Alamo Colleges District

Uploading a Zoom Recording (MP4 File) to YouTube

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YouTube is a free video cloud storage and streaming service from Google. Users will need to create a free, verified Google account in order to upload videos that are 15 minutes or longer in duration.

Select each heading link below for a quick step-by-step guide on how to upload a MP4 file to YouTube. For additional information, visit the YouTube Help Center Guide: Upload Videos.

1. Upload Your Zoom Cloud Recording MP4 File to YouTube
  1. Once you have downloaded your Zoom Cloud recordings to your computer or external storage device, sign in to Google and select the YouTube icon from the Google Apps menu [grid icon] in the upper right-hand corner.
Select the Google Apps menu > YouTube icon
  1. The YouTube home page will launch; select the Create button [camera icon] > Upload Video link in the upper right-hand corner.
Select the Create button > Upload Video option
  1. A window will display that will allow you to either Drag and Drop the MP4 files you wish to upload or Select Files from your computer or external storage device.
Upload videos window
  1. When the desired MP4 file has been selected, the video will begin to process. Proceed to adding video details and choosing video visibility.

YouTube allows users to upload up to 15 videos at a time; be sure to click the Edit button [pencil icon] on each file to add your video details. ​If you close the upload experience before you finish choosing your settings, your video will be saved as a draft on your Videos page.

2. Add Video Details

Once your video file(s) have begun to process, you will be asked to provide basic information about the video and audience visibility.

Details

Options from the YouTube video details section
  1. Title - Insert a title for your video. This field is required, and best practice is to list the name of the class and meeting date. (For example: "MATH-1324-050 | 10/13/2020 Class Meeting")
  2. Description - This will display below your video, and it is optional.
  3. Thumbnail - This is the image viewers will see before clicking your video. If you do not select a thumbnail (or choose to upload a thumbnail image), YouTube will automatically select one for you.
  4. Playlists - Add your video to one of your existing playlists, or create a new playlist. Best practice is to create a playlist for each of your courses to help keep your videos organized.
  5. Audience - To comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), you're required to tell YouTube whether your videos are made for kids.
  6. Age Restriction (Advanced) - Age-restrict videos that may not be appropriate for all audiences. For most classes, you can skip this section, or check the "No, don't restrict my video to viewers over 18 only" radio button.
  7. MORE OPTIONS - Select this link to set the video's Advanced Settings.

Select the Next button in the lower right-hand corner to advance to the Video Elements section.

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Advanced Settings are optional and not required to upload a video to YouTube. If you choose to skip this section, select the Next button in the lower right-hand corner to advance to the Video Elements section.

Options from the YouTube video advanced settings section

At the bottom of the Details page, select the MORE OPTIONS link to choose your advanced settings. Scroll past paid promotions and tags as these details are not required for videos that will be shared internally. Instructions for adding closed captions (CC) are outlined in the Add Subtitles to a YouTube Video section of this guide.

  1. Recording date and location - Enter the date the video was recorded and the location (such as your college campus) where your video was filmed.
  2. License and distribution - Choose between a standard copyright license or a Creative Commons license. Also choose if your video can be embedded on a different website such as Canvas or an instructional resources page.
  3. Category - Select the category of your video. Most instructional videos will fall under "Education."
  4. Comments and ratings - Choose whether viewers can leave comments on the video and whether viewers can see how many likes and dislikes are on your video.

Select the Next button in the lower right-hand corner to advance to the Video Elements section.

Video Elements (Optional)

Video Elements are optional and not required to upload a video to YouTube. If you choose to skip this section, select the Next button in the lower right-hand corner to advance to the Visibility section.

Options from the YouTube video elements section

Video elements allow you to show viewers related videos, websites, and calls to action. Video elements are only available after your video is done processing, and they are only recommended for use by advanced users.

  1. End Screen - Add visual elements to the end of your video. Your video must be 25 seconds or longer to add an end screen.
  2. Cards - Add interactive content to your video.

Select the Next button in the lower right-hand corner to advance to the Visibility section.

3. Choose Visibility
Options from the YouTube visibility section

On the final section of the video upload process, you will be asked to choose your video's privacy setting and pick your video's publish time.

  1. Save or publish - Select Publish and choose your video’s privacy setting:
    • Private - Private videos and playlists can only be seen by you and the people you choose. This setting will require you to invite individual users with a Google Account to view the content.
    • Unlisted - Unlisted videos and playlists can be seen and shared by anyone with the link. Your unlisted videos won't appear in the Videos tab of your channel page, and they won't show up in YouTube's search results. You can share an unlisted video's URL with other people, and they won't need a Google Account to view it. Anyone with the link can also reshare it or add it to a public playlist.
    • Public - Public videos can be seen by anyone at YouTube. They can also be shared with anyone using YouTube. They're posted on your channel when you upload them and show up in search results and related video lists.
  2. Schedule - Select Schedule and pick the date you want your video to be published; your video will be private until that date. If you wish to share your video immediately, leave this section unchecked.

Select the Save button in the lower right-hand corner to finish the video upload process.

Leaving your video Unlisted allows you to embed the video within Canvas so it is only visible to you and your students enrolled in the course.

4. Share Your YouTube Video
Select uploaded video from your YouTube videos page

Once your video upload has processed and you are still logged into your YouTube (or Google) account, navigate to your YouTube Videos page. Select an uploaded video to open and view the file in YouTube. There are two options for sharing a YouTube video with your students or colleagues:

Copy+Paste the Video URL into an Email, Canvas Inbox Message, or Canvas Module
  1. From the video's YouTube page, select the Share button directly below the video player.
Select the YouTube Share button
  1. The video's Share menu will appear. To copy the YouTube video's URL, select the Copy link next to the video's URL.
Copy video URL from the Share menu
  1. The URL is now copied to your clipboard; paste the URL into an email or Canvas inbox message to share the video with your students or colleagues.

You may also wish to add the video to a Canvas module as an module item. For more information, follow the directions in this Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I add an external URL as a module item?

Copy+Paste the Video Embed Code into Canvas Page or Announcement
  1. From the video's YouTube page, select the Share button directly below the video player.
Select the YouTube Share button
  1. The video's Share menu will appear. To access the YouTube video's embed code, select the Embed button.
Select the Embed button from the Share menu
  1. The Embed Video window will appear. To copy the YouTube video's embed code, select your preferred Embed Options and click the Copy link in the lower right-hand corner.
Select embe doptions and copy embed code from the Embed Video window
  1. The video embed code is now copied to your clipboard. To embed the video in a Canvas page or announcement, follow the directions in this Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I upload and embed media from an external source in the New Rich Content Editor?
5. Manage Your YouTube Video

Once your video has been uploaded to your YouTube channel, you can always make changes to your videos' settings. Check out the following video from the TeamYouTube channel on how to manage videos:

Edit the Recording Using the YouTube Video Editor

You can cut out the beginning, middle, or end of your video using YouTube's Video Editor. You don't need to re-upload a video to trim it. The video's URL, view count, and comments will stay the same. This feature is only available for videos shorter than 6 hours. Watch the following video from the YouTube Creators channel if you’d like a tutorial on how to trim your video, or visit the YouTube Help Center Guide: Trim Your Videos.

Add Subtitles (or Closed Captions) to YouTube Video

Closed captions (CC) allow you to share your videos with a larger audience, including deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers and viewers who speak another language. There are two options for adding captions to your YouTube Videos:

Upload the Zoom Cloud Recording's Closed Caption (.vtt) File

A subtitle or closed caption file contains the text of what is said in the video. It also contains time codes for when each line of text should be displayed.

When you record videos with Zoom, the accompanying WebVTT file you can choose to download with your Zoom cloud recording contains time-stamped captions. It also includes position and basic style info (bold, italics, and underlines) which is especially useful for deaf or hard of hearing viewers. These files will have the extension .vtt.  

If you did not have a chance to download the WebVTT file with your Zoom cloud recordings before you deleted them from the cloud, please see the next section of this guide: Use YouTube's Automatic Captions.

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio and navigate to the video you wish to upload captions to and click on its thumbnail image.
Select video thumbnail
  1. The Video details window will appear. From the left menu, select Subtitles and click Add Language. Select your language from the drop-down menu, then Confirm your language selection.
Select and confirm subtitles language
  1. Click Add under the Subtitles column.
Add subtitles
  1. The Video captions window will appear. Select Upload file.
Upload captions file
  1. Choose the With timing option for the subtitle file type, then select Continue.
Select With timing option
  1. Browse to the .vtt file on your computer or external storage device, select it, then click Open.
Navigate to the VTT file on your computer or storage device and select it

Preview the video and captions in the Video captions window. If the captions require edits after they have been uploaded to the video, place your cursor in the text fields and make edits as needed.

  1. Select Save Draft to come back and edit the captions later, or select Publish to finalize the Upload Captions process and add them to your video.
Preview subtitles and make necessary edits before publishing

For more information about editing captions on YouTube videos, see the the YouTube Help Center Guide: Edit or Remove Captions.

Use YouTube's Automatic Captions

YouTube can use speech recognition technology to automatically create captions for your videos. These automatic captions are generated by machine learning algorithms, so the quality of the captions may vary. YouTube is constantly improving its speech recognition technology, but automatic captions might misrepresent the spoken content due to mispronunciations, accents, dialects, or background noise.

Always review automatic captions and edit any parts that haven't been properly transcribed.

Here's how you can review automatic captions and make changes, if needed:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Subtitles.
  3. Click the video you want to add captions or subtitles to.
  4. Under “Subtitles”, click More [3 vertical dots icon] next to the subtitles you want to edit.
  5. Review automatic captions and edit or remove any parts that haven't been properly transcribed. For instructions on how to edit or remove captions, please see the YouTube Help Center Guide: Edit or Remove Captions.

If your video doesn't generate automatic captions, it could be due to one or more of the following reasons:

  • The captions aren't available yet due to processing complex audio in the video.
  • Automatic captions don't support the language in the video.
  • The video is too long.
  • The video has poor sound quality or YouTube doesn't recognize the speech.
  • There is a long period of silence at the beginning of the video.

For further assistance with downloading Zoom Cloud recordings or uploading MP4 files to YouTube, please contact your local IIC/Distance Learning Center or IT Help Desk.

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