Transcription Guide:

What is Transcription?

Transcription is the art of transforming audio/video files into texts/words. The artist who does transcription is called transcriptionist. The final art (document/information) is called Transcript. Transcription is a real art and it's not just about how fast you can type. In fact, in some cases typing speed may not matter at all. Correct punctuation, spelling, and formatting are what make a transcript excellent.

Why transcription is so important?

With the explosion of video throughout the internet, everyone who wants to ensure their video content can easily be found by search engines are turning to transcription. Simply because search engines can not search inside an audio or video file.

News channels use transcripts to quote someone's statement. Corporations use them for copywriting, market research and focus groups. Academics use transcripts of conferences and interviews they’ve attended for various purposes.

Videos are exploding exponentially all over the internet, and it’s only growing. seminars, lectures, training, videotaped or recorded legal proceedings, marketing videos, tutorials, the list of things in demand of transcription is really endless because as long as the video is around it will continue to grow.

Prerequisite

1. Good knowledge of the language you want to transcribe in. (English in this case.)

In every language, there are many variations which are associated with a region. And these variations change as we move from one region to another. So for a transcriber, it's quite important to understand all these variations. If your English is weak, I strongly advise you to either improve your English or don't waste your time in transcription.

2. If you're good at Grammar, writing skills, pronunciation, Spelling, your journey is going to be fun.

3. Good listening skills are a must if you want to be a successful transcriber.

4. Noise-free workspace.

5.Good quality earphone. Click this link to check out some good quality earphones from Amazon.com

6. Laptop or desktop. Click this link to check out best laptops for a transcription job.

7. Internet.

Here is the best step by step guide to get started.

1. Sign up for any of online website there are hundreds of them.
Example: scribie.com, gotranscript.com, transcribeme.com, rev.com, crowdsurfwork.com, upwork.com, freelancing.com. and many more...
If you are a beginner and don't have good enough knowledge and experience about transcription, I strongly suggest three points to remember

1. Learning/Training should be your top priority, earning comes later.
2. Learn transcription from experience.
3. Start from the easiest level (scribie.com), work for some time, improve yourself and then target higher levels.

2. Qualify for the exam

Apply all of your knowledge you've gained so far but Never overlook, I say it again Never overlook style guide of that website. It's important that you yourself pass the exam without cheating otherwise you can not do transcription even if you somehow pass the test.

3. Once you are in, be clever at audio files selection. Prefer the highest quality audio files and avoid low-quality audio files (files with background noise, too many speakers, accented) even if they offer slightly higher pay. Never choose a file which you can't transcribe within the deadline (TAT).

4. Download the audio files if possible and use online tools to save time and energy because time is money in this industry.

5. Add Grammarly to your chrome extension for grammar check and punctuation. Spelling and grammar can be taken care of by Grammarly but you still need to keep in mind some punctuation rules.

6. Edit the transcript keeping in mind style guide (punctuation included) have a printed copy of style guide on the desk if possible. Remove errors from the transcript according to style guide of the website you are working for.

Punctuation Guide.
For detailed information on punctuation click the link below.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/writing/punctuation

Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.