Documentation

Subtitles

mAuthor allows adding subtitles to videos, which makes it possible to meet the Success Criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded).

In the Video module in the Files property, there is a section Subtitles in which you can add text to be shown on the video. You can also define the look of the subtitles using the proper CSS classes.

More information about subtitles can be found in the Managing subtitles section of the Video module's documentation.

Audio description

mAuthor also offers a way to add audio descriptions for videos without needing to edit the video files. This allows meeting the Success Criterion 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded).

If you prepare audio files with audio descriptions and a list of times when the video should be frozen and audio played, a simple script does the rest.

First, add video files in the Video module (video1). Next, add the MultiAudio module (Multiaudio1) with the audio files, and give them IDs from 1 to the number of descriptions. Then add the Variable storage module (VariableStorage1) – create a variable called “pauses” and in the Start property of this variable, put all the times in the format mm:ss, separated by a comma. Add the Advanced Connector module with the following script:

EVENTSTART
Source:MultiAudio1|video1
SCRIPTSTART

var audio = presenter.playerController.getModule('MultiAudio1');
var vs = presenter.playerController.getModule('VS');
var currentItem = parseInt(vs.getVariable('item'), 10);
var source = parseInt(eventData.source.slice(-1), 10);
var video = presenter.playerController.getModule('video1');

if (eventData.source == 'video1') {
    var vs = presenter.playerController.getModule('VS');

    //PAUSES + AUDIO
    var pauses = vs.getVariable('pauses').split(",");
    var video = presenter.playerController.getModule('video1');
    var audio = presenter.playerController.getModule('MultiAudio1');

    if (typeof presenter.timeout !== "undefined") {
        clearTimeout(presenter.timeout);
    }
    audio.stop();
    $.each(pauses, function (k, v) {
        var audioItem = parseInt(k, 10) + 1;
        if (eventData.value == v) {
            video.pause();
            audio.jumpTo(audioItem);
            audio.play();
        }
    });

}

if (eventData.source == 'MultiAudio1' && eventData.value == "end") {
    var video = presenter.playerController.getModule('video1');
    video.play();
}

SCRIPTEND
EVENTEND

You can check how it works in the demo presentation (link below). You can also copy this presentation to your My Lessons space and check it in the editor.

It is also possible to make the audio description without recording the audio files. In the Video module in the Files property, there is a section Audio description in which you can add text to be read and shown in the video. You can also define the look of the displayed audio description using the proper CSS classes.

More information about audio description can be found in the Managing audio description section of the Video module's documentation.

Video in the keyboard navigation mode

In the keyboard navigation mode, there are additional shortcut keys that simplify watching the video.

After activating the module in the keyboard navigation mode:

• Space – stops/starts the video,
• F – changes to the full-screen view,
• A – turns on/off audio description,
• Esc – switches off the full-screen view,
• Right Arrow – skips forward 15 seconds,
• Left Arrow – goes back 15 seconds,
• Up Arrow – volume up,
• Down Arrow – volume down.

Demo presentation

Demo presentation containing a video with subtitles and audio descriptions (pages 11, 12, and 13).