Mediate: A Collaborative Time-Based Media Annotation Tool for the Web

Introduction by open methods guest editors (DH2023, Graz) Joanne Bernardi; Vera Burrows; Dylan Palmer

Mediate is a collaborative time-based media annotation tool for the web that can be used both individually and collaboratively for synchronous and asynchronous digital annotation. One of its highlighting features is accessibility and customization, i.e. the ability to customize the schema that forms the basis of the analysis or the purpose of the project. Mediate can also be used for any kind of audio or visual media. For example, users can upload for analysis film and television clips, video games, music videos, social media, music, podcasts, and multi-modal content. After uploading the content, users can generate automated markers to annotate the content on the basis of customizable schema, produce real-time notes, and export their data to generate visualizations. The tool is being used for research and teaching purposes at the University of Rochester and Bowdoin College, but it is still in development. You can sign up for updates on its release and more sample projects at the Mediate website.

From film and television to video games, music videos, social media, music, and podcasts, multimodal content is ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Yet education still focuses primarily on text-based literacies. Mediate, a web-based platform that allows users to annotate multimedia content, tackles this problem by providing a means for individual or collective inquiry into time-based media. Users can upload video or audio, generate automated markers, annotate their content on the basis of customizable schema, produce real-time notes, and export their data to generate visualizations.
Source: https://www.library.rochester.edu/about/digital-scholarship/projects/mediate