Getting Started with Create Tool

Creating a new project

Currently, Toolkit projects can be created two different ways.

Creating a project from the Tools dashboard

After logging in, select Create (Pro) from the list of tools. Click New Project.

Open

Open

Enter the project name once the New project dialog opens.

Please note that project name is not a mandatory field. If a project name is not entered in this step, the project will be identified by the creation time and date. This can be changed later. Also, unless a subtitle file is imported, the name entered in this step will be the default name the project file will be exported with.

Different clients have different requirements for captions and subtitles. Select a saved preset as a template for your Project Settings from the drop-down menu, use the last used custom settings or define your own project settings later.

Click Create to initiate the project.

Creating a project from the Project menu

When a user already has a project opened, there is no need to go back to the Tools page to create a new one.

To create a new project without going back to the Tools page click Project > New from within a project you already have open.

Enter the project name once the New project dialog opens.

Please note that project name is not a mandatory field. If a project name is not entered in this step, the project will be identified by the creation time and date. This can be changed later. Also, unless a subtitle file is imported, the name entered in this step will be the default name the project file will be exported with.

Select a saved preset as a template for your Project Settings from the drop-down menu, use the last used custom settings or define your own project settings later.

Click Create to initiate the project.

Getting ready to work

Configuring project settings

The Project settings pop-up is where you will need to define your client’s specifications. It can be accessed through the Settings menu or the dented wheel on the toolbar.

When the Project settings pop-up opens, you can define settings for your subtitles or apply one of the Project Settings templates according to the language and video frame rate (fps). Go through all the tabs and options available to make sure your file is delivered with the correct specifications.

Opening a video file

To import a video, simply drag the file over the window, go to Media > Open video/audio file or click the Open video/audio file button on the toolbar.

The Open a video/audio file pop-up has four tabs to choose from: Open, Upload, Library and Local, depending on where you will be opening your file from.

Using the Open tab

Under the Open tab found in the Open a video/audio file pop-up, you can open a video by browsing your computer, using the OOONA Agent or not to generate audio waveform and video shot changes (Pro version of the Tools only), you can enter the URL where your file is located, select a file from your own Dropbox or even load an empty file.

From the Open tab, choose the option that best matches the file you are trying to open and use in your project.    

OOONA supports the formats which can be played by the Google Chrome browser natively.
We recommend working with MP4 files (h.264 video codec) due to their cross-platform compatibility.
If you open an unsupported video format, you’ll be prompted to convert a video to MP4 compatible with the browser (starting from version 3.30).

Using the Upload tab (may require a special role)

Using the Library tab

Using the Local tab

Analyzing with OOONA Agent (available for the Pro tool only)

Alternatively, in the Pro option you can generate the audio waveform and shot-changes with OOONA Agent. This is recommended for older computers or media files over 1 GB. When opening a video file from your computer, you can turn the ‘Generate with OOONA’s Agent’ toggle on and, if the OOONA Agent is installed in your computer, it will automatically generate audio waveform and shot-change data. Also, it will offer the user to change FPS settings on the project if they do not match the video's FPS.

Downloading OOONA Agent

If you don't have the OOONA Agent installed in your computer, you can download the installation file from the link in the Help menu. Otherwise, make sure to uncheck Analyze with OOONA Agent box.

Import captions/subtitle file

If you already have a subtitle file, you may import it via the Import menu or just drag and drop it into the browser page.

You can also import your subtitle file from the Import file icon available in the toolbar.

Append subtitles

If your subtitles come in parts (several files), you can stitch or merge them with the Append subtitles from file option.

To merge several files in one project, import the first file, then select ‘Append subtitles from file’ from the Import menu. You can append a file to the end, before a specified subtitle number, or merge and sort by timecode.

User configuration

User configuration is where you choose your personal settings. Contrary to the Project settings, which, as the name says, apply to a specific project or specific projects, the User configuration options apply to the user. This means you only have to set them once and they will apply to all your projects, unless you change them again.

Creating the subtitles

Understanding the Subtitling Area

A – Subtitle number.

B – Timecode indicating the beginning of the subtitle (HH:MM:SS:FF).

C – Total duration of the subtitle.

D – Timecode indicating the end of the subtitle.

E – Number of characters on the first/second line (spaces included).

F – Total number of characters on both lines (including space between them).

G – Line indicating whether the subtitle complies with the reading speed. The line is green as the subtitle does not surpass the maximum 17 cps in this example (it is 16.3 cps). If it did, it'll be red.

H – Subtitle reading speed (16.3 cps) and the number of characters written (49) of a maximum of 51.

Basic Hotkeys

Hotkeys are keyboard shortcuts. Here’re the basic hotkeys of the default schema:

You may learn more shortcuts or customize them in the Hotkeys menu.

Timing

To spot your subtitles:

1. Go to the start of the video file;

2. Play the video [Ctrl+NumPad5];

3. As soon as you hear speech, pause the video [Ctrl+NumPad5];

4. If needed, rewind the video a few frames [Ctrl+NumPad7];

5. Set subtitle in-time by pressing [Ctrl+Enter];

6. Play the video again;

7. As soon as speech stops, or when you think it should be the end of your subtitle, pause the video;

8. Set subtitle out-time by pressing [Ctrl+Enter];

9. Create a new blank subtitle by pressing [Enter];

10. Repeat steps 2 to 8. 

A quicker but less accurate way is using Timecode Mode (F10 or Set Timing Mode in the Timecode drop-down menu). It requires typing in some (or all) text first (keeping it untimed), and then timing it continuously:

1. Put your video a few seconds before the first subtitle box you want to time and start it [Ctrl+NumPad5].

2. Use [Ctrl+Enter] to set the subtitle IN or OUT time without pausing the video.

You may also click and drag the cursor on the timeline to time the subtitle in focus.

Review Mode vs Work Mode

Work mode will show the currently selected subtitle on the video and will not change the selected subtitle when the current time changes.

Once your subtitles are done, you can review your work by switching to Review Mode. It will update the visible subtitles on the video according to the current video time and will also automatically select the same subtitle row on the table.

Export

In order to download the subtitle file, go to the Export menu. Configure the export settings manually or use one of the preset templates (according to the desired file format, language, and video FPS).

You may also download the project file (.json) with all the settings and send it to another user.

Click the support bubble in the lower right corner to ask any question or share your feedback with our team.