How to use the YuJa video editor

The YuJa video editor is a browser based system that can be accessed through a YuJa link on your Blackboard module. Clicking the YuJa link will take you to your YuJa Media Manager.

Locate and hover over the video you want to edit and you will see a small menu with Edit as an option, click on edit to launch the video editor, which will open in a new tab.

Types of video

There are two types of video that you can edit, depending on how it was recorded. YuJa calls sections of recording Streams and you can edit individual or multiple streams.

1. A multi-stream YuJa video: these are videos recorded in the YuJa software recorder or browser recorder and these are what you’d typically receive if you record in-class teaching in a learning capture supported room. These videos can have a single stream, or may have two or more depending on devices used during recording. A stream would be created for the desktop recording, with separate streams being recorded from webcams if you chose to include them.
2. A single-stream video: these will be recordings that have all recorded content in one single stream. You will have a video like this if you record using your own software and upload the video file into YuJa as a direct upload. A single-stream video will not allow you to edit individual components like desktop recording or webcam recordings.

Understanding the editor

1. Video preview: this will play the video for you so you can view where you’d like to make edits.
2. The timeline: contains the streams of your video, Use the timeline marker (blue vertical line) to select a point on the timeline you wish to edit from. The timeline may be zoomed in when you enter. Click the magnifiers or use the slider to zoom in and out and see more of the timeline.
3. Streams: the primary stream would typically be your recorded screen with a potential secondary stream being any webcam feed you included. There will also be a wavelength which shows the audio levels. There may be instances where you have a third stream, or where the primary stream is a webcam feed when screen capture isn’t included.
4. Captions: the captions sit on the bottom stream of the timeline and are indicated by blocks of text.
5. Edits: edits you apply to the recording are usually not applied until the video is saved and will display as box overlays on the timeline. In most cases, you can not include more than one type of edit at a time.

Making cuts and trims

The YuJa editor allows you to remove sections of video from the beginning or end (known as Trimming) or removing sections from the middle (known as Cuts). In most cases making cuts and trims are not likely to be necessary – see Should I edit my screencast?

The process for cutting or trimming sections of videos are the same. To start making a cut, you will need to click the cut icon on the toolbar below the video.

• Trimming a video means starting at the beginning or end of the video timeline and dragging the timeline marker right (at the start) or left (at the end) to mark a section for removal.
• Cutting means selecting a timestamp anywhere on the video timeline and dragging out to mark a section for removal. Double clicking on a cut/trim will allow you to enter specific timestamps if you find dragging is not accurate enough.

A section marked for cutting/trimming will become greyed, but the cut will not be applied until the edited video is saved, it will not show you the deleted section in the video preview. You can undo a cut by clicking the ‘x’ in the top right corner of the section or by clicking delete underneath the cut (when clicked).

My video has no captions

If you find that your video does not have captions, then it is likely due to an issue with the audio that YuJa isn’t able to process. In rooms with learning capture equipment you should not experience these issues, but do report any audio issues in the room to dts@reading.ac.uk.

If you are recording on your own devices, please make sure that you are close to your microphone or ideally wear a headset for best results.

Advanced Edits

YuJa has a number of advanced editing tools that may be useful in some circumstances.

• Insert image/slide: This will overwrite a stream with a new slide or image for a specified duration. Would be ideal for making small corrections.
• Text overlay: this will add a text over a timestamped section of the video, you can specify font-size and duration that you want text to appear. This will be good for adding additional information or clarifications to what is being spoken about. You will need to select a stream for this overlay to appear on.

Edits that require advanced mode enabled:

• Add a video: this will let you insert additional video into your existing one, from an MP4 or other supported media file type. Important note: this has strict requirements to work. You must insert like-for-like video types. A multi-stream YuJa recording, can only have another multi-stream YuJa recording inserted into it of the same type. An uploaded single-stream video can have another single-stream video inserted into it. If you try to insert an MP4 file into a YuJa multi-stream recording, it will only overwrite one of the Streams, causing an overlapping or desynchronised final video.
• Image tools: this a menu of several image based tools.
  • Watermark: will add a custom image onto the video as a Watermark. Useful for videos that require branding.
  • Blur: adds a box onto the video preview that can be adjusted to cover a section of the video that you want blurred for a specified duration. Useful for when personal information might have accidentally appeared in the recording. The blur will not be applied until the edits are saved and the video has finished reprocessing.
  • Virtual background: requires a webcam video stream. Will apply a custom image file behind speaker to obstruct background – similar to Microsoft Teams.
• Telestration: (single-stream uploaded videos only). This mode allows you to make annotations on your video. It is not available to videos recorded in YuJa as the recorder has its own annotations tools during recording.

Saving my edits

For the majority of edits performed in YuJa, most will not process until the video has been saved, after which you will need to allow time for the video to process again before you can review the changes you’ve made. YuJa will also ask you if you want to have the captions automatically adjusted to reflect your changes which is recommended.

You can save your edits using the save button at the top of the editing screen. When you save you will be prompted to make a decision about how to save the video:

• Replace existing video: this will save your edits over the existing version of your video and will permanently apply the changes you’ve made. This option is recommended where you’ve already saved a copy of a video previously and need to update it, or where you’ve already embedded a video as this will make the changes but not require you to embed or publish a second time.
• Save as new video: this is the recommended option for the first time you have edited a video and you haven’t yet made it available to students by publishing or embedding on Blackboard. This will make a copy of the original video with your edits, allowing you to revert back to the original at a later time if needed. This will help you avoid making permanent edits to the original that you will not be able to undo after saving.

Guide last updated on October 19, 2022