IMPORT A MEDIA FILE
Import a Media File
This Tutorial video demonstrates how to import a single media file into Transana for analysis. It includes creating a new, blank transcript, initiating automated Transcription, and importing an existing word processing file as a transcript.
(Be sure to read the section on Analytic Memos below after you watch the video.)
Import a Media File
Once you’ve created a Library, you can add your first Episode. An Episode contains the media file(s) related to a single event in time. Transana treats video files and audio files in the same ways.
Add An Episode
Right-click or Ctrl-click the Library you created, then choose the Add Episode option from the menu.
The dialog box below will open. Notice that the Library ID is already filled in, and that your Default Keyword Group and Keywords are shown.
Press the Add File button and select one of your media files. Notice that if you leave Episode ID blank, Transana will automatically name your Episode after the first media file you select. (You are free to change this name if you wish.)
Double-click on an appropriate Keyword to assign this as a default Keyword to the Episode. Adding this Keyword as an Episode Keyword will cause it to be included as a default Keyword for all Clips made from this Episode.
Click OK. Transana adds the Episode to the database tree and automatically displays the Add Transcript dialog box.
Analytic Memos
As soon as you have created the necessary Transcript, it is a good idea to create more analytic memos. No action in Transana should be considered finished until you have written about it in an analytic memo.
Right-click (Ctrl-click on macOS) the episode you just created and choose Add Episode Note from the popup menu. Name the new Note for your episode and enter your initials as NoteTaker. Press OK.
Press Ctrl-T on Windows or Cmd-T on macOS to insert a date-time stamp in the note. It’s usually a good idea to record information about when and where your media data file was created or collected, and how it fits into the larger study. Also include any other information about the episode that might be relevant to the analytic process, such as initial analytic thoughts and impressions you want to remember later. When you are done, close the Episode Note.
Advanced Topic:
If you have a large number of media files to import into a single Library, you can use Batch Episode Creation. See the Batch Episode Creation Tutorial page for more information.