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Scalar Workshop- Unarchiving the Arts

Uploading Media

It's time to make your Scalar page!

There are three ways to add media to Scalar: you can upload a file from your hard drive, you can import media from a website, or you can use one of the affiliated (or unaffiliated) archives. In this workshop, we will upload a YouTube video to be featured in the website. Then we will upload several photos from the internet.

This page will demonstrate "best practices" for adding media: 1) including appropriate bibliographic information and 2) writing rich descriptions.

After all the files are uploaded, you will make a page that incorporates them into a single entity. When building your own project, you can work in any order, uploading files as you go.

Importing Media

To import media, you'll use the "import button" from the project menu in the upper right corner of the Scalar screen. (It looks like an arrow pointing down). Other important buttons on this menu include the "New page button" ("+"), the "edit" button (pencil), and the button that looks like a wrench, which will take you back to the dashboard.

1. UPLOAD A MUSIC VIDEO

Upload

The YouTube video is going to be at the center of your project. Because Scalar has a special relationship with YouTube, it's really easy to import files this way. Other online archives - like Vimeo and Internet Archive - are also affiliated. You might also check out the affiliated Hemispheric Institute, which features videos related to Latin American themes.

Hover over the “import” drop down menu from the upper right hand corner. Hover over “other archives” and choose “YouTube”.
Search for the song that you have chosen to feature in your project.
Select the video you want to import: check the box.
Click “import selected.” Make sure that you select "edit metadata before importing" at the bottom of the page.

Description

After clicking "import selected" you should see a number of metadata options like "description," "title," etc. If you don't see that, it's okay! Scroll down and follow the instructions for "OH NO: Did you lose your media file?"

One of the metadata options will be called 'description.' This is where you will write a rich description of the media file. To complete this section, imagine that a blind person is using the scalar page. What do they need to know in order to understand the media object and its relevance to the project?

Bibliographic Record

Review the metadata to make sure it’s accurate
Choose the "Add Additional Metadata" section and select "bibliographicCitation"
Enter a bibliographic entry for the media item. For your final assignment, this should be in Chicago format. (For this workshop, a loose approximation will do.)

OH NO! Did you lose your media file?

You uploaded your media file and you saved it, and now you can't find it anywhere. What happened?

Nothing. It's hanging out behind the scenes until you move on to the next stage. To find it again, you can navigate to the "dashboard" by clicking on the wrench icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen. From there, open the "media" tab and you'll see the file. To open it, click on the link under "URI". To edit it, click on the edit button (it looks like a pencil) in the upper right hand corner.

2. IMPORT PICTURES

You'll be linking your video to images of your choice. In our example, we used images of the artist and composer of the song. You might also choose images related to the lyrics, either literally or symbolically. Find pictures simply by googling the topics of your choice. We also recommend that you choose one image related to cover art. This is also a good time to upload the image you want to use for your title page. Make sure you pick a large image for that, so it doesn't look pixelated.

Upload an image:

In Scalar, hover over the “import” drop down menu from the upper right hand corner. Choose “Internet Media Files”
Paste the URL for the image (not the URL for the website) into the “URL” slot

Edit the Description:

Before you upload the image, you'll want to give it a title and description. This is your opportunity to provide the detailed description that we have discussed in class.
If you forget to edit the description while uploading, you can do it later using the "pencil" icon in the project menu.

Bibliographic Record: metadata

Use the "pencil" icon in the project menu to open the image for editing.
Open the “metadata” tab underneath the title and description
Select “Add additional Metadata” at the bottom of the page
Add the "bibliographicCitation" metadata option and the "source" option
In the "bibliographicCitation" box, add the Chicago Style citation for the image.
In the "source" box, enter the short url for the website where you found the photo as the source (For example: biography.com)
Select save and view

Troubleshooting Media

Forgot to edit your metadata?

That's okay! Use the "pencil" icon in the project menu on the upper right corner of your screen to reopen the media file for editing. Then edit the metadata using the tab at the bottom of the screen.

Can't find your media file?

Navigate to the "dashboard" by selecting the "wrench" icon from the project menu. Then select the "media" tab to view all of your imported (and uploaded) media files.

Other difficulties?

Check out the "working with media" path from the Scalar user's guide.

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

This page has replies:

Hi, Scalar developer here. This is a fantastic project! I wanted to append to the Upload section: we have an artificial upload limit of 2 megabytes, which is probably too small for uploading a video. This limit is intended to discourage Scalar projects from being media archives themselves and put emphasis instead on archives that specialize in hosting. For example, the video can first be uploaded to YouTube, Internet Archive, or Critical Commons, then imported into Scalar. Cheers!
Contents of this reply:
1. Uploading Media 3 How to upload Scalar media image_header 2017-02-13T13:45:00-08:00
  It's time to make your Scalar page!
  There are three ways to add media to Scalar: you can upload a file from your hard drive, you can import media from a website, or you can use one of the affiliated (or unaffiliated) archives. In this workshop, we will upload a YouTube video to be featured in the website. Then we will upload several photos from the internet.
  
  This page will demonstrate "best practices" for adding media: 1) including appropriate bibliographic information and 2) writing rich descriptions.
  
  After all the files are uploaded, you will make a page that incorporates them into a single entity. When building your own project, you can work in any order, uploading files as you go.
  Importing Media
  To import media, you'll use the "import button" from the project menu in the upper right corner of the Scalar screen. (It looks like an arrow pointing down). Other important buttons on this menu include the "New page button" ("+"), the "edit" button (pencil), and the button that looks like a wrench, which will take you back to the dashboard.
  
  1. UPLOAD A MUSIC VIDEO
  Upload
  The YouTube video is going to be at the center of your project. Because Scalar has a special relationship with YouTube, it's really easy to import files this way. Other online archives - like Vimeo and Internet Archive - are also affiliated. You might also check out the affiliated Hemispheric Institute, which features videos related to Latin American themes.
  Hover over the “import” drop down menu from the upper right hand corner. Hover over “other archives” and choose “YouTube”.
  Search for the song that you have chosen to feature in your project.
  Select the video you want to import: check the box.
  Click “import selected.” Make sure that you select "edit metadata before importing" at the bottom of the page.
  Description
  After clicking "import selected" you should see a number of metadata options like "description," "title," etc. If you don't see that, it's okay! Scroll down and follow the instructions for "OH NO: Did you lose your media file?"
  One of the metadata options will be called 'description.' This is where you will write a rich description of the media file. To complete this section, imagine that a blind person is using the scalar page. What do they need to know in order to understand the media object and its relevance to the project?
  Bibliographic Record
  Review the metadata to make sure it’s accurate
  Choose the "Add Additional Metadata" section and select "bibliographicCitation"
  Enter a bibliographic entry for the media item. For your final assignment, this should be in Chicago format. (For this workshop, a loose approximation will do.)
  OH NO! Did you lose your media file?
  You uploaded your media file and you saved it, and now you can't find it anywhere. What happened?
  
  Nothing. It's hanging out behind the scenes until you move on to the next stage. To find it again, you can navigate to the "dashboard" by clicking on the wrench icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen. From there, open the "media" tab and you'll see the file. To open it, click on the link under "URI". To edit it, click on the edit button (it looks like a pencil) in the upper right hand corner.
  
  2. IMPORT PICTURES
  You'll be linking your video to images of your choice. In our example, we used images of the artist and composer of the song. You might also choose images related to the lyrics, either literally or symbolically. Find pictures simply by googling the topics of your choice. We also recommend that you choose one image related to cover art. This is also a good time to upload the image you want to use for your title page. Make sure you pick a large image for that, so it doesn't look pixelated.
  Upload an image:
  In Scalar, hover over the “import” drop down menu from the upper right hand corner. Choose “Internet Media Files”
  Paste the URL for the image (not the URL for the website) into the “URL” slot
  Edit the Description:
  Before you upload the image, you'll want to give it a title and description. This is your opportunity to provide the detailed description that we have discussed in class.
  If you forget to edit the description while uploading, you can do it later using the "pencil" icon in the project menu.
  Bibliographic Record: metadata
  Use the "pencil" icon in the project menu to open the image for editing.
  Open the “metadata” tab underneath the title and description
  Select “Add additional Metadata” at the bottom of the page
  Add the "bibliographicCitation" metadata option and the "source" option
  In the "bibliographicCitation" box, add the Chicago Style citation for the image.
  In the "source" box, enter the short url for the website where you found the photo as the source (For example: biography.com)
  Select save and view
  Troubleshooting Media
  Forgot to edit your metadata?
  That's okay! Use the "pencil" icon in the project menu on the upper right corner of your screen to reopen the media file for editing. Then edit the metadata using the tab at the bottom of the screen.
  Can't find your media file?
  Navigate to the "dashboard" by selecting the "wrench" icon from the project menu. Then select the "media" tab to view all of your imported (and uploaded) media files.
  Other difficulties?
  Check out the "working with media" path from the Scalar user's guide.