What is transcription and how to transcribe?

If you’ve ever had an in-depth interview the term ‘transcription’ is probably familiar to you. In fact, some of the daily media content we are exposed to is also the direct result of either ‘audio transcription’ or ‘video transcription’. So what does it stand for and how do you actually ‘transcribe’ content? We address this and more in our new blog.

What does transcription mean?

Transcription literally means “copy” or “convert”. Audio transcription is the conversion of audio to text and video transcription the conversion of your videos audio to text. In other words, a transcribed version of a conversation or video recording. Often people and organizations need a transcript when they have recorded a meeting, monologue or interview or video.

What types of transcription are there?

In the Dutch language there are two options for converting audio into text. You can convert the audio literally or verbatim to text. In a literal elaboration, stop words, repetitions and interjections are included. This may be necessary if the intonation of the speakers needs to be interpreted. The drawback is that this does not make for a very pleasant read. For standard interviews or meetings per example, a literal elaboration of a recording is often unnecessary.

Why transcribe?

By transcribing a meeting, interview, discussion, or video, you generate a complete report that includes all information. Instead of taking minutes on the spot and limiting your own participation, you can record the conversation and transcribe it afterwards. Doing so ensures that no information is lost and you can actively listen in during the conversation. You can then use the transcript for research purposes or for data storage. For a journalist, converting a sound recording to paper is an excellent to thoroughly analyze an interview and to correctly formulate quotes in an article or press release. As we know all too well, a wrong quote or even misquote can have serious consequences.

What is the difference between transcribing and subtitling?

On one hand, a transcript is a written version of an audio fragment that is often used for research purposes. Transcription is usually a literal elaboration, including stop words like “uh” of “hmm”, as well as audio descriptions of sounds like [laughter] of [phone rings].

On the other hand, subtitles are a textual version of only the spoken text accompanying a video clip. The sentences are thereby compressed so that the viewer can keep up with the speaker. You can often find subtitles at the bottom of a video or movie per example.

How do I get a transcript of my video?

A transcript file is also referred to as .txt. It is very easy to get a .txt from your video by using Triple8. You can create this within 5 minutes in the Triple8 editor by following the steps below:

1. Upload your video
   
2. Edit the subtitles where necessary
   
3. Download as textfile