Multiple Tier Annotations

Is there a way to have multiple annotations running simultaneously on multiple tiers? I have two subjects in my video, and I would like to code both of them doing their own things simultaneously.

Thanks,
Nathan

Yes, that is more or less standard procedure. Annotations on a single tier cannot overlap, but you can have multiple tiers with multiple simultaneous annotations. It is fairly common to create a set of tiers for each subject.

-Han

Han, that is great news, but how does one make that happen? I’ve got the manual and have been making my way through it, however a guiding hint would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Nathan

Unless I misinterpret your question, it would be a matter of creating any number of tiers you need (per subject) and create annotations on each tier, depending on what you exactly want to code. Sections 5.4 (creating tiers, from http://www.lat-mpi.eu/tools/elan/manual/ch05s04s01.html onward) and 5.6 and 5.7 (about creating annotations based on selections) of the manual should provide information on how to get going. You could also start with one of the example sets from the download page, to get an idea.

-Han

I think we discussing different features. It is a basic function to have more than one tier while coding a certain video clip, and it is simple enough to create annotations for both tiers. However my dilemma arises when I want to have two tiers active at the same time. I would like to be able to start an Annotation on Tier A, allow time to move, start an Annotation on Tier B, allow time to continue, stop my Annotation on Tier A, allow time to move, and then stop my Annotation on Tier B. Therefore I would have watched the video once and coded two Annotations on separate tiers that occur at the same time along the time line.

Is this possible?

Thanks,
Nathan

Ok, I have indeed misinterpreted the situation then, sorry about that.
The short answer is then: no, that is not possible.

When you are in segmentation mode annotations can only be added to one tier at a time.
In the Timeline viewer area (dragging with the mouse) you can add on multiple tiers, but since you have only one selection at a time, you can only create one annotation at a time.
When creating annotations on the active tier with the Shift+Enter combination, every second keystroke is interpreted as an “end marker”. So there can not be multiple “begin markers” in a row.
That is the current situation.

-Han

Han,
Thank you very much for the help. I appreciate the feedback. I’ll figure out some way to make it work.

Thanks again,
Nathaniel