Transcribing audio to text is a time consuming process. If you need video transcription services, it’s likely that you may need to switch back and forth between your video and transcript. Options for your time coded transcripts will depend on the intended use. We can offer video transcription with time codes within the transcripts for research and reference purposes, for translation, logging of rushes or for closed or open subtitles. If you’re not sure what format is best for you, here are some helpful hints.

Standard Video Transcription with Time Codes

If you need to transcribe your videos to be used as reference or for research purposes, time codes every 30 seconds should suffice as a marker to locate important quotations or sections of audio. Typically, the further apart the time codes, the lower the cost, so for larger projects, a time code every minute or even every five minutes may suffice as an indication as to where to find things.

Time Coded Transcription for Translation

Working with video translation can be a tough business. Translating your videos directly from audio may be tempting, but the most accurate translation services involve foreign video transcription and then translation from a document. Time coding your video transcription means if there are any potential errors or confusing elements in the transcript, a linguist can easily listen back and reference the audio to clarify things.

Multilingual Transcription with Time Codes

If a foreign video has multiple languages, time coded transcription can be very important in terms of translation. Time stamps are especially important if you are looking to reducing costs. If you have a video that features French, German and English, and request translation services to cover a full video, charges may be threefold. This is because both translators and transcriptionists will need to work with the full video just to locate their section. However, if you are able to time code any French or German within an English transcription, charges can be lower. Time coded translation means linguists are able to simply skip to their respective language rather than wasting time locating it.

Logging Rushes

Video producers can use time codes and transcription to ease the burden of working with huge amounts of raw footage. All of this footage needs to be logged and indexed prior to working on editing. Logging rushes includes transcribing speech, logging shots and describing visuals, all alongside all-important time codes.

Time Coded Transcription Formats (Word, Excel, PDF and TXT)

Video transcripts can be provided in a variety of different formats, with different benefits. Word documents are great if you are expecting to make lot’s of edits to texts or publishing the video transcript. Excel spreadsheets can be brilliant if you are interested in analysing the data on your transcript. They are also helpful if you’re considering translating your video into a number of different languages. PDF documents work well for videos where there is confidential information that you would like to lock from editing, or you would like to share your document with a wide audience and are looking for a document format which is universally available. Plain text files are useful as they can be imported between a number of different programmes without causing compatibility issues.

Video Transcription and Onscreen Timed Text (Subtitles and Closed Captions)

There are a huge number of benefits to adding subtitles or closed captions to videos. Perhaps you would like your videos to appeal to foreign audiences, and would therefore like to translate subtitles. Maybe you would like to provide closed captions for the deaf and hard of hearing or children’s television shows. Or finally, you might want basic subtitles to boost your online SEO. Subtitling involves a process of transcription, time coding and/or translation. Prices can be significantly higher for timing text for captions. Where standard time codes may have intervals of every 30 seconds, subtitles generally have a maximum of seven second intervals and should be accurate to up to 1/50^th of a second, depending on your video frame rate.

If you are interested in getting your videos subtitled, adding captions to them or getting your audio or video material time coded, contact us today for your free quote. We pride ourselves on our quality of work and fast turnaround times, so get in touch today.