Annotations are text notes that appear over a video. They are useful for marking one-off observations you may want to revisit, such as “cool fin display by fish 5” or “beaver swam in front of the camera,” recording disturbances, and marking the beginning or end of a planned analysis period.
Choose the appropriate kind of marker
- Temporary bookmarks mark up to two frames that you expect to revisit during the current session. They disappear when the project is closed.
- Annotations are named, persistent bookmarks with text that can appear on the video. They are saved with the project and included in XML output.
- Measured Events belong in the Object and Event hierarchy and should be used for observations that form part of the dataset. See Using VidSync as an Event Logger for a fuller workflow.
Create and revisit an annotation
Open the Annotations tab and click the video at the frame and screen location where the note should appear. Enter the annotation text and set its display duration and fade behavior.
The Annotations table provides a permanent index of the notes in the project. Select a row and use “Go to Annotation” to return to its frame. An annotation is initially created only on the clip that was clicked. To show the same note on every synchronized clip, select it in the table and click “Mirror Selected Annotation.”
While the Annotations tab is active, right-click near an annotation on the video to select it. You can then move it on the image; the arrow keys are useful for small adjustments. This helps keep a timer or note away from the subject and from other overlays.
Create an analysis timer
The “Appends timer” option adds a changing timecode after the text, starting at the frame where the annotation was created. To display time relative to the beginning of an analysis period, move to the first analyzed frame, create an annotation such as “Analysis elapsed,” check “Appends timer,” and give the annotation a duration that covers the whole analysis period. Mirror it if the same timer should appear on every clip.
This timer is independent of the main video timecode. It can therefore show that an observation occurred 12 minutes after analysis began even when the source clip started much earlier.
Captured images and exported annotations
Annotations can be included when VidSync captures a video frame with overlays. Capturing with overlays is substantially slower than capturing the unobstructed video image.
Annotations are included in VidSync’s XML output with the measurement data and calibration information. An XML importer can collect annotations from many VidSync files into a table of notable shots, disturbances, or analysis boundaries. Standardized wording or short codes make that combined table easier to search.