August 2008

Working with Captions

By Mamta H. Tandel, Project Manager, BarrierBreak Technologies

Step 2: Importing the Text

To input text in Magpie:

1. Click 'Stream' and select 'Import text'.
2. Select the transcribed text (.txt) file and click 'OK'.
3. Edit the text in the 'Caption' column.
4. Press Enter twice to separate two captions.

Step 3: Setting Timecodes

To enter timecodes:

1. Pause the video and press F9. (This will capture the timecode at that moment.)
2. Press F10 to enter a brief pause. (It enters the time code and a blank space in the caption.)

Note: Alternatively, you can enter the time in the HH:MM:SS.MS (hours: minutes: seconds. milliseconds format.) You can view the timecode in the monitor at the bottom.

Step 4: Saving the Stream

To save the Stream:

1. Click 'Stream'.
2. Select 'Save Stream As'.
3. Name the stream in the 'File name' text box.
4. Select 'Save Stream As'.
5. Click 'Save'.

Step 5: Creating the Output Files

Output files are files that tell the player which text to display at what time.

• Windows Media Player requires a SAMI file. To create a .smi file, click 'Output' and select 'SAMI'.
• Real Player requires a SMIL file. To create a .smil file, click 'Output' and select 'SMIL via Real Text'. (Note: Along with the .smil file, an .rt file gets created.)
• QuickTime Player requires a text (.txt) file. To create a text file, click 'Output' and select 'QuickTime'.

Note: The output files are saved in the same folder in which the project is saved. The most important point to be taken care of is the synchronization of text with the spoken words while captioning. Therefore, Step 3 above has to be done with full concentration. After creating the output files, they need to be integrated with the video.

In the next edition, we shall talk about adding captions using other technologies.