This guide assumes your audio files are stored in AWS. To learn how to create integrations with other cloud providers click here.

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STEP 1: Import your Audio Files

1

Set Up AWS

Before you can do anything with the Encord platform and cloud storage, you need to configure your cloud storage to work with Encord. Once the integration between Encord and your cloud storage is complete, you can then use your data in Encord.

In order to integrate with AWS S3, you need to:

  1. Create a permission policy for your resources that allows appropriate access to Encord.
  2. Create a role for Encord and attach the policy so that Encord can access those resources.
  3. Activate Cross-origin resource sharing which allows Encord to access those resources from a web browser.
  4. Test the integration to make sure it works.
See our AWS integration documentation for a detailed explanation of setting up AWS to work with Encord.

You have the following options to integrate AWS and Encord:

2

Create AWS Integration in Encord

Create an S3 bucket to store your files if you haven’t already. Your S3 bucket permissions should be set to be blocking all public access.

In the Integrations section of the Encord platform, click +New integration to create a new integration.

Select AWS S3 at the top of the chooser.

It is essential you do not close this tab or window until you have finished the whole integration process. If you use the AWS UI for integration, we advise opening the AWS console in a separate tab.
See our AWS integration documentation for a detailed explanation of how to set up the AWS integration.
3

Create JSON file for import

See our documentation on JSON import files for more comprehensive information

Create a JSON file based on the templates provided below. audioMetadata is optional unless you are using a client-only access integration.

The title field is optional. If omitted, the audio file path and name are used as the default title. For example, if the file is located at https://encord-solutions-bucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/path/to/my/bucket/song2.mp3, the title defaults to /path/to/my/bucket/song2.mp3.

Key or FlagRequired?Default value
”objectUrl”Yes
”title”NoThe file’s path + title
”audioMetadata”No
”clientMetadata”No
”createVideo”Nofalse
audioMetadata must be specified when a Strict client-only access integration is used. In all other cases, audioMetadata is optional, but including it significantly reduces import times.
Keys / Flags that are not required can be omitted from the JSON file entirely.
4

Create a Folder to Store Your Audio Files

All files in Encord must be stored within folders. Therefore, you need to create a folder before uploading any data to Encord. To create a folder:

  1. Navigate to Files under the Index heading in the Encord platform.
  2. Click the + New folder button to create a new folder. A dialog to create a new folder appears.

  1. Give the folder a meaningful name and description.

  2. Click Create to create the folder. The folder is listed in Files.

5

Upload Your Audio to Encord

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STEP 2: Set Up Your Project

1

Create a Dataset

  1. Click the New dataset button in the Datasets section in Annotate.
  1. Give your Dataset a meaningful title and description. A clear title and description keeps your data organized.
Toggle Looking to create a mirrored dataset? to create a Mirrored Dataset.
  1. Click Create dataset to create the Dataset.

Attach files

You can add data to Datasets from the Files or the Datasets screens.
We recommend uploading smaller batches of data: limit uploads to 100 videos and up to 1000 images at a time. You have the option to create multiple Datasets, all of which can be linked to a single Project. Familiarize yourself with our limits and best practices for data import before uploading data to Encord.
  1. Navigate to the Datasets section under the Annotate heading.
  2. Click the Dataset you want to attach data to.
  3. Click +Attach existing files.
If the files you want have not been uploaded into Encord yet, click +Upload files to upload new files.

  1. Select the folders containing the files you want to attach to the Dataset. To select individual files, double-click a folder to see its contents, and select the files you want to add to the Dataset.

  2. Click Attach data to attach the selected files to the Dataset.

2

Create an Ontology

We recommend learning about Ontology structure before creating Ontologies.
Ensure that Ontologies used for audio annotations only include Classifications and Audio Region objects
  1. Click the New ontology button in the Ontologies section to create a new Ontology.

  1. Give your Ontology a meaningful title and description. A clear title and description keeps your Ontologies organized.

  2. Click Next to continue.

  1. Define your Ontology structure. Audio files are labeled using the Audio Region object type and Classifications.

To add an Audio Region object:

  1. Click + Add object to create a new object.
  2. Give the object a name, for example “Male Vocals”.
  3. Select the Audio Region object type.
  4. Optionally, configure the object to add any attributes.
  5. Optionally, enable the Required toggle to mark the object as Required.
  6. Repeat these steps for as many Audio Region objects as necessary.

Configure Objects:

Objects can be configured to add attributes.

  1. Click the arrow button next to the object to start configuring.
  2. Click + Add attribute to add an attribute.
  3. Select the attribute type: Text, radio button, or checklist. Select Text and check Transcription to transcribe audio files.
  4. Give the attribute a name, for example “Pitch”, or “Lyrics”.
  5. If your attribute is a radio button or a checklist click Add option.

  1. Add the options you want your attribute to have. For “Pitch” this can be “High” and “Low”.

  2. Optionally mark the object as Required and / or Dynamic.

  3. Click the Back to parent button to return the Ontology creation view.

To add a Classification:

  1. Click + Add classification to create a new classification.
  2. Give the classification a name. For example, “Tempo”.
  3. Optionally, configure the classification to change the classification type. The default classification type is a text field.
  4. Optionally, enable the Required toggle to mark the classification as Required.
  5. Repeat these steps for as many classifications as necessary.

Configure classifications:

Classifications can be configured to change the classification type, and to add classification options to radio buttons and check lists.

  1. Click the arrow icon next to an object to configure the classification.
  1. Click the classification type to change the classification type. The default classification type is a text field.
  2. Click Add option to add an option if you have selected a radio button or check list classification.
  3. Enter a name for the classification option. For example, the classification “Tempo” can have the options “Slow”, “Medium”, and “Fast”.
  4. Click the Back to parent button to return the Ontology creation view.
3

Create a Project

  1. In the Encord platform, select Projects under Annotate.
  2. Click the + New annotation project button to create a new Project.
  1. Give the Project a meaningful title and description.

If you are part of an Organization, an optional Project tags drop-down is visible. Project tags are useful for categorizing and finding your Projects. Select as many tags as are relevant for your Project.

  1. Click the Attach ontology button.

  2. Select the Ontology you created previously from the list using the Select button.

  1. Click OK to attach the Ontology to the Project.

  2. Click the Attach datasets button.

  3. Select the Dataset you created previously from the list using the Attach button.

  1. Click OK to attach the Dataset(s) to the Project.
  1. Click the Load from template button to use a Workflow template.

  1. Select the template you want to use and click Load template.

  2. Click Create project to finish creating the Project.

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STEP 3: Label Your Audio Files

Navigate to the Queue tab of your Project and select the data unit you want to label.

To label an audio region:

  1. Select a Audio Region class from the left side menu.

  2. Click and drag your cursor along the waveform to apply the label between the desired start and end points. Repeat this as many times necessary while the class is selected.

  3. If required, apply any attributes to the region.

  4. Repeat these steps for as many regions as necessary.

When assigning multiple Audio Region class labels to the same section of an audio file, hide overlapping labels.

To apply the classification to the entire audio file:

  1. Select the Classification from the left side menu.

  2. For radio buttons and checklists, select the value(s) you want to classification to have. For text classifications, enter the desired text.

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