  The range of video annotation software currently available is set within
commercially specialized professions, distributed via outdated sources or
through online video hosting services. As video content becomes an increasingly
significant tool for analysis, there is a demand for appropriate digital
annotation techniques that offer equivalent functionality to tools used for
annotation of text based literature sources. This paper argues for the
importance of video annotating as an effective method for research that is as
accessible as literature annotation is. Video annotation has been shown to
trigger higher learning and engagement but research struggles to explain the
absence of video annotation in contemporary structures of education practice.
In both academic and informal settings the use of video playback as a
meaningful tool of analysis is apparent, yet the availability of supplementary
annotation software is not within obvious grasp or even prevalent in
standardized computer software. Practical software tools produced by the
researcher have demonstrated effective video annotation in a short development
time. With software design programs available for rapid application creation,
this paper also highlights the absence of a development community. This paper
argues that video annotation is an accessible tool, not just for academic
contexts, but also for wider practical video analysis applications, potentially
becoming a mainstream learning tool. This paper thus presents a practical
multimodal public approach to video research that potentially affords a deeper
analysis of media content. This is supported by an in-depth consideration of
the motivation for undertaking video annotation and a critical analysis of
currently available tools.
