Talis Elevate allows academics to upload closed caption files, in Video Text Track (.vtt) file format, to media resources in their modules. This article outlines:
- How to upload captions to your media resources in Talis Elevate
- How to replace or delete captions
- How to toggle between captions being on and off
- Converting .srt caption files to .vtt file format
- How to export captions from other systems
How to upload your captions
Talis Elevate supports closed captions in the .vtt file format. The option to "Add captions" is available on the upload screen once you've selected the file to upload:
It is also available on the edit resource screen for video and audio resources.
Replacing and deleting captions
To replace or delete the caption file you have uploaded, navigate to the resource in your Talis Elevate Module manager and select "Edit Resource". From this screen, you have the option to Replace or Remove the captions.
Once a resource has a closed caption track associated, it will show the CC logo next to the resource type in your module manager.
Toggling captions on/off
To show or turn on closed captions while listening or watching the media, click the CC logo, located next to the volume control. When closed captions are turned on the CC logo is bold.
To hide or turn off the closed captions, click the CC logo again so that it reverts to an outline.
Converting .srt to .vtt
Some video creation tools allow you to download closed caption files, however, they may be in the SubRip Subtitle (.srt) file format. Before these can be uploaded to Talis Elevate, they need to be converted to the .vtt format. There are a range of tools available to assist you in converting your captions from .srt to .vtt file formats. Here is one example of a free tool: https://www.happyscribe.com/subtitle-tools/convert-srt-to-vtt
There are also several help guides online to help you write a .vtt file from scratch, for example, this blog post from 3playmedia: https://www.3playmedia.com/blog/how-to-create-a-webvtt-file/
Exporting captions from other systems
Your university may be using other video sharing platforms, and some allow you to download the captions from your videos. For example:
Downloading from Panopto: https://support.panopto.com/s/article/How-to-Download-Captions