Resources

1. XML Editors
2. Video Encoders
3. Fair Use Disclaimer
4. Other Video Annotation Projects
5. Text Annotation Projects
6. Other Digital Humanities + Film Studies Projects

 

1. XML Editors

XML files for ClipNotes may be produced in a dedicated XML editor or a normal text editor.  Either way, XML files must a.) adhere to the proper format, and b.) be saved in .xml format. We recommend Komodo because it is free, multi-platform, and easy to use.  Check our XML guide for images of Komodo.

2. Video Encoders

A variety of programs can encode video files for ClipNotes from DVDs.  Make sure you’re encoding in a format that is compatible with your operating system.  We recommend using Handbrake – it’s free, multi-platform, and converts to mp4.  Read our guide on using Handbrake to encode video files. We also recommend AnyDVD for encrypted DVDs.

3. Fair Use Disclaimer

ClipNotes requires you to encode a video file from a DVD, a practice that occupies a tenuous legal grey area, depending on your country and legal regime. Backing up a DVD copy for personal use is often allowed, as is the use of video in educational contexts, though the breaking of decryption in order to make the copy is often illegal. Currently in the United States, there is an exception to the DMCA that allows DVD decryption for educational use. We recommend you investigate fair use and intellectual property protections in your country before proceeding with ClipNotes. Here are some resources about fair use:

Cinema and Media Studies Resources

University and Library Resources

United States Copyright Resources

Organizations

4. Other Video Annotation Projects

ClipNotes specializes in annotating full-length films on a device or computer, from a cinema and media studies perspective.  Check out these other projects that also facilitate video annotation.

  • SocialBook – an online reading platform that allows public, group, and private commenting on video, audio, and text; Institute for the Future of the Book
  • Scalar – born-digital, open source, media-rich scholarly publishing and presentation platform; USC
  • EVIA Digital Archive Project – digital archive, annotation software, and publishing mechanism for ethnographic field video; Indiana University
  • Open Video Annotation – extends the javascript tool Annotator from the Open Knowledge Foundation; Harvard
  • VideoANT – web-based annotation system for web-clips; University of Minnesota
  • Anvil – Annotation software; University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Germany
  • Domeo – Annotation toolkit; Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Mozilla Popcorn – social video platform for annotating, editing, presenting, and sharing web video; Mozilla Foundation
  • Vidbolt – commercial social video platform for attaching time-specific comments to web videos and sharing with friends

5. Text Annotation Projects

These projects are developing new ways to make digital annotation more pervasive, functional, and accessible.

  • Hypothes.is – open online platform for the collaborative evaluation of knowledge
  • Open Annotation Collaboration – a project to enable standardized, accessible scholarly annotation across content repositories and annotation applications
  • Open Annotation Community Group – organization developing a standard RDF-based practice for annotating digital resources
  • Text Encoding Initiative – international consortium for standardizing how text projects are digitalized
  • Annotator – open-source JavaScript library to easily add annotation functionality to any webpage
  • Annotation Studio – suite of collaborative web-based annotation tools currently under development at MIT

6. Other Digital Humanities + Cinema and Media Studies Projects

There aren’t many research projects in the fields of film studies or cinema and media studies that use the methods of the digital humanities so we would like to highlight some of the innovative projects we consider our peers: