Commons:Video

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Wikimedia accepts and encourages uploading video files on Commons. Videos, like images, must be freely licensed. The preferred video format is WebM but the ogv container is also allowed. For help on converting to a preferred format, go to Help:Converting video.

There is also dedicated discussion and support mailing list for makers of video in Wikimedia projects, WikiVideo-l.

Contents

[edit] Importance of video

There are roughly 30,000 video files on Commons.

Good examples of videos:

  • Nature videos, such as a recording of a scenic view or a hurricane (ex. #1)
  • Wildlife videos, such as the behavior of certain animals (ex. #1)
  • Sports videos, such as demonstrating a particular rule or method of playing (ex. #1)
  • Cultural videos, such as a traditional or contemporary dance (ex. #1)
  • Architectural videos, such as kinetic building elements (ex. #1)
  • Science videos, such as chemistry experiments (ex. #1)
  • Demonstrations of tools, showing how it works. (ex. #1)
  • Visualization of 3D data where one of dimensions is shown as time (ex. #1 & #2)
  • Historical videos (ex. #1 & #2)

[edit] Video formats

Wikimedia uses Ogg Theora and WebM for video because they are open and royalty-free, unlike other video formats such as Apple's QuickTime (mov) and Microsoft's WMV, which contain patents and require royalties.

Information.svg

Firefox users are encouraged to install the Firefogg-Addon and use the UploadWizard to upload video. UploadWizard will then automatically convert the video file to highest quality using Firefogg (if necessary) and users do not have to fiddle with conversion parameters.

[edit] Converting video

Screencast on using Firefogg
Main article: Help:Converting video

All videos need to be converted into the WebM format, or the Ogg Theora format with an .ogv file extension. Help:Converting video contains a listing of programs to aid in converting. For Theora, Commons:Firefogg or Miro Video Converter[1] are the recommended converting tools. The underlying software used is ffmpeg2theora,[2] a command-line tool. Xiph.org, founder of the Ogg container format, maintains a list of Theora software encoders.[3]

When uploading a large video (for use on Wikipedia), TimedMediaHandler will convert it into different versions, so you don’t need to provide separate versions for people on slow Internet connection. It is strongly recommended to upload your video with the best quality (bit rate and frame size) possible.

Consider removing the audio on the video if it does not add anything to the video. This decreases the filesize of the video and, if the sound is distracting (e.g. wind noise, chatter), may improve the video.

Ask questions regarding converting or improving existing videos at Help talk:Converting video.

[edit] Uploading a video

The process of uploading a video is similar to uploading an image.

  1. First ensure the video is freely licensed.
  2. Convert the video to the Theora format. The Firefogg extension is recommended for Firefox users, ffmpeg2theora for others.
  3. Go to the Upload page and fill out each field. Include appropriate topic categories and Category:Videos. It will take several minutes to upload.

If the filesize of the video is very large, then consider also uploading the video at a lower quality so that low-bandwidth users can smoothly stream it.

[edit] Maximum file size

As of April 2011, the maximum file size for all kinds of uploads is 100 MB. 1 MB means 1,048,576 bytes, so 100 MB means 104,857,600 bytes. If your video happens to be larger than this limit, you may split it into shorter parts and upload each part separately. The template {{Split file}} can be used to link the parts of files split in this way.

Uploads of larger files are possible with help of a user with server access. See Help:Server-side upload. There is also an experimental chunked upload feature.

[edit] Video usage

[edit] Embedding Video

Ogg Theora animation of a satellite in polar orbit.

Creating a link that appears at first as a still image of a video and that plays the video after its play button is clicked is called “embedding a video”. The easiest way to embed a video directly into an article (or another page) is by using the same [[File:]] syntax as for image or sound files. The result is on the right. The video can be resized by adding a fixed size (like "|200px") or - preferable - the "|upright" parameter. In most cases you should stick to the default size. If it is higher than wide, use the pure "|upright".

[[File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|thumb |200px |New York City Time Lapse]]
[[File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|thumb |upright |New York City Time Lapse]]
[[File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|thumb |upright=2 |New York City Time Lapse]]

In case of Ogg Theora files, a frame from the midpoint of the video is used by default for the initial still image. To use a different frame, use the thumbtime parameter. For instance:

[[File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv |thumbtime=12 |thumb |200px |New York City timelapse]]

Either specify the time in seconds or use colons to separate hours, minutes and seconds. Separate a fraction of a second by a "." (dot). Only tenths (0.1, 0.2, etc.) of seconds work, currently.

Default still image
Still image at 12 seconds
Default still image
Still image at 7.8 seconds

There are two types of links to a video:

  • File – To create a link to the video's File Description Page,
    • use [[:File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv]].
    • To make the text of a link to the video's File Description Page appear as some text other than the video's filename, use [[:File:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|some text you prefer]].
  • Media – To create a link that downloads the video,
    • use [[Media:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv]] or use [[:Media:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv]].
    • To make the text of a link that downloads the video appear as some text other than the video's filename, use [[Media:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|some text you prefer]] or use [[:Media:Time Lapse of New York City.ogv|some text you prefer]].

[edit] Temporal media fragments

Starts at 5 seconds and ends playback at 7 seconds

Allows embed code to reference a segment of the video stream or set a start time. Hover over the player to see start time listed as 5s, press play and notice it stops playback at 7 seconds.

[edit] Looped animation

Example of GIF animation.

In case of animated GIF files, the animation is played continuously in a loop. Animated GIFs are (currently) scaled down on server-side to the required thumb size if they do not exceed the 12.5 Megapixel limit. If they exceed it a still frame will be displayed.

[edit] Subtitles and closed captioning

How to create subtitles.
Main article: Commons:Timed Text

To upload an already created subtitle file, open the file on your computer in a text editor (such as Notepad) and copy the text into a new page in the TimedText namespace that matches the filename of the video and the language code.

Keep in mind to paraphrase not spoken sounds and encompass them with rounded brackets. E.g.

 1
 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,400
 (engine sound)

[edit] Playing videos

See also: Commons:Media help

Playing video and sound embedded on Wikimedia sites requires no additional software. The web browsers Mozilla Firefox[4]and Google Chrome[5] are able to play these file formats without additional software. Safari users may install XiphQT for native playback. For Internet Explorer users, Safari users without the plugin and other browsers, Wikimedia uses a plugin (Cortado) to stream video (requires Java).[6]

You must install software to play video that you have downloaded to your computer. You can learn at Commons:Media help what software you need to play our media files. VLC multimedia player[7] is one that is open-source and multi-platform.

[edit] Videos and copyright

Main article: Commons:Licensing

In addition to checking for video copyright, the audio must not contain copyrighted sounds. This includes any copyrighted songs that were added to the video. Ask questions regarding the copyright of the video at the Village pump.

Examples of videos that would not be allowed due to copyright:

  • Screen captures of software that is itself not under a free license. This includes the Mac OS and Windows operating system. However, screen captures of software under the GPL or a similar free software license are generally considered to be OK.
  • TV/DVD/Videogame/Music video clips and recordings, unless their copyright has expired.
  • Copyrighted symbols, logos, etc. (Not to be confused with trademarks.)
  • Models, masks, toys, and other objects which represent a copyrighted work, such as a cartoon or movie character. See Commons:Derivative works.
  • Video that contains copyrighted music. Remove the audio from the video and then upload.
  • Videos of a presentation or lecture, unless the person(s) making the presentation has/have granted explicit permission to allow a video of their performance to be published under a Commons-compatible license via COM:OTRS.

Examples of videos that would be OK to upload:

  • Nature videos (video taken at a National Park or of a bird in your backyard)
  • Videos from the United States government, such as from NASA.

[edit] Choosing a license for a video you have entirely created

Comparision of licenses[8]
License Intended scope Copyleft Practical modifiability Attribution Related rights Access control prohibition Worldwide applicability
Creative Commons Attribution Generic No No Copyright notice No Yes National adaptations
Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike Generic Normal No Copyright notice No Yes National adaptations
Design Science License Generic, optimally science data Normal Yes Copyright notice No No Same license (English version)
Free Art License Works of art Normal Yes Yes Yes Yes Exact translations (French law)
FreeBSD Documentation License Documentation No Yes Copyright notice Yes Yes Same license (English version)
GNU Free Documentation License Documentation Normal Yes Yes Yes Yes Same license (English version)
GNU Lesser General Public License Generic, optimally Software Weak Yes Copyright notice Yes Yes Same license (English version)
GNU General Public License Generic, optimally Software Strong Yes Copyright notice Yes Version 3 prohibits "Tivoisation" in certain cases Same license (English version)
Lizenz für Freie Inhalte Generic Normal Yes Yes Yes Yes Unknown (license text is German)
MirOS Licence Generic (software, content, …) Copycenter Yes Copyright notice Yes Not desired, as that would be an additional restriction Same licence (English version)
MIT License Software No Yes Copyright notice Yes Yes Same license (English version)

[edit] Finding videos online

See also: Commons:Free media resources/Video

Several media resources contain video that is public domain or licensed under a free license. These can be converted and uploaded to Commons.

[edit] Requesting a video

Main article: Commons:Audio and video requests

Specific videos may be requested at Commons:Audio and video requests. Please search Commons to see if a similar video exists before making the request.

[edit] Maintenance tasks

[edit] See also

Video categories
Wikipedia image syntax and video documentation
MediaWiki
Essays

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Mirovideoconverter.com
  2. ↑ V2v.cc
  3. ↑ Wiki.xiph.org
  4. ↑ Getfirefox
  5. ↑ Google.com
  6. ↑ Java.com
  7. ↑ Videolan.org
  8. ↑ Source: Freedomdefined.org
  9. ↑ Toolserver.org

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Video&oldid=95173548"