Instructions for Presenters

Research Papers, Experience Reports, Industry Insights, & Panel Presentations

Please create a 6-8 minute recorded audio-video presentation of your work that explains your research or design project to the SIGDOC audience, along with a verbatim transcript or captioning file that can be used for captioning and accessibility purposes, and an abstract of no more than 150 words that can be shared publicly. If you are a panel of presenters, each member of your panel is invited to create a 6-8 minute audio-video presentation. Although we are open to all creative approaches to video, many presenters of research papers, experience reports, industry insights, and panels likely will want to record their voices while showing presentation slides. For all presentation types, you may use video editing software if it is available and convenient to you for basic editing, titles, etc; however, this is not required. Below we share more details and general guidelines for producing your presentation content.

Using a Web Conference Platform to Record Video

One method for recording your presentation is to use a videoconferencing technology to record a meeting in which you present with slides. The following links take you to tutorials that describe how to record a meeting using common video conference software. 

One advantage to Zoom Cloud recording is that it will create a verbatim transcript of your recording that you can adjust to use as your transcript. For more information, see Using Audio Transcriptions for Cloud Recording — Zoom Help Center.

Creating a Voice-Over PowerPoint and then Exporting to MP4

You can also create pre-recorded presentation content using PowerPoint. The following link will take you to a tutorial that describes how to add audio to a slide presentation, which can be exported to video format. 

Microsoft PowerPoint: Record a Slide Show with Narration and Slide Timings — Office Support

Creating a Verbatim Transcript or Captioning File

Submitting verbatim transcripts or captioning files will help ensure that your content is as accessible as possible to conference attendees. Transcripts are verbatim, word-for-word scripts of the words spoken in your video, while captioning files (such as SRT) include numbers, timestamps, and words spoken. We can accept either kind of file for creating your video captions. Your video programs may offer integrated support for creating transcripts or captions; however, we offer the following tips:

To create a transcript file, we recommend typing out a word-for-word script of your presentation before recording your video and then adjusting that script after speaking to create your transcript. You can also use a machine-aided transcription service to generate a transcript and adjust the output. Finally, as mentioned previously, Zoom cloud recording will also generate an automatic machine-aided transcript that also can be adjusted as your transcript:

Tips for Creating a Script Before Recording: Write an Engaging Script — Screencast-o-matic

Google Docs: Type With Your Voice — Docs Editor Help

Speechnotes: Speech to Text Online Notepad

Zoom: Using Audio Transcriptions for Cloud Recording — Zoom Help Center

To create a captioning file in a basic captioning format such as SRT or VTT, you can begin with an existing transcript and add additional content manually in a text editor or by using a free online captioning support program. You can also generate a captioning file from a video that you upload to YouTube: 

Manually Creating an SRT file in a Text Editor: How to Create a SRT File  — 3 Play Media

Amara: Watch How to Caption and Translate Video — Amara Support Center

YouTube: Export YouTube’s AutoGenerated Captions — California State University Fullerton

Guidelines for Content

  • Submit all pre-recorded video submissions in MP4 format. 
  • Use a 16×9 aspect ratio, frame rates of 24-30 fps, and a resolution at 720p to help keep file sizes manageable. 
  • Limit all videos submissions to 8 minutes of content.
  • The content you create for SIGDOC 2020 will be available on our website and accessible to conference attendees. You retain the copyright. If you would like to share it further, we recommend creating a Creative Commons License, see www.creativecommons.com for more information.

Sharing Your Video, Script, and Abstract

  • Complete your MP4 file, a TXT, DOCX, or RTF transcript or SRT captioning file, and a DOCX or RTF abstract by September 1, 2020.
  • When naming your files, please use your presentation’s proposal ID followed by the last names of presenters in lowercase separated by a hyphen. For example, if your Proposal ID is res19 and your last name is Smith, your file name would be “res19-smith.mp4”
  • To upload your file, please visit the form at https://forms.gle/QgQKqvnn8nDtod3U9. This form will require you to log in to Google in order to proceed. If you do not have a Google account, please contact us for an alternative procedure.

Poster Presentations

If you are submitting a poster, please create a visual digital poster in PDF format, along with a 6-8 minute audio explanation or walk-through in MP3 format that explains your research or design project to the SIGDOC audience, along with an abstract of no more than 150 words that can be shared publicly. For accessibility purposes, you should include a verbatim transcript of any audio files, which should include a description of any elements of your poster that are not already explained in your accompanying audio explanation.

Creating your Digital Poster

Please create your poster using PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or any other appropriate visual editing program. Your poster should meet typical SIGDOC poster conventions. The maximum dimensions are 3 feet x 4 feet. The file size may not exceed 25MB, and you must save your file as a PDF. 

Creating your Audio Poster Walk-Through

To provide context for your poster, you may create an audio file that introduces viewers to your project and to your poster. Many phones include a voice recording app that will enable you to record an audio file directly to your phone (i.e., Voice Memo on iOS; free apps such as Voice Recorder for Android). You may also also use Audacity, a free software download that  allows you to both record and edit audio. 

Audacity: Your First Recording — Audacity Help

Guidelines for Content

  • Submit pre-recorded digital posters in PDF format. 
  • Submit audio walk-throughs in MP3 format and transcripts in TXT, DOCX, or RTF format.
  • Limit audio submissions to 8 minutes of content and 25 MB of file space.
  • The content you create for SIGDOC 2020 will be available on our website and accessible to conference attendees. You retain the copyright. If you would like to share it further, we recommend creating a Creative Commons License, see www.creativecommons.com for more information.

Sharing Your Poster, Audio Walk-Through, Script, and Abstract

  • Upload your completed poster, MP3 file, and a TXT, DOCX, or RTF file that contains your verbatim transcript and abstract by September 1, 2020.
  • When naming your files, please use your presentation’s proposal ID followed by the last names of presenters in lowercase separated by a hyphen. For example, if your Proposal ID is pos19 and your last name is Smith, your file name would be “pos19-smith.pdf”
  • To upload your file, please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/QgQKqvnn8nDtod3U9. This form will require you to log in to Google in order to proceed. If you do not have a Google account, please contact us for an alternative procedure.

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