You can add transcripts to Mandala Audio-Video. These transcripts let you add captions. They are also dynamic: users can click on lines in the transcript to navigate around the video. If you want to use these dynamic features, you should add transcripts in VTT format. (You might want transcription without associating the text with timepoints. In this case, you can upload plain text files. Learn more at [Transcripts].)

WebVTT Format

You can create WebVTT files in any text editor, as long as you save with the extension .srt. Here's an example of a VTT transcript.  

 

WebVTT  
 
00:00:01.00 --> 00:00:03.01
Hello, welcome to Audio-Video.  
 
00:00:04.00 --> 00:00:05.02
You can create dynamic transcripts with Audio-Video.  
 
00:00:05.15 --> 00:00:7.00
We can help you get started quickly

 

Each file will consist of the following:

  1. This text at the top of the document: WEBVTT
  2. The lines of the transcript

Transcript Lines

Each transcript "line" or "unit" consists of...

  1. A Transcripts with Timecodes with start and end times
  2. The transcript for the timestamp
  3. A blank line

Timestamps

Timestamps let you add a start and end time for the transcript. This helps Mandala associate a moment in the video with the text.  Timestamps consist of the following, all on the same line: 

  1. The start time for the transcript in a hh:mm:ss.ms format
  2.  Two hyphens followed by a greater-than sign: -->
  3. The end time for your transcript in a hh:mm:ss.ms format

Multilingual Transcripts

Mandala recognizes multilingual transcripts. This lets you include multiple languages and translations in one transcript file. You can use these transcripts to make multilingual captions. 

Separating languages is more flexible in Mandala than in the official WebVTT standard. You can separate languages by: 

  1. Putting each language on a new line, OR
  2. Using a sequence of characters to separate languages

Here's an example using / to separate out languages.

WebVTT  
 
00:00:01.00 --> 00:00:03.01
Hello, welcome to Audio-Video./ 
Hola, bienvenido a Audio-Video. 
 
00:00:04.00 --> 00:00:05.02
You can create dynamic transcripts with Audio-Video./
Usted puede crear transcripciónes con Audio-Video. 
 
00:00:05.15 --> 00:00:7.00
We can help you get started quickly./ 
Nosotros podemos ayudarle a empezar rápidamente.

Make sure each language always appears in the same order. In the case above, the English transcript always comes before the Spanish transcript.

If you don't keep language order consistent, Mandala won't split up your languages properly.

Upload Your Transcript

You can add your transcript in the Audio-Video media editor. Once you've uploaded your file, you'll enter some information about the formatting. This helps Mandala process your transcript. After saving your edits, you'll see your transcript on the media's page. It may take a couple of hours for the transcript to process.

  1. Edit or create a media asset at audio-video.shanti.virginia.edu
  2. Click Transcript
  3. Click Choose file 
  4. Open your transcript 
  5. Click Upload
  6. Under "Languages," choose whether your transcript has one or multiple languages
  7. If your transcript has more than one language:
    1. Enter the “Language Delimiter” 
      • This is the character you used to separate out languages
      • If you used the example above, choose Custom: /
    2. Select your languages in the order in which they appear
      • Remember, you should keep the language order consistent in your transcript
      • In the formatting example on this page, "Language 1" is English, "Language 2" is Spanish. 
  8. Check your processed transcript at the bottom of the section
  9. Click Save at the bottom of the editor