diff --git a/viewer/src/components/Player.tsx b/viewer/src/components/Player.tsx
index 265dec2..e42d1ed 100644
--- a/viewer/src/components/Player.tsx
+++ b/viewer/src/components/Player.tsx
@@ -1,53 +1,29 @@
-import dynamic from "next/dynamic";
-const ReactPlayer = dynamic(() => import("react-player/lazy"), { ssr: false });
-import { useState, useRef, useEffect } from "react";
 import { useRouter } from 'next/router';
-import WebVttPlayer from "./WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayer";
+import WebVttPlayerFunctional from "./WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayerFunctional";
 
 // functional component PlayerReact that uses ReactPlayer
-// TODO: parameterize video source and VTT source with props (general spec for 3rd party use!). must define spec.
+// TODO: better parameterize video source and VTT source with props (general spec for 3rd party use!). must define spec.
 export default function Player() {
 
-    // get files in directory "../../data" without using fs
     const router = useRouter();
 
+    const videoUrl = '/data/MIT Regressions intro video.mp4' // BIZARRE BUG: react-player component only works when I live-reload URL to valid path. if Chrome loads directly, then returns "failed to load media".
     const audioUrl = router.asPath + 'data/MIT Regressions intro audio.mp3'
     const transcriptUrl = router.asPath + "data/MIT Regressions intro captions.vtt"
     const metadataUrl = router.asPath + "data/MIT Regressions intro metadata.vtt"
 
     return (
         <>
-            <div className="player-wrapper">
-                <ReactPlayer
-                    className="react-player"
-                    url="https://youtu.be/TGKk3iwoI9I"
-                    width="100%"
-                    height="100%"
-                    config={{
-                        file: {
-                            tracks: [
-                                {
-                                    kind: 'subtitles',
-                                    label: 'test',
-                                    src: 'subs/mit regressions subtitles unfinished.vtt',
-                                    srcLang: 'en',
-                                    default: true
-                                },
-                            ]
-                        }
-                    }}
-                />
-            </div>
-            <div>
-                <div id="control-panel" className="flex flex-row">
+            <div id="control-panel" className="flex flex-row">
                     <button id="show-metadata" className="bg-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-400 dark:bg-gray-800 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 py-2 px-4">Show Metadata</button>
-                </div>
-                <WebVttPlayer
-                    preload={false}
-                    audio={audioUrl}
-                    transcript={transcriptUrl}
-                    metadata={metadataUrl} />
             </div>
+            <WebVttPlayerFunctional
+                preload={false}
+                audio={audioUrl}
+                videoUrl={videoUrl}
+                transcript={transcriptUrl}
+                metadataUrl={metadataUrl}
+            />
         </>
     );
 }
diff --git a/viewer/src/components/VideoPlayer.tsx b/viewer/src/components/VideoPlayer.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0bf06b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/viewer/src/components/VideoPlayer.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import ReactPlayer from "react-player/lazy";
+// import CustomReactPlayer from "./CustomReactPlayer";
+
+interface PlayerRef {
+    seeking: boolean;
+    played: number;
+    duration: number;
+    seekTo: (time: number) => void;
+}
+// inherit prop playing from parent component
+export default function VideoPlayer({ playerRef, playing, videoUrl, transcriptUrl }: { playerRef: React.RefObject<PlayerRef>, playing: boolean, videoUrl: string, transcriptUrl: string }) {
+    // ReactPlayer.addCustomPlayer(CustomReactPlayer);
+    return (
+        <ReactPlayer
+            ref={playerRef}
+            crossOrigin="anonymous"
+            playing={playing}
+            controls={true}
+            // url="https://youtu.be/TGKk3iwoI9I"
+            url={videoUrl}
+            onSeek={e => console.log('onSeek', e)}
+            config={{
+                file: {
+                    forceVideo: true,
+                    tracks: [
+                        {   
+                            label: 'English',
+                            kind: 'captions',
+                            src: transcriptUrl,
+                            srcLang: 'en',
+                            default: true,
+                        },
+                    ],
+                },
+            }}
+        />
+    );
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/Transcript.tsx b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/Transcript.tsx
index 70e82ce..8641730 100644
--- a/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/Transcript.tsx
+++ b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/Transcript.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import React, { Component } from 'react'
 import TranscriptLine from './TranscriptLine'
-// import './Track.css' // currently exists in global instead. gotta consolidate this
+// import './Track.css' // currently exists in global instead. TODO: consolidate this styling
 
 class Transcript extends Component<TranscriptProps> {
 
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ class Transcript extends Component<TranscriptProps> {
         lines.push(
           <TranscriptLine
             key={`line-${i}`}
-            cue={this.props.track.cues[i]} 
-            active={false} 
-            seek={this.props.seek} 
+            cue={this.props.track.cues[i]}
+            active={false}
+            seek={this.props.seek}
             query={this.props.query} />
         )
       }
diff --git a/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayer.tsx b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayer.tsx
index a70f740..ca5d6fc 100644
--- a/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayer.tsx
+++ b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayer.tsx
@@ -4,33 +4,48 @@ import Metadata from './Metadata'
 import Search from './Search'
 import './WebVttPlayer.module.css'
 
+import dynamic from "next/dynamic";
+const ReactPlayer = dynamic(() => import("react-player/lazy"), { ssr: false });
+
 // type for props
 type WebVttProps = {
-  audio: string,
+  video: string,
   transcript: string,
   metadata: string,
   preload: boolean
 }
 
 
-class WebVttPlayer extends Component<WebVttProps, { loaded: boolean, currentTime: number, query: string }> {
+interface VideoRef {
+  seeking: boolean;
+  played: number;
+  duration: number;
+  seekTo: (time: number) => void;
+}
+
+class WebVttPlayer extends Component<WebVttProps, { loaded: boolean, currentTime: number, query: string, seeking: boolean, played: Float64Array, playing: boolean }> {
   metatrack: React.RefObject<unknown>
+  video: React.RefObject<unknown>
   audio: React.RefObject<unknown>
   track: React.RefObject<unknown>
 
-
   constructor(props: WebVttProps) {
     super(props)
     this.state = {
       loaded: false,
       currentTime: 0,
-      query: ''
+      query: '',
+      seeking: false,
+      played: new Float64Array(0),
+      playing: false,
     }
 
     this.track = React.createRef()
     this.metatrack = React.createRef()
     this.audio = React.createRef()
-
+    this.video = React.createRef();
+    // const playerRef=useRef();
+    
     this.onLoaded = this.onLoaded.bind(this)
     this.seek = this.seek.bind(this)
     this.checkIfLoaded = this.checkIfLoaded.bind(this)
@@ -41,12 +56,19 @@ class WebVttPlayer extends Component<WebVttProps, { loaded: boolean, currentTime
     this.checkIfLoaded()
   }
 
+  handlePause = () => {
+    console.log('onPause')
+    this.setState({ playing: false })
+  }
+
+
   render() {
     let track = null
     let metatrack = null
     if (this.state.loaded) {
       track = this.track.current.track
       metatrack = this.metatrack.current.track
+      console.log("loaded video.current : ", this.video.current);
     }
     const preload = this.props.preload ? "true" : "false"
     const metadata = this.props.metadata
@@ -60,6 +82,18 @@ class WebVttPlayer extends Component<WebVttProps, { loaded: boolean, currentTime
       <div className="webvtt-player">
         <div className="media">
           <div className="player">
+            
+            <ReactPlayer
+              // a ref that works in our class component
+              ref={this.video}
+              controls={true}
+              onPause={this.handlePause}
+              crossOrigin="anonymous"
+              className="react-player"
+              url="https://youtu.be/TGKk3iwoI9I"
+              onSeek={e => console.log('onSeek', e)}
+              onProgress={this.handleProgress}
+            />
             <audio
               controls
               crossOrigin="anonymous"
@@ -106,9 +140,38 @@ class WebVttPlayer extends Component<WebVttProps, { loaded: boolean, currentTime
     }
   }
 
+  // handleSeekMouseDown = e => {
+  //   this.setState({ seeking: true })
+  // }
+
+  // handleSeekChange = e => {
+  //   this.setState({ played: parseFloat(e.target.value) })
+  // }
+
+  // handleSeekMouseUp = e => {
+  //   this.setState({ seeking: false })
+  //   this.player.seekTo(parseFloat(e.target.value))
+  // }
+
+  handleProgress = state => {
+    console.log('onProgress', state)
+    // We only want to update time slider if we are not currently seeking
+    if (!this.state.seeking) {
+      this.setState(state)
+    }
+  }
+
+  // ORIGINAL
   seek(secs: number) {
+    // scrub audio
     this.audio.current.currentTime = secs
     this.audio.current.play()
+
+    // scrub video
+    this.setState({ seeking: true })
+    console.log("this.video", this.video);
+    this.video.current?.seekTo(parseFloat(secs)) // TODO: should probs refactor ref to this.player
+
   }
 
   updateQuery(query: string) {
diff --git a/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayerFunctional.tsx b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayerFunctional.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50caa77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/viewer/src/components/WebVttPlayer/WebVttPlayerFunctional.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+import { useLayoutEffect, useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
+import dynamic from "next/dynamic";
+// const ReactPlayer = dynamic(() => import("react-player/lazy"), { ssr: false });
+import Transcript from './Transcript'
+import Metadata from './Metadata'
+import Search from './Search'
+const VideoPlayer = dynamic(() => import("../VideoPlayer"), { ssr: false });
+
+type WebVttPlayerFunctionalProps = {
+    audio: string,
+    videoUrl: string, // TODO: make naming scheme consistent lol
+    transcript: string,
+    metadataUrl: string,
+    preload: boolean,
+};
+
+interface ReactPlayerRef {
+    seeking: boolean;
+    played: number;
+    duration: number;
+    seekTo: (time: number) => void;
+}
+
+interface NativePlayerRef {
+    currentTime: number;
+    ended: boolean;
+    loop: boolean;
+    muted: boolean;
+    play: () => void;
+}
+
+export default function WebVttPlayerFunctional(props: WebVttPlayerFunctionalProps) {
+    const [trackLoaded, setTrackLoaded] = useState(false);
+    const [metatrackLoaded, setMetatrackLoaded] = useState(false);
+    const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
+
+    // TODO: determine if these should be set
+    const [currentTime, setCurrentTime] = useState(0);
+    const [seeking, setSeeking] = useState(false);
+    const [played, setPlayed] = useState(new Float64Array(0));
+    const [playing, setPlaying] = useState(false);
+
+    const trackRef = useRef(null);
+    const metatrackRef = useRef(null);
+
+    const reactPlayerRef = useRef<ReactPlayerRef>(null);
+    const nativePlayerRef = useRef<NativePlayerRef>(null);
+
+    const preload = props.preload ? "true" : "false"
+
+    useLayoutEffect(() => {
+
+        // Get a reference to the track and metatrack elements
+        const track = trackRef.current;
+        const metatrack = metatrackRef.current;
+
+        // Check if the tracks are fully loaded
+        if (track && track.track && track.track.cues && track.track.cues.length > 0) {
+            setTrackLoaded(true);
+        }
+
+        if (metatrack && metatrack.track && metatrack.track.cues && metatrack.track.cues.length > 0) {
+            setMetatrackLoaded(true);
+        }
+
+    }, [trackLoaded, metatrackLoaded]);
+
+
+
+    // if we figure out how to get access to Track refs with react-player (even in YouTube videos! That would be awesome), then we can start using this 
+    function reactPlayerSeek(secs: string) {
+
+        if (reactPlayerRef.current) {
+            reactPlayerRef.current.seekTo(parseFloat(secs))
+        }
+        setPlaying(true);
+    }
+
+    function seek(secs: number) {
+        if (nativePlayerRef.current) {
+
+            nativePlayerRef.current.currentTime = secs;
+            nativePlayerRef.current.play();
+        }
+        setPlaying(true);
+    }
+
+    return (
+        <>
+            <div className="webvtt-player">
+                <div className="media">
+                    <div className="player">
+                        {/* <VideoPlayer playerRef={video} playing={playing} videoUrl={props.videoUrl} transcriptUrl={props.transcript} /> */}
+                        {/* a vanilla video element with source and tracks. so much easier oh my god */}
+                        <video
+                            preload={preload}
+                            ref={nativePlayerRef}
+                            crossOrigin="anonymous"
+                            controls={true}
+                        >
+                            <source src={props.videoUrl} type="video/mp4" />
+                            <track
+                                ref={trackRef}
+                                kind="subtitles"
+                                src={props.transcript}
+                                srcLang="en"
+                                default={true}
+                            />
+                            <track default
+                                kind="metadata"
+                                src={props.metadataUrl}
+                                ref={metatrackRef} />
+                        </video>
+                    </div>
+                    <div className="tracks">
+                        {trackLoaded ? (
+                            <>
+                                <Transcript
+                                    url={props.transcript}
+                                    seek={seek}
+                                    track={trackRef.current.track}
+                                    query={query}
+                                />
+                            </>
+                        ) : (
+                            "Loading transcript..."
+                        )}
+                        {metatrackLoaded && props.metadataUrl ? (
+                            <>
+                                <Metadata
+                                    url={props.metadataUrl}
+                                    seek={seek}
+                                    track={metatrackRef.current.track}
+                                />
+                            </>
+                        ) : (
+                            "\nLoading metadata..." // TODO: make better logic for showing if we wanna serve metadata
+                        )}
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+            </div>
+        </>
+    );
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/viewer/src/pages/index.tsx b/viewer/src/pages/index.tsx
index ae98e6d..8eeee8a 100644
--- a/viewer/src/pages/index.tsx
+++ b/viewer/src/pages/index.tsx
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
-import React from "react";
+import React, { useRef } from "react";
 import { type NextPage } from "next";
 import Head from "next/head";
 
 import { signIn, signOut, useSession } from "next-auth/react";
 
 import { trpc } from "../utils/trpc";
-import {useTheme} from 'next-themes'
+import { useTheme } from 'next-themes'
 import Player from '../components/Player'
 
+
 const Home: NextPage = () => {
 
   const hello = trpc.example.hello.useQuery({ text: "from tRPC" });
-  const {theme, setTheme} = useTheme()
+  const { theme, setTheme } = useTheme()
 
   return (
     <>
@@ -21,9 +22,9 @@ const Home: NextPage = () => {
         <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" />
       </Head>
       <main className="flex min-h-screen flex-col items-center justify-center bg-white dark:bg-black">
-      <button onClick={() => setTheme(theme === 'dark' ? 'light' : 'dark')} className="bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-800 text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 py-2 px-4 absolute top-4 right-4">
-        toggle theme
-      </button>
+        <button onClick={() => setTheme(theme === 'dark' ? 'light' : 'dark')} className="bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-800 text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-200 py-2 px-4 absolute top-4 right-4">
+          toggle theme
+        </button>
         <div className="container flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-12 px-4 py-16 ">
           <h1 className="text-1xl font-extrabold tracking-tight text-black dark:text-white sm:text-[3rem]">
             viewer
@@ -32,9 +33,6 @@ const Home: NextPage = () => {
           <Player />
 
           <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-2">
-            <p className="text-2xl text-black dark:text-white">
-              {hello.data ? hello.data.greeting : "Loading tRPC query..."}
-            </p>
             <AuthShowcase />
           </div>
         </div>