Video Studio

System administrators can find information for settings and configuration on the Video Studio page for Administrators.

Video Studio is an audio/video tool to help you create a more engaging learning experience for students. The lightweight and deeply integrated solution gives users the ability to record or upload audio and video recordings on the Course Content page and within documents.

Video Studio requires a premium license. To learn whether you have access, contact your Blackboard administrator. On this page, learn to:

• Use Video Studio
• Edit captions and transcripts
• Download transcripts
• Control captions and transcript display
• Skip forward or backward in a recording
• Analytics

Using Video Studio

Add a recording

Video Studio is available for the Course Content page and within enhanced documents. You can create audio and video files from a camera, audio recording, or from screen recordings.  You can also upload audio and video files. Video Studio also has the capability to upload 360° videos that can pan to the left or right. For information about creating documents, visit our Create Documents Help page.

• On the Course Content page. Select + where you would like to add content. Then select Record Audio/Video.
• Enhanced Document. In a created document, in the options for Select a type of content to add a block, select Audio/Video.

In an Audio/Video content block, options include:

• Camera
• Audio
• Screen
• Audio & Screen
• Upload from device

You can select the device used to record video and audio. By selecting the dropdown menu options for camera, mic, and screen, you can choose from any connected devices on your computer.

If you are creating a recording, select Start Recording. There is a three second countdown before recording begins. You can pause, resume, retake, or end the recording as needed.

After you end the recording, the uploading process begins. During this time, you can preview the result, edit the title, and add a description. Select Save to add the audio or video into the document.

You can edit the title of a recording or uploaded file after it is saved to the document. Select the pencil icon from the top left of the video block.

After selecting the pencil icon, the previously uploaded video displays in the Upload Video screen. You can edit your title.

360° videos

The process for uploading 360° videos is the same as for other recordings. When a 360° video recording is uploaded, a shaded circle displays on the top left corner of the recording, which is used to pan the recording to the left or to the right. For keyboard navigation, you can also use the W, A, S, D keys.

Retry a failed video upload

If you upload a file in Video Studio and the upload fails, you can select Retry upload at the top right corner of the screen or Retry next to the Upload process bar.

For administrators: These new video capabilities require a license for Video Studio. The videos created using Video Studio will not count towards your existing storage entitlement. The following existing privileges are used for the Video Studio solution:

• Course/Organization (Content Areas) > Create Materials: To create videos. Includes all operations like save, finish, check Video upload Status. Not needed for playback.
• Course/Organization (Content Areas) > Delete Materials: To delete videos.

Edit Captions and Transcripts

Resizing the display of Video Studio recordings to one quarter size of the default full width display is possible when creating recordings within Documents (navigate to Control display of captions and transcript). On the Course Content page, Video Studio recordings are displayed at full width.  If a user reduces the size of the browser window, the recording can be reduced to a minimum of half width of the full size.

You can now edit video captions and transcripts for content created using Video Studio. This allows you to correct minor errors and add clarity to the captions and transcripts that are automatically generated during a recording. 

To edit captions and transcripts of a recording, 

1. Select Edit Content.

2. Hover your cursor over the video to display the option to edit (the button labeled with a pencil icon). If navigating with your keyboard, you can also select tab until you focus on the screen, which then displays the editing options. Select the button labeled with a pencil.

3. Next, select Transcript, which displays the transcript. Select the pencil next to the text you want to edit within the transcript. Once you make your edits, select the checkmark to save the edit or select X to discard changes. Once you finish making all your edits, select Save Video. The changes now appear in both the captions and the transcript. 

Download Transcripts

Play your selected recording, then select the transcript button at the bottom corner of the video screen. This opens the transcript panel displaying the text of the transcript. Select the download button at the top of transcript column. The transcript is downloaded as a VTT file that includes time stamps and speaker narration.

Control display of captions and transcript

A user isn’t able to skip forward or backward in a Video Studio recording that is sized at one-quarter size.

In Video Studio, you and your students can control the display of captions and transcription.

Video Studio makes recordings more accessible by automatically displaying captions. To accommodate diverse learner preferences, individual users turn captions on or off.  For example, a student can close the auto-generated captions if they do not want to view them. To turn off captions, select the captions button next to the progress bar at the bottom of the video.

Video Studio also automatically generates a transcript for created or uploaded recordings. As with captions, students can control the display of the transcript.

To view the transcript, select the transcript button next to the progress bar at the bottom of the video.

Students can view the transcript in-line and in full screen in Documents when videos are displayed three and four columns wide. When videos are one to two columns wide, the transcript displays in full screen.

Access transcripts for one-quarter sized recordings

When you create a recording at one quarter size, a user accesses the transcript via a modal window that is displayed when they access a recording transcript. Underneath the recording screen, select View Transcript.

Selecting View Transcript opens a modal window containing the recording transcript in read-only mode. The transcript editing functionality is unchanged for a recording displayed at one-quarter size of the default full width.

Skip forward or backward in a recording

You can skip to a specific part of a recording by selecting a time stamp in the transcript. Select a specific timestamp from the transcript, and the recording plays from the corresponding time selected.

For example, a student who views a recorded lecture can skip forward to a specific portion of the video. They can also replay any part of the video by selecting the desired timestamp in the transcript.