When we listen to people talking, we often skip words or sentences but it doesn't matter, because we understand the gist of what they are saying. However, when you are the transcriber, you have to focus on each and every single word they are saying, and put them down in writing.
A transcriber's best friend is a good audio/video file with clear voice and understandable accent. That doesn't always happen, so you need to be prepared and well-practiced in different kinds of accents and tones. There's no better way to increase your proficiency in transcription than practicing. The more you practice, the faster you get. Besides, this is a great way to create some samples for yourself. If you have enough samples to show a potential client when applying for a job, you have a higher chance of getting the job.
The key to creating transcription samples is variety. Instead of transcribing the same kind of audio/video files to show your client, widen your portfolio to include voices of different accents, different subject matters, different topics, different age, etc. In this post, I am attaching a few YouTube links of videos, and attempting to transcribe the first few seconds of them. Read on!
Sample#1: Cooking videos
This is a very popular cooking channel in YouTube. This particular video is on making cupcakes. Let's start transcribing.
"Hey bakers! John Kanell here, and today on Preppy Kitchen, I am making the ultimate chocolate cupcake. Or.... is this the ultimate chocolate cupcake? Too much frosting? Do let me know! This stuff is so good you'll be directly piping it into your mouth. So, either make a double batch of it or have someone keep an eye on you. Let's get started.
"I am adding 180 grams, or one-and-a-half cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl with a sifter above it. One-and-a-third cups of sugar. Wow... in you go! Half a teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of baking soda."
This kind of videos are easy to transcribe, as they have easy language and not many hard words. The baker himself is speaking very fast, but he is still easy to understand.
Sample#2: Instructional/Advisory Video
This is a sample of a guideline on giving efficient interviews. Let's start.
Interviewer: "So, tell me about yourself."
Candidate: "I, umm [hesitates]."
Interviewer: "So.[Pause] Tell me about yourself."
Candidate: "Well, I ... [hesitates]. I like, ah..."
Interviewer: "Hmm. So. Tell me about yourself."
Candidate: "Can I ... call a friend?"
Interviewer: You submitted the resume and you waited, and you waited patiently, and finally, you got that phone call. And now, you got the interview. You're sitting across the table, and the hiring manager smiles and asks a question. Tell me about yourself. And you panic."
The accent and the voice in this video is extremely clear. The words are clearly spoken with enough gap between words. This is an easy video to transcribe.
P.S. This is an example of "Verbatim" transcription, which means that you write exactly what you hear. Note that I have included all the "ah"s and the "umm"s, as well as bracketed the [hesitations] and [pauses]. In this kind of transcription, you write down everything you hear, and at times, see.
Sample#3: TedTalks
TedTalks are usually easy to transcribe, because most speakers speak in a clear and loud voice. Besides, you can get different accents and different subject matters to transcribe. In fact, you can build your entire portfolio based on TedTalk videos.
"Some of you must have seen the video of this song online, and I"ll tell you the story of how I made it. But, before that, I have a question for all of you. So how many of us over here have celebrity crushes? [Raises hand].
"[Chuckles] See, all ... almost all. Right? And I am sure some of us must have done something crazy to reach out to these crushes. This friend of mine, one day, decided to pack his bags and leave his home in Baroda, and come to Mumbai, to meet the love of his life. Ameesha Patel. [Audience laughing].
Sample#4: Interviews
Interviews can be harder to transcribe if the people involved use a lot of technical terms or jargon. Besides, interviews aren't always between two people; sometimes, there could be 5 to 6 people in a single conversation, and this makes the audio/video harder to transcribe. Here is an easy sample.
Interviewer: At what point did they tell you the secret ingredient in Coke? I presume you know the secret ingredient in Coke.
John Quincey: Yes, I do.
Interviewer: There has been the question of sugar taxes. Won't that affect Coke's revenues?
John Quincey: Tax anything, and the result is that the sale of that product will go down. One has to ask oneself the question, "What is the objective of any tax?" There was a recent study done on the Californian tax.
Sample#5: News
News clips are also easy to transcribe. News presenters and journalists are especially trained to speak clearly and their accents are very easy to understand, regardless of their background. Here's an example.
"Now, I love everything about this.I'm going to introduce you to an idea, that I wish I had thought of it. This is exactly what we need, right now, and somebody you know very, very well. You know Chris Evans; you know him as 'Captain America', and a great actor in a lot of other roles, and a career that's getting stronger and stronger. But, I want to remind you of what he did recently, and what he did is phenomenal."
Sample#6: Documentaries/Exotic Accents
Some accents are extremely difficult to understand, even when the speakers are using regular words. Since we are mostly used to American and Indian accents, usually Australian, Scottish, British, Irish, etc. accents can be difficult to understand.
"With thousands of miles of coastlines, lush rolling hills, fresh water pouring over mountains, fertile lands and variant weather, it's little wonder that Scotland boosts a larder that's heaven for foodies. So, let's pack some forks and knives, along with our taste buds, and set off on a voyage of discovery."
Sample#5: Medical Transcription
Anyone can try medical transcription; you don't need to be a medical student or have a medial background for this. Some names and terms can be hard to understand, but you can always Google them.
In this film, we are going to explain how your body processes the food that you eat, in order to provide all your body cells with the energy they need. And also, what happens when you have diabetes and this system doesn't work properly.
When you eat food that contains carbohydrate, it's broken down in the stomach and digestive system into glucose, which is a type of sugar. We need glucose from food because that's what gives us energy."
I'll elaborate on this topic more on the next class. That's all for today.
Thank you
ReplyDelete