and selecting Edit , or go to the Edit menu, select Commands , then select a command and the Edit button.
Whilst you can view all of the commands in the Edit Command dialogue box, however, you must convert each command separately, as Windows Media Producer doesn't allow you to convert all the commands at once or automatically apply an imported transcript to all commands. Thus, to convert each command, in the Script Commands Properties dialogue box:
- Copy the sentence that correlates to the command from the transcript file and paste it into the first text field, named Parameter .
- Change the select box named Type to WMClosedCaption .
To insert markers (an important accessibility feature for individuals with learning disabilities, that allow the student to skip ahead or back to designated points):
- Ensure you are at the start of the video by selecting the Beginning button in the playback menu.
- Start the video by selecting the spacebar or the Play button in the playback toolbar.
- Insert each marker slightly prior to the actual time of its occurrence throughout the video by either placing your cursor in the timeline window and selecting the M key, or selecting the M button in the lower-left of the timeline, directly above the C button. Remember, if you want to remove the command, right-click on it and select Remove .
Now save the video as a .ASF file by:
- Going to the File menu and selecting Save as Windows Media.
- When the Save as Windows Media Wizard dialogue box asks you if you want to encode a new or current file, leave the default value of Encode Current File and select the Next button.
- Select an encoding template from the drop down list. If you're unsure of the connection speed of your students, the safest option is to choose the 250 Video option.
- Select the Next button.
- Specify the location for storing your file when the Save as Windows Media Wizard prompts you.
- Select the Finish button.
To publish the video to the Internet:
- Go to the File menu then select Publish Windows Media .
- In the Publish Windows Media Wizard dialogue box, select the Next button.
- Select the checkbox Generate Redirector File , checking the three text fields in the wizard screen, and then select the Next button.
- When the Publish Windows Media Wizard dialogue box prompts you, check the Generate HTML File checkbox.
- The first text field should contain the name of the redirector file (.ASX).
- Set the second textfield for the redirector file URL to the webserver URL.
- Set the HTML Template field to WMClosedCaption .
- Set the fourth field for the destination of the HTML file.
- Select the Finish button.
- In the dialogue box stating Successfully saved files , select OK .