Transcription is undeniably one of the most lucrative jobs and most businesses utilize these services on a daily basis. Transcription is essentially the conversion of an audio or video recording into written form. For the longest time, the medical and legal fields are the industries which greatly utilized transcription services but these days it is almost impossible to find a business which does not need these services during the course of their operations.

There are several challenges transcribers encounter and transcribing stutterers is amongst the list. Recordings with these speech quirks make it quite a task trying to accurately grasp what the speaker is saying. When working with recordings with speech quirks it is important to talk to the client and ask them how they would like you to approach the transcription. This will help you know how to work on the recording and it will also prevent misunderstandings when submitting the final work to the client. This also means saving on time which would be spent reworking the transcription in case the client does not accept it.

It is important to understand that stutters are of importance in certain fields and they should therefore be included in transcripts. However, certain clients may feel like the stutters are unnecessary and will ask you not to include them in the final transcript. Here is a brief guideline to help you as a transcriber effectively work on a recording with speech quirks.

• Note down exactly what the stutter says including the verbatim. This means that if they stutter a word write it out as they have said it and the exact number of times. If they stutter the word three as “th th th three” that is how you should note it down. This type of transcription is greatly used in the legal and research fields, because how the speaker says something is highly of importance as what they are actually saying.
• Another approach would be to write the transcription out without including any stutters. This means that you would only write out the message the transcriptionist was attempting to convey without including how they conveyed it.  There are clients who will specifically ask you to exclude the stutter and only write the word the stutterer was conveying.
• The most common form of transcribing a stutter is using intelligent verbatim. In this case instead of noting down “th th th three,” you would note it down as “th three.” Similarly, there are clients who will ask for only the word being conveyed and not the stutter itself.

Video transcription is essentially the process of transforming video into text format. The transcript in this case contains all the words spoken in the video and in some cases the non-verbal cues as well.

The conversations in a TV show or movie are accurately captured during the video transcription process. The transcription also notes the sound effects accompanying the visuals. These transcriptions are commonly used to subtitle films or TV shows, so that they can be watched and understood by anyone around the globe. Subtitles also help the deaf to enjoy movies and TV shows just like anyone else.

Video transcripts serve a number of other functions, not only for the audience but also for the video production team. During filming of movies or TV shows, producers often have to meet stringent deliverables from networks or studios; hence they produce the transcripts to show the filming progress as well as accurately capture the content and dialogue. Transcripts in this case also help to document camera shots and angles as well as time codes (which are very important during the editing process). Translations are also usually derived from video transcripts, so that diverse translations of the video content can be generated.

Video transcription is not only confined to movies and TV shows; video recordings of commercials, academic sessions, business meetings, songs and interviews can also be transcribed for diverse reasons. These transcripts are often used as references or for documentation purposes in schools, universities and corporate organizations. Transcription has been simplified by digital video formats such as mp4, Quick time, WMV and Real media. Transcripts are also highly useful when it comes to search engine optimization for web casters and pod casters.

Most people upload video transcripts alongside YouTube videos, and thus increase the accessibility of their videos through search engines. The transcript essentially contains the information about a video and search engines such as Google are able to capture certain phrases, which are used to generate the video in Search Engine Results Pages. This means that web users are able to access your video easily and to serve their needs; the video may also at times begin playing at the precise point where the search engine phrase is used.

Video transcription is popularly sort by television networks, film producers, multimedia companies and educational organizations. It is wise to seek the services of a professional transcriptionist because video transcripts require the highest level of accuracy, in order to effectively serve their intended use. More on television transcription.

You can choose the format in which you want your final transcription to be laid out in. If you do not know for certain then we can discuss and offer several suggestions. This will depend on the number of speakers and the final use of the transcription. Most of the formats will not change the cost though extra can be charged if the format requested is special.

You also have several options in the way you want your transcriptions. You can get your transcription in print outs, on disks, in emails or can be posted to our website where you can download them.

With electronic files, there are several formats they can come in. We use the Microsoft office suite but can still use other formats like word perfect, open office, text files, Macintosh files to name but a few. A good thing with modern word processors is that they can read different formats so format may not really matter.

Digital audio Files

Most materials these days are found in digital computer formats. This is due to the establishment of multi- media computers. There are now hand held digital recorders that record on memory cards. They generate audio that you can store on a disk or use the internet to send it. Transcription wave can convert these files and transcribe them even though they come in different formats.

From your audio or video tapes we are able to create files to use on your website. Through consulting with you we will get to know what you need. We understand these formats well and we know which ones can work the best on the internet and web. We use several methods to make your audio files for your purpose to ensure that it is downloaded or transmitted effectively.

Some of the formats for digital audio files include;

Windows WMV, windows PCM (WAV), Microsoft ADPCM (WAV), MPEG3,FHG (MP3)*, MP4, M4A, IMA/DVI ADPCN (WAV),CD and DVD audio disk. Video formats (AVI, MOV, WMV), CCITT mu-law and A-law (WAV).

It is important to note that you should use Constant Bit Rate (CBR) when creating MP3 files for transcription. If you use the Variable Bit Rate (VBR) it will lower quality of the transcription because compression may cause the files to jump while transcribing.  Transcription wave will convert the VBR files for you into CBR files.

Hand held digital recorders use some of these file formats that are proprietary,

Sony memory Stick Voice (MSV), Sony Digital Voice File (DVF), Sony IC Recorder sound (ICS), Olympus (DSS, DS2).

The following are multi track propriety file formats. They are mostly used for court room sessions and law enforcement. They also have other multi-channel recording applications. They include: FTR Gold for The record (ftrgold.com), Libert Court Recorder/Player High Criteria Inc. (highcriteria.com) DCR.

The following are single track or stereo files.

• 8-bit signed raw format (SAM)
• ACM waveform (WAV)
• CCITT mu-Law and A-Law (WAV)
• Dialogic ADPCM (VOX)
• IMA/DVI ADPCM (WAV)
• Real Audio (RA, RAM, RMM, RM, etc.)
• MPEG audio (layers I and II)
• Next/Sun CCITT mu-Law, A-Law and PCM (AU)
• Apple Quicktime
• Raw PCM Data
• SampleVision format (SMP)
• Sound Blaster voice file (VOC)
• TrueSpeech (WAV)
• DiamondWare Digitized (DWD)
• Apple AIFF (PCM encoded data only) (AIF)

Transcription wave are able to transcribe your audio from internet and web sources if we are able to access it from a browser or program. Different audio files have several options that are important for the transcriptions and dictations. The options include:

Tracks: Mono, stereo, multi- track

The tracks you have determine the file size required, the more they are the bigger the file services. For the stereo or multi track unless each track represents a separate microphone at a different location then it is not very useful when it come to transcribing. If this is the case then all the tracks need to be combined for ease of transcription or can be transcribed separately.

Sample Rate

• Sample rates show the number of times each second of audio is recorded. Quality is much better in the faster rates but it takes a bigger size while slow rate’s quality is low but files are smaller.
• The typical sample rates are deducted in sample per second and they are normally 6000, 8000, 11025, 22050, 32000, 44100, 48000, 64000, 88200, 9600 and 176400. 44100 samples per second is the sample rate for CD quality audio.
• The audio frequency that can be reproduced in digital format is at most half the size of the sample rate.  So, at 44100 samples per second, a CD audio can be reproduced at most 22 kilohertz frequencies.
• For voice transcription it is best to use a sample rate of about 22050 samples per second. Transcriptions can be done at lower rates but this compromises the quality by lowering it.

Compression

• Compression can be done to some degree in some audio formats. This makes the files smaller but compromise the audio quality. The compromise may not really affect the quality but if the compression is extreme then it is likely to be seriously affected. These file formats, since they can lose some of their audio quality, are known as lossy files. A good example of this is the MP3 format.
• Compressing files is a trade off of file size to audio quality.  One needs to select a compression file that will not lower the quality of the audio files.  To compress the MP3 files one can use the Variable Bit Rate (VBR) which will significantly reduce the size of the file. It is not advisable to use it though as it cannot be used in that format by the transcriptionist. The recommended format is the Constant Bit Rate (CBR) format.

Sample size (bits)

• Bits are used to measure each of the samples as they have a standard size. The larger the size then it the audio reproduction is accurate and the file created is also large in size. For the smaller size, then the audio will be less accurate but the file size created size will be small.
• The most common sample sizes are 8- bit, 16 bit and 32 bit. The most commonly used is 16 bit.

Be on the lookout for more formats as there are new ones all the time. More on audio and video formats.

Video tape or electronic video files can be defined as video. Digital video files can be used to extract digital audio files which are then transcribed. For easier transcription an intermediate audio tape is made from video tape transcriptions. There are several more formats and standards that can be converted but with a slightly longer lead time.

For video tapes (NTSC) then the formats include

• VHS
• SVHS
• 8mm
• Hi8
• digital 8
• Beta
• ¼ inch

With digital video the formats can include

• WMV
• MPG
• MPEG
• MP4
• FLV
• Quick time files
• AVI
• DVD
• Real video
• VOB

Digital/Tapeless/Phone-In Dictation

Digital dictation and transcription have become the most common in the industry. They are replacing the hand held tape recorders. One can use a hand held recorder that has stores the dictation in memory modules or a phone-in dictation systems.

The initial digital recorders capture audio in proprietary formats which are difficult to convert using conversion machines which do not support their proprietary software.  Devices produced after 2009 can create files in several standard file formats like MP3, MP4 and WMA.

It is encouraged that one considers phone-in dictation as it has several advantages.  Transcription wave also has the capacity to download audio files for transcription, we can also transcribe from voicemail, devices and other digital transcription services.

Video marketing has greatly grown in popularity, because it is one of the mediums used to expose a brand to millions of viewers. Internet marketers who have experience exposing websites and brands using SEO (search engine optimization) have spread their marketing abilities to video sharing platforms found online. YouTube is an online video sharing platforms which is greatly used by internet marketers. This article will explore the use of YouTube’s audio transcription and closed captioning services as video marketing methods.

Video marketing is definitely a field which every business owner should strive to learn. Google has been improving and broaden the scope of search engine results by launching a beta machine for the transcription of online videos. The beta machine is accessible to YouTube and Google, but video owners have to manually upload active transcripts and YouTube closed captioning. It is important to note that these technologies are still relatively in their early stages and the result is still dependent on the clarity of audio accompanying the video. In the end, uploading your own transcript to accompany your YouTube video is the best bet to guarantee accuracy.

The best way to gauge the capabilities of Google transcription is to simply try it out. From your YouTube account select a video and edit it. From the editing options choose caption/subtitles and then download Google’s beta machine to your computer. You will then be able to access the file using note pad or any other text editor to view the contents.

Since Google has now accommodated audio transcripts, it would be beneficial for you to come up with transcripts for your videos. These transcripts will prove to be highly useful, because Google crawler can access them and broaden the reach of your message/brand/website online. The great thing is that you can provide as many transcripts in different languages, to further broaden the reach of your video/website/brand. It is easier to have an English transcript and use Google Translate to create multiple language versions of the transcript.

It is also important to note that not all audio transcription providers will provide closed captioning. You can manually insert time codes to your videos using your Google machine transcription file or an equivalent online service. The transcription might seem like an arduous task and most people generally don’t have time to carry out the task personally. YouTube closed captioning might appear to be technical for some people and in this case the best choice would be to outsource the services of an online marketing service provider. more on YouTube transcription

Have you ever watched a documentary about a given person and as the person seats down on an interview the shot cuts to other footage which might depict what they are talking about? A B Roll is essentially cutaways or secondary footage inserted into interviews to break the monotony of the main shot. In this article the main shot or primary shot will be a reference of the actual interview recording.

B Roll is an integral part of video recording, because it acts as a support or reinforcement of the narrative. It also adds visual flavor and interest, therefore bring life and meaning to the interview piece. B Rolls are also used to emphasize or create a visual backing of what the interviewee is talking about. For instance, if the interviewee is talking about their daily routine then it would be visually appealing to see segments of their daily routine such as taking a bus to work and working.

They do not necessarily have to match what the interviewee is saying. General images such as the interviewee interacting with family members or work mates also add visual flavor to an interview. The cutaways can also act as ‘patchwork’ allowing the video editor to present only the best shots and avoid unflattering segments of the footage. The interviewee might also use a lot of unnecessary words such as errs and ums; cutaways can also be used to seamlessly remove unnecessary audio seamlessly. The other vital use of cutaways is to join different shots together to create the final video in its entirety.

Designing the final look

Having the final look in mind helps to narrow down on the target audience and create a visually appealing end product. Crash zooms and whip pans can be used to capture the attention of a youthful audience, while drifting or slow shots may be used inversely.

The planning process is important

B Rolls do add production value and they therefore deserve proper planning to make sure that only the best footage is obtained. A shot list goes a long way when it comes to capturing cutaways. Planning the sequence of shots is also an important aspect of coming up with good cutaway footage.

Create a professional video interview

Audiences will generally not seat down and watch an entire interview which comprises of only the main shot with all its quality problems. A professional video interview takes into account that at the end of the day the audience have to be captivated and get the message being conveyed. The role of the B Roll is to essentially create a professional video interview. more on b roll transcription

Other than human labor, it is also possible to transcribe speech into text using Adobe premiere CS4 & sound booth CS4. In addition to this, motion graphics fire power can also be used with the after effects CS4. Speech can be transcribed from a Quicktime video to come up with the subtitles needed. To get this done, you will need:

• Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
• Barackin.mov

Creating transcription in Adobe Premiere CS4

Start a new project:

1. Begin the Adobe Premiere Pro
2. Select New Project from the Welcome Screen
3. Specify the name and location of the project in the New Project Panel
4. Click OK
5. Select DV- NTSC Standard 48 kHz in a New Sequence dialogue box
6. Click OK

Importing the video clip

1. Select file > import then move to the BarackIn.mov clip
2. Import the video file to the Premiere by double clicking on it
3. Double click on it once it is on location to have it open at the Source Monitor
4. Use transport controls in the Source Monitor to view the video for a few seconds. Pay close attention to the audio when doing this to judge whether a good job will be done at the end.

Open MetaData View

1. Select the Metadata window to see whether it is enabled
2. Check to see whether it has 3 headings i.e. clip, file and speech.

Creating the Transcription

1. Ensure the clip has been selected and highlighted on the project panel and proceed to click on the transcribe command.
2. You will get a number of options where you are supposed to set the appropriate setting according to the content of the video
3. Select between high quality processing that is usually slower and medium quality processing that is normally faster.
4. You can select identify speakers if you are dealing with more than one speaker.
5. Click OK
6. Adobe Media Encoder handles transcription in Adobe Soundbooth and Adobe Premiere and it launches automatically when you have completed the transcription dialog.
7. The clip should be set in the correct format when it is loaded into Adobe Media Encoder
8. Click on Start Queue command
9. The Encoder encodes the clip while adding the speech transcription metadata on to the video file.

You can work with the new transcription Metadata to correct some of the mistakes made in the transcript.

If you are trying to reach a wider audience with your podcasts, or you simply have a large audience but are looking for a way of presenting the content in a different manner, podcast transcripts could be the answer that you are looking for.

There are numerous benefits of having the episodes of your podcast transcribed. Some of them include:

Search engine optimization- the transcript can be put up on your blog or website and this in turn feeds the search engines with loads of great content where it can crawl and attract more people to your site. This helps you get new listeners and readers to your audience.

Free stuff for people- the transcripts can be given to podcast subscribers at no charge, as a bonus for having them on board.

Easily come up with new products for sale- you can come up with books or courses that can be sold at a small fee as means of generating income from the transcripts. They can also be given out for free if your goal is not to make money.

Reach people you might have not- not everyone is able to listen in to what you have to say on your podcast. Transcripts help numerous people to get the information that you are trying to pass on thus generating the action required.

Instant blog posts and articles- you no longer have to keep banging your head on the desk because you have nothing to write as the transcripts offer instant content for your blog or website. These can be used to drive people to the podcast if they are looking for more information to make it more popular.

Making brandable reports quickly- PDF brander can be used together with affiliate links on the podcast. These can be used by the guests and listeners to make extra commission on some of the products that they like.

Something more for the guests- transcripts can handed out as that something extra that guests have while listening to your podcasts. This helps to retain the listeners as they know you actually care about them.

Make a video-the transcript can be combined with the podcast to make a Power Point Presentation or they can be arranged into various slide shows to make a video easily and quickly.

Transcripts are also a great way to improve search rankings and get to a wider audience which is very beneficial as it helps to make the podcast more successful. More on podcast transcription.

TV is one of the most popular forms of media. As much as there are many people who might want to dispute this, a majority of people still find themselves drawn to the entertainment box. Radio which was more popular in the previous generation is slowly losing its glory. This is mostly because there are numerous gadgets that can be used to listen to music.

Podcasts for example can be used in place of the radio. This is one of the things that is increasingly gaining popularity in social media. Some of the basics that involve the podcasts include:

About podcasts

This is a combination of the words “broadcast” and “iPod”; podcasts are a kind of digital media that is episodic. Users can download to this media via web syndication when they have subscribed. They take the form of the audio although there are video podcasts where slideshows are used.

In the past, they were only used by the techie demographic but the general public son caught up. Content used in the podcasts usually ranges from culture, sports, music and magic among many others.

Social Media and Podcasts

Podcasts were introduced almost at the same time as social media. Most people understand social media as fancy web 2.0 terminologies that are related to Facebook and Twitter which are a means of opening up communication as well as interactions between organizations and their followers, fans and audience, brands and persons.

The podcasts allow for a wider interaction with people mostly because of the syndication feeds. Feeds permit the users to download the podcasts once they have been released and listen to them using a variety of mediums. This is different from the radio where you have to tune in at a specific time or date.

Most of the time, the people who have produced the podcasts will become the producers and vice versa thus they end up holding conversations with each other. Podcasting calling usually calls for active participation and listening.

Content and Freedom

Podcasts empower both the consumer and the producer. Listeners can choose the time they want to listen to the content.

Anyone with a computer and microphone can participate as it does not have too many restrictions. They have become one of the most unique ways of sharing information/content. Podcasts have broad audience, do not have any restrictions, can be used easily as it does not have difficult applications and is one of the major forms of media which gives people voice to be heard. More on podcast transcription

Over the past years, it has become common for individuals to record productions using the SMPTE time code, instead of the 60HZ sync pulse that was used traditionally.  Below you will find an overview and introduction of the time code in conjunction with DAT, and Nagra analog recorders.  The original time code system is referred to as non drop frame as it usually assigns a progressive number to the video frames.  This helps to track the frames accurately but normally poses a problem especially to editors when comparing elapsed “videotape time and “real time”.  This is because the video does not run at 30 frames but 29.97 frames. Thus the editors could lose 3.6 seconds after a show that runs for 60 minutes.

The drop frame time code was developed to “synchronize” clocks in the edit system to deal with elapsed time counters which works like a leap year in repeal. 2 frame numbers are skipped or dropped every 60 second in exception to when the minute ends with a 0 like 00 and 30 etc.

Please note that the video frames are not deleted. Only the numerical labels are worked on.

29.97 is the correct time code frame that should be used on a video. Other options that can be used to rate film include: 24, 25 and 30fps.

When you want to record for a video shoot either non drop or drop mode can be used depending n the recorder.  The non drop frame is however preferred for video because of the reasons found above.  To be on the safe side however, you should always confirm with the camera operator or engineer.

The speed at which the video records at should also be ideal for the audio recorder.

If you want to record audio to be used for a film shoot, the settings differ.

Most of the time the film editors prefer to use non drop timecode as it eliminates confusion when editing thus you should also use it if you have not been instructed otherwise.

30fps is the correct frame that should be used on audio that will be used in the film even when the camera is running on 24fps.

For the audio to stay in sync it has to be slowed down at first so that it can work out well with the picture.

After editing the audio is brought up to speed so that the production can be perfect.  When instructed to use any other settings than non drop 30fps make sure it is in writing so as to avoid any problems later on.

5 running modes that can be used for generating time code:

1. Free run/time of the day
2. Free run/user set
3. Record run time code
4. External
5. Jam- Sync