Your first project

This guide will show you the complete process for creating an audio description. The individual steps will then be discussed in more detail in the following chapters.

For your first project, we recommend a short video of no more than five minutes. This way you can quickly practice the processes before you start your first “real” project! Don’t have a film to hand? No problem: Download the first minute of the movie Big Buck Bunny.

Create a project

Register first. You will then automatically be taken to the project list.

1. Click on “New Project”.
2. Give a “title”.
3. Set the “language” for the project.
4. Finally, click on “Create project.”

You will now get to the overview of the project. There is a checklist in the upper right corner. It guides you through your project and always shows you what you should do next.

Upload a video

Once you have created a new project, you can upload a video.

1. In the project overview, click on the “New Video” button to the right of the “Basic information”.
2. Select your video. It will then be uploaded. The progress bar will gradually turn green.
3. Wait for the upload to complete. Then click on “Save”.
4. Now the project is initialized. Depending on the length of the film, this may take a few minutes.
5. In the checklist at the top right you can see information how many steps have already been completed (e.g. 2/6).

Once initialization is complete, your browser will reload the project overview and a preview of your video will be displayed.

Tip: You also have the option of opening your video directly from your hard drive if you don’t want to upload it. Please see the Local Mode chapter. Please also note further details - for example about the supported video formats - in the Upload Video chapter.

Create a document

Once the project has been initialized, you can create a document.

1. Click “New Document”.
2. Provide a “title”.
3. Select the “Language” for the audio description.
4. Click “Create.”

You will now be redirected to the editor…

The „Frazier-Loop“

There are three steps you will repeat over and over again when creating an audio description. The most efficient way to do this is to internalize the following process and the appropriate keyboard shortcuts.

1. Find a suitable position

Initially the editor is in play mode. The timeline below is activated. Now play the video to the point where you want to add a description. To do this, use “Space” to start and stop the video and the “Arrow” keys to fast forward and rewind.

Tip: For more useful keyboard shortcuts to control the video, click on the “Keyboard” icon in the toolbar at the bottom right.

2. Write a description

Once you have found a suitable location, press the “Enter” key. Alternatively, you can also click on the blue “+” icon at the bottom left of the timeline. A new text box will appear on the right side of the editor. The timecode has been automatically applied and the “Dialogue / Instructions” field is focused.

Add the dialogue or instruction – or go directly to the next field by pressing the “Tab” key. Now write your text. You can also adjust the voice and its speed. You can easily jump back and forth between these input fields using “Tab” and “Shift+Tab”.

When you’re done, press “Esc”.

3. Listen to your text

The editor sets the focus on the timeline again and a blue bar appears. The blue bar represents the voice output and shows you how long it takes to read your text. Thanks to text-to-speech technology, you can listen to your audio description straight away. Press the “Space” to play the video.

Tip: Do you want to change a description, e.g. the voice or the speed? Just press the “Enter” key again while the timeline is focused. The editor then opens the text block placed at the current location of the orange marker. After making the change, press “Esc” again and you are back in the timeline.

Congratulations: You have now mastered the “Frazier Loop”😉

Export document

There are two ways to export a document - via the list of documents in the project overview and directly in the editor’s toolbar at the bottom right in the context menu.

1. Open the context menu.
2. Select “Export document…”.
3. Select a “Document Type”.
4. Click on “Download”.

Tip: Note that in the trial version only the first 10 text blocks of a document are exported. After taking out a subscription, you can download the entire manuscript.

Export formats

We currently support the following formats for export.

• SubRip (.srt)
• WebVTT (.vtt)
• CSV (.csv)
• Word Document (.docx)
• TTML2 (.ttml)
• Our own format (.adc)

Other formats are possible on request. Please contact support.

Create a backup

Frazier automatically saves every text change in your document to the server. We also recommend that you back up your work regularly. With the help of a backup file, you can later restore documents - e.g. from already completed/deleted projects. It’s best to get into the habit of exporting your document at the end of each work day.

Important! Please only use .adc files for your backups. The other formats available for export (e.g. .docx) do not contain all the necessary data - such as the voice used for reading.

Delete project

The final step: create space for something new! 😉

1. Go back to the project overview.
2. Open the context menu at the top right of the title.
3. Select “Delete…”.
4. You get an overview of all the data that will be deleted.
5. Click on “Delete” and confirm again.

What’s next?

That’s it for the quick introduction to Frazier. But there is still a lot to discover!

The following chapters delve deeper into the various topics related to Frazier and provide valuable tips on using the editor. At the end we will go into additional features of Frazier „Production“ and Frazier „Enterprise“ plans.

Have fun writing lots of great audio descriptions!

Christian & Lukas

PS: We look forward to any feedback. More on this in the next chapter…

Last Update: 2023/10/02