Mondrian Transcription

Mondrian Transcription Software is an open-source tool to transcribe fine-grained movement data from video by efficiently tracing the movement of people or things over floor plan representations to generate text files of positioning data — essentially, a transcript of movement. These files can be visualized in software such as the Interaction Geography Slicer. While there are increasingly many automated methods to interpret video or collect positioning data through location-based technologies, these methods continue to be imprecise and background the value of manual transcription practices that many qualitative researchers value. This page will get you started with how to use and do transcription with this tool. The more you use this tool, the easier and more fluid transcribing movement will feel. We are rapidly developing and expanding features of this tool and collaborators in this effort are welcome, please reach out to us or contribute to the GitHub Repo.

Interface

The interface consists of 3 components shown above with example data from a classroom science lesson from the 1999 TIMSS Video Study

  1. Data Import/Information Panel: where you can import floor plan image and video files, clear/save data and read about how to use Mondrian Transcription

  2. Video Viewer: where video data is displayed

  3. Floor Plan Viewer: where all recorded movement data as individual paths over the floor plan image file is displayed

How To Use

As you interact with the video and simultaneously draw on the floor plan, positioning data is recorded as a CSV file organized by time in seconds and x/y pixel positions scaled to the pixel size of your floor plan image file. You can save this CSV file anytime and then draw/record another movement path. The demonstration video provides a brief overview of how to use Mondrian Transcription using data from a classroom science lesson from the 1999 TIMSS Video Study.

How To Format Data

To use Mondrian Transcription Software you need to import a floor plan image and a video file formatted in the ways described below:

Floor plan/Image File (PNG/JPG)

You will need a floor plan/image file in PNG or JPG format. A floor plan is a type of representation that shows you the layout of a space from above. You can create a floor plan by hand and take a picture or use software such as Adobe Illustrator or AutoCAD to create a higher quality image file. The image below shows an example floor plan image.

Video File (MP4)

Your video must be in a MP4 format. This is the only video format that currently works across all modern web browsers. If you need to convert your video from a different format: For small videos a few minutes in length you can use the free, secure and web-based CloudConvert. For larger videos, use either a video editor or the free, secure and safe 4K Video Downloader.

Output Data File

The table below illustrates the outputted CSV file produced for each movement file through Mondrian Transcription. Each row in the file is conceptually a point along a path or trace of a person or object with columns labeled with columns labeled: “time” where whole number or decimal values correspond to seconds elapsed from 0 seconds and “x” and “y” where whole number or decimal values correspond to precise pixel positions on your floor plan image file.

Credits/License

This software is written in JavaScript and p5.js and is licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2.0. See the GNU General Public License included with this software for more details. Mondrian Transcription software was originally developed by Ben Rydal Shapiro at Vanderbilt University as part of his dissertation titled Interaction Geography & the Learning Sciences. Copyright (C) 2018 Ben Rydal Shapiro, and contributors.