Adding metadata to videos

Please note: this is a temporary test document for use in internal testing only.

1. Title

If the video has a title, provide it, otherwise create one that is succinct but descriptive, avoiding abbreviations and acronyms. Separate title and subtitle with ‘ : ’ and component titles with ‘ - ’ (note the spaces).

2. Alternative title

This may be a title used in another project or module, or the title in a foreign language.

3. Description

Don’t repeat the item title, and bear in mind that Documentum limits descriptions to 400 characters. Concentrate on the overall themes rather than describing each sequence.

4. Content description

This describes what happens in the resource, outlining the scenes in a discursive or list-like fashion. At up to 4000 characters it is time-consuming to create, so only add it where resource allows.

5. Keywords

How will people search for this video? Try to add at least five keywords (each one limited to 48 characters); use lowercase except for proper names such as Jennie Lee. Individual terms do not need to be separately entered (e.g. "classical music" is sufficient, "classical" and "music" don’t need adding, too). See our advice on [[how to choose keywords]] for further help.

6. Creator

All individuals/organisations involved in production, e.g. University unit and external company. Use ‘First Last’ for names and always use a forename if known, but don’t change names given by outside contributors.

Other key fields

• Contributor: Any person appearing in the asset e.g. interviewers, interviewees, performers.• Reuse: Where and how an asset has been used.• Year of production: If known; this is an important field for determining an asset’s suitability

for re-use.• Resource location: The file path, URL or physical location of the primary version of the

asset.• Resource type: Important as older OU courses used the same identifier scheme for both

audio and video.• Identifiers: If an asset has multiple identifiers, e.g. job number and DVD number, record

them individually.• Module (course) code: This remains a key identifier so should always be noted.• Series/collection: If the asset is part of a series or collection, enter the name given to the

entire collection.There are also technical metadata fields, which should ideally be extracted from data encoded into the file itself. They cover format, size (in bytes), codec, frame size (vertical and horizontal size in pixels), and bit rate.

Video metadata examples• Title: Water in Ethiopia : Introduction – Water: a human right – Water in rural

Ethiopia – Water in urban Ethiopia – Three ways of getting water: rural water supply from a river

• Description: Czech Singer Marta Kubišová on the USSR's invasion of Czechoslovakia which ended the 'Prague Spring' in 1968. Archive footage of Russian tanks & soldiers; Czech deaths in towns described. Kubišová recorded protest song, supported the reforming leader Dubček, lost her career. The funeral of Jan Palach, who killed himself in protest. Underground film-makers of the event also banned from working. (396 characters.)

• Content description extract: Presenter walking across rocks containing ammonites. Fast-cut montage of animals. Armadillo running. Bones on landscape. Vultures. Timelapse clouds. Trilobite fossils (0'13"-1'31")…

• Keywords for “Water in Ethiopia”: Kurar, sanitation, cattle herding, carrying, women’s work, girls’ schooling, pipes, rivers, dams, springs, water-borne diseases, Bahir Dar, UNICEF, water committees, bore holes, latrines