Media
Start your scalar project by importing media. Because of the way the Scalar interface is designed, you cannot upload new media objects while you are using the page builder tool. While of course you can add media to your project at any time, it can greatly streamline the process of constructing your Scalar book if you have media objects ready when you are ready to build your page. You can bring virtually any kind of media into your Scalar project, including images, audio clips, videos, and even websites themselves.
Uploading and Importing Media Objects
When you are logged into the Scalar dashboard, you will be able to import media either by clicking on the import media icon in the top right corner (box with an arrow icon) or by navigating to the dashboard (wrench icon) and selecting import media from there.
It is possible to import media from various places around the web, including online archives like museum collections, and images and videos hosted on other platforms. You can also upload your own media files, as long as they are less than 2 MB.
For the most part, you will be importing media by URL or by uploading your own files.
When importing photos hosted on other sites via the “Import Internet Media File” page you’ll place the URL of the media file in the appropriate box. Add a title and description. Click save and view to see the image you’ve uploaded. If you’ve accidentally uploaded the URL for the webpage or another element, return to the image and make sure to click on the image itself. Right clicking on the image and selecting “Copy Image Address” will also ensure that you are getting the right URL link for the image file itself.
To upload your own local files, select “Upload Media File” and fill in the form to describe your image and select a file from your computer. Click “save and view” to preview your item and to make sure it has uploaded properly. All media files must be less than 2MB to be uploaded to the Scalar content database. This ensures that your project doesn’t get bogged down by large files. While most video and audio files will exceed this allotment, you will be able to import most images, and can try saving them at a lower resolution if they are too big. If you have large media files, you can host them on a media streaming service, such as setting up a private channel on YouTube or Vimeo, or even upload the files to an online storage site like Google Drive or DropBox. You’ll then be able to import those items into your scalar content using the URLs for those files.
QuickStart: Importing media from your local hard drive
Learn more: Importing your own media
Your Scalar project is for a class assignment, so we aren’t thinking too much about the sustainability of the project. But it’s good to keep in mind for the future that if you are not hosting media on your own website or database, that you could lose access to the files in the future. Content that is hosted by an institution like a museum or library or that offers a stable link will probably offer more reliable long term access.
Naming and Describing your Media
When you are adding titles and descriptions for media, take a moment to choose a title that will make it easy for you to find that object later. The Scalar content database does not offer many options to sort within media, such as by alphabetical order or the upload date. The primary way that you will be able to call an item back up is by keyword search. If you are uploading a lot of files, or a set of files that you’ll want to group together, it can be helpful to use a formula to make it even easier to call up a collection of related items. For instance, you might title paintings by artist, topic, or media type:
DaVinci: Mona Lisa, DaVinci: Vitruvian Man
Portraits: Mona Lista, Portraits: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Video: Getting Started with Scalar, Video: Adding Media
Your description is also a searchable field and can help you to find media within the content database. Whatever you type here will also appear as the caption for the image.
Metadata
After you’ve viewed any picture, edit your media by clicking the pencil icon in the upper right hand toolbar. Adding metadata, or descriptive information about your media object as well as a thumbnail will mean this object is ready to be incorporated into Scalar widgets like timelines and maps. Metadata is information that describes a digital object and makes it easier to search and sort, as well as helping us to organize and display media and other files online.
To add metadata to your media objects when you are in the editing interface, click “Metadata” from the tabbed menu options. The two metadata fields you should be sure to fill in are “Spatial” and “Date” or “Temporal.” These will give you the flexibility to add these items to timelines and maps. In Spatial, you should include the geographic coordinates associated with this object – where you took a picture, where an artwork lives, the location that a photograph depicts. In Temporal or Date, use one of the supported date formats detailed in the Scalar 2 User Guide.
All media files must be less than 2MB to be uploaded to the Scalar content database. This ensures that your project doesn’t get bogged down by large files. While most video and audio files will exceed this allotment, you will be able to import most images, and can try saving them at a lower resolution if they are too big. If you have large media files, you can host them on a media streaming service, such as setting up a private channel on YouTube or Vimeo, or even upload the files to an online storage site like Google Drive or DropBox. You’ll then be able to import those items into your scalar content using the URLs for those files.
Your Scalar project is for a class assignment, so we aren’t thinking too much about the sustainability of the project. But it’s good to keep in mind for the future that if you are not hosting media on your own website or database, that you could lose access to the files in the future. Content that is hosted by an institution like a museum or library or that offers a stable link will probably offer more reliable long term access.
