Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with transcription

Who can I pay to type up my notes?

zachlipton — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:27:28 -0800

TypeMyNotesPleaseFilter: I periodically find myself in need of this service, which obviously must exist, yet I cannot find. I have a bunch of handwritten notes, not written with any kind of fancy smartpen, but rather, just pencil on paper. I would like to be able to scan said notes myself and send them to some kind of service wherein I can pay someone to type them up and send me back a decently formatted copy with a turnaround time of 12-24 hours. Who do I ask to do this? There are a number of past posts on OCR-related methods for doing this, but I've never used one that actually works. Generally, the transcription would be happening during nighttime in the US. I'd far rather have a reasonable level of errors than pay top dollar for camera-ready copy. Of course, I need a usable level of quality as well.

For the most part, these are notes for personal use, without any specialized medical or legal terms. I've found tons of audio transcription services that will type up conversations, but I'm having a ton of trouble finding the 2009-era quick and dirty (i.e. fast and cheap) equivalent to Allison, Don Draper's secretary on Mad Men for a little word processing.

Bonus points if you've used one of these services before and can recommend them or give tips on their use. At this point, even a better idea of what I should be Googling for would be quite helpful.

I need to transcribe some stuff, get some audio from A to B

booknerd — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:00:25 -0800

My library is doing oral histories with a Canon HD video camera, then migrating them into iMovie to eventually edit and burn to DVDs to store. I've been tasked with the tech-side of this, a job I'm woefully unqualified for. I need help converting iMovie files into some sort of audio format to transcribe them! Right now, the priority is to transcribe the audio from the iMovie files to print out and bind into books. I found this free software that looks perfect, and bought a USB transcribing foot pedal. Since I'm doing this on a new MacBook, I downloaded the OSX version of the software, although I suppose if I have to I can run the Windows version in Parallels. The audio formats I can use are wav, mp3, aiff and dct files. What's the best way to do this? I can export from iMovie to a 3gp Quicktime video, but as far as I can tell, there's no way to export the audio to any of those formats from either iMovie or Quicktime. Please help, so I can spend the next several months of my job listening to kooky zoo stories!

OS X Speech Transcription

aladfar — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:07:39 -0800

OS X dictation/transcription software: is it worthwhile? I've recorded several hours of audio onto an MP3 voice recorder. I'd like to move the files to my mac, and run them through dictation software. Is this feasible? It seems my only choice in this space is MacSpeech Dictate - it runs $199, and no demo is offered. I'm happy to pay, but only if I can be assured that it runs reasonably well. I don't mind putting some time into training, and will be very happy if it can reduce the overall effort of manual transcription by 50% or so.

Alternatively, I've given some thought to outsourcing the task to Mechanical Turk or an overseas freelancer (a topic discussed previously). But as these audio files constitute a personal journal, I'm wary of sharing them with a third party.

Scoping experiences

thesmallmachine — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:49:49 -0800

Are there any scopists here? What has your experience been like? A friend of mine has been doing it for years, and she's made an acceptable living, but I'd like some more perspectives on it - particularly about whether you've found it difficult to build up a client base. My friend has had steady work for most of her career, but I realize that hers might be the best-case outcome.

(For those clicking on from curiosity: scopists work with court transcripts - first translating a reporter's steno to English using special software, and then editing the result. My friend is a freelancer who works directly with reporters, though I'm told that there are more formal paths as well.)

To apply or not to apply.

Anonymous — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:35:01 -0800

Should I bother applying to this employment agency? I'm good at working independently and can type 70wpm, and have started looking into transcription work. Someone recently tipped me off to a transcription agency not far from me. As I was looking into their company, I learned that the president of the company also owns a temp agency with whom I worked in 2003. They placed me in some questionable jobs, and after I got fired from one of them (for inappropriate conduct on behalf of the company, which I didn't feel comfortable telling my recruiter) they never asked me back. This is a small, independently-owned temp agency in Massachusetts that hired quite a few temps when I was there. Should I bother clearing the air to my potential supervisor about my previous time there? (FWIW, I never met the president of the company.) Would they remember me? Should I not even bother applying?

The route to better transcription

low_horrible_immoral — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:19:27 -0800

Looking for your transcription hints and tips! I've just starting transcription (ie, typing from digital files) on a freelance basis. I'm doing fairly well but I'm sure there are load of ways I could work faster and more accurately - Word shortcuts, playback software (at the moment I use ExpressScribe), optimising the time it takes me to check things.

Are there any transcribers out there willing to share their hints and tips? Anything at all would be useful.

Thanks!

Need a way to train my ear to recognize tones accurately so that I can improve my transcription data.

iamkimiam — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:34:12 -0800

Looking for a flash exercise/game or some way to train my ear to recognizing tone so that I can be a better transcriber. I'm currently researching two tonal languages and I need a way to practice/improve on my skills so that my data is more complete. I don't want to devote a lot of time to this, maybe a few hours. Are there any tools out there that can help me? Just to be clear, I'm not really looking for info about what tone is, how it works, etc. I just need to practice in a way that allows me to correct inaccuracies. I'm currently pretty bad at recognizing tones. And I'm fairly sure I'm not tone deaf.

Thanks!!

What's the best (free) software to automatically transcribe a 50-minute speech?

chefscotticus — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:26:55 -0800

What's the best (free) software to automatically transcribe a 50-minute speech? What's the best (free) software to automatically transcribe a 50-minute speech?

I gave a speech extemporaneously that was recorded. I need to write a new one, and would like to base it on the one I've already given. I just need to get the basic points of what I said -- perfect transcription not necessary.

This is very time sensitive project, and would prefer to find a free solution.

Suggestions?

Using Transcription Software in the Classroom

fantasticninety — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:07:24 -0800

Has anyone used a live transcribing software as an educational tool in the classroom? I've looked a little bit into this program, Dragon Software in English OR Dragon Software in French and am wondering if anyone has used it in the classroom live with students.

I teach French, and thought that if the program was good enough, and most importantly allowed you to speak normally and not goofily in order for it to recognise the words, then it could be really helpful for students to see the words as they appeared on the screen.

Obviously, I would need it to be a wireless mic and have the option of switching it off at a moment's notice. If anyone has any experience with this product or something very similar that they use in the classroom I'd be very interested to hear about your experience. Thanks!

Aidez-moi à transcrire!

molybdenum — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:36:30 -0800

Help me transcribe 22 seconds of French! I have a video in French that I'd like to transcribe: a 22-second clip of that video, to be precise. The video is here, and I'm looking for a transcription of 4:30 until 4:52. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two for a native French speaker.

Background: I'm in a class in which I'm working on the design of a video-annotation project to assist in foreign-language education. We're building a mock-up, and my group wanted to use a clip of French soccer game as an example. As a former French major, I naively volunteered to find a video of a French soccer game and transcribe / translate it...only to find that my French skills are no longer up to the task! After struggling with it for an hour, I hung my head in shame and resigned myself to asking metafilter. Can someone help? The little I was able to understand is below...

Jamel Debbouze...Jamel Debbouze toujours
[...]
comme le contre [...] centré...le ballon qui va être dégagé par les amis de Ronaldo
[...] pour l'instant, un bon quart d'heure
[...]
difficile à remonter le terrain
[...]

Note 1: If anyone can suggest a pre-transcribed / closed-captioned French-language soccer game video, that would work just as well!
Note 2: I realize the game in the video is a charity game, and that Debbouze isn't even a soccer player. But for the purposes of this demo, I don't think it matters.

Transcribe to Mac

segatakai — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:17:41 -0800

Please recommend a solution for transcribing voice to text on my Mac. Ok. What I want to do is to have a (relatively small) device that I can carry with me, and, when the mood hits, speak into the device and have it record my voice. Later, I want to have my voice transcribed into editable text on my (PowerPC) PowerBook G4, which is running OS 10.5.2. Ideally (though perhaps unrealistically) I'd like to not spend more than about $250. Questions like this have been asked before, but are either outdated, inconclusive, or recommend $400 and up machines without really addressing the transcription issue (or all or the above).

I thought that this would be relatively simple (though I guessed the transcription might be somewhat less than 100% accurate), but I'm having trouble finding any clear-cut solution. I'm willing to be open-minded about solutions, including jerry-rigging (sp?) something. What exactly are my choices here?

First I looked at speech recognition/transcribing software for the Mac. It appears that IBM's Via Voice was discontinued some time ago, and anyway it seems to only be compatible up to OS 10.3 (maybe it was discontinued before 10.4?). MacSpeech seems to have replaced iListen with Dictate, which is apparently not-compatible with PowerPC macs (like mine). iListen, from what I can tell, would work with my Mac. However, my Googling has come up short; where can one find iListen for purchase (or steal)?

Next I looked at digital voice recorders. Wow, what a swamp! Only a few products specifically mention that they are compatible with Macs, but ultimately I'm not even sure what that means. Does this mean that the recorder and the Mac can't communicate at all (like the Mac won't recognize the recorder when its plugged into USB)? Or is it just that the included software is not compatible (i.e. the Mac will recognize the recorder, but you have to use some other software to listen/transcribe the files)?

One last side note: My wife has an old micro-cassette Olympus recorder. I presume that if I could get iListen (or something similar) working on my Mac, I could sit the recorder next to the built-in mic on my laptop (or buy a line-in adapter??) and proceed from there. Any thoughts on that?

I'm writing again, but the song I just composed is not my song.

RobotHeart — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:03:49 -0800

Should I transcribe what I'm hearing in my head? How? (And should I see a shrink?) So, a song just fell into my head. It's fully developed with the exception of some of the lyrics missing. I've got the main vocal line, a background descant, a very full piano part, and some drums. Sometimes the background lyrics don't match the main lyrics.

It's a very nice song. I like it. The problem is, I'm pretty sure the aether misplaced it. It's clearly meant for Tori Amos's brain. In fact, it's Tori's voice singing it! It's built like a song of hers, too, in terms of the chords chosen and how the vocals drape across them -- maybe a kissing cousin of Tear in your Hand.

It would not surprise me too much if tomorrow some of her people banged on my door and threatened me for stealing the song already on the way to her. (Okay, yes it would. But you see where I'm going with this.)

I frequently have bits of music I have composed just pop up in my head, but I'm always the one singing, and it doesn't seem so derivative. But I never seem to be able to finish those.

Three questions:
1) If I wanted to try and transcribe what I'm hearing, I'd need a quicker way to write the music down. I could run to a store nearby for paper pre-lined with music staves, but is there a way of doing it digitally? I'd like to create a JPG or GIF of some sheet music.

2) Is my writer's block over, or has it just begun, if I'm writing someone else's song?

3) Given all of the above: do I need to see a shrink? ::toothy grin::

How much should my wife bid on a transcription job?

mrmojoflying — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:07:08 -0800

My wife is looking to do freelance transcription work while home with our newborn and needs bidding guidance. Background: My wife wants to bid on an interview transcription job - about 30-35 hours worth of tape. This is broad transcription, requiring no phonetics training. She has no appreciable experience transcribing academic research, but does have an appropriate educational background - meaning that there will be a learning curve. She would have 3-4 months to finish the job.

Question(s): How many hours, on gross average, does it take to loosely transcribe one hour of good quality tape with a digital transcription machine? How many pages of standard script (give or take 25%) does one hour of interview video usually come out to?

Any help would be appreciated!

Low-cost transcription services.

blahblahblah — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:28:09 -0800

Anyone have good experiences with any inexpensive transcription services? I am looking to send digital files of interviews out to be transcribed. The material is not too technical, and accuracy needs to be very good, but doesn't need to be legal-document perfect. I am mostly looking for low cost and decent quality. Any thoughts?

Joe Pass Transcription

winterhat — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:28:38 -0800

Where can I find a transcription of Take Love Easy by Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald? I know where to find a chart of the changes, but I am interested in the full guitar transcription, is this available anywhere?

Surely Word's Embedded Audio Can't Too Crippled To Export or Control

icebourg — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:48:22 -0800

How to change the program Word opens embedded audio with? Alternatively, suggestions for foot-pedal software that plays well with audio embedded in Word or RTF documents. When you have an embedded audio file in Word, the only program Word will open it with is Sound Recorder. (doesn't matter what wav files are associated with in Explorer) Is there a way to change this behavior?

If not, is there a way to extract the audio as a wav and save it somewhere? (I am aware that you can open it, copy and paste it into a new Sound Recorder window, then save it wherever you want, but I'm hoping for something simpler for our transcriptionists)

I'm also open to some script or program that will parse the RTF and export the wav file. (I could modify it to make it easy for our users)

And if neither is possible, does anyone have recommendations for foot-pedal software the plays nice with embedded RTF/Word audio? We have WAVPedal now, but it has the limitation that it needs to be able to get its hand on an actual wav file, it won't control Sound Recorder or Word's internal sound player.

We are using Word 2003 on XP.

Can I still be a secretary transcriptionist if I'm wearing stockings and high heels?

porpoise — Mon, 21 May 2007 21:52:28 -0800

I know that there's an old closed thread on medical transcription. Medical transcription is also a very common response to making money in one's spare time. As a grad student, are online courses for certification worthwhile towards getting work - and is this something that I could do? [more] As a grad student in the wet sciences, I can't reasonably hold onto a job that requires set hours (say, bartending or washing dishes - 6p-12. Well, sometimes I have to be at the lab between 8p and 11p, unpredictably - and these hours have a higher priority than, say, my loyalty to a bar or restaurant).

A common response to a lot of ask.mefi thread on 'making money on spare time' points to medical transcriptions... I've also seen "look around" - er, what are good places to look around to get this kind of work?

Has anyone taken an "online" or distance-learning course? Have those certifications helped you get jobs?

I have a liberal arts undergrad degree (English, philosophy, psychiatry, phys. ed., history, theology, biochemistry, &c) and a MSc in research clinical immunology and currently working towards a PhD in neuroscience.

Would this background help me get... jobs? gigs? contracts?

Thanks!

Hiring a transcriptionist from India

wdwcuwa — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:46:10 -0800

How can I directly hire a transcriptionist from India? Due to hand injuries, I have a very limited ability to handwrite, type and mouse. My solution to this has been to hire college students to type for me for a certain number of hours per week. Unfortunately, as you may guess, this approach is very expensive. I've tried dictation software, and I'd rather not get into the details for privacy reasons, but it really isn't the solution to the problem. The other day I was thinking about how to find good people, and I realized that it might be possible to hire someone directly from India.

I am sure that the tech community is well respresented on this bulletin board, but I hope that you won't be offended by the suggestion. The bottom line is that the job of typist really isn't a good job for most americans because I really can't afford to pay well at all. I've had a lot of trouble finding americans who will take the job and work reliably. However, I could probably afford to pay someone from India what I am hoping might be a very good wage. In the end, even if you are not thrilled with this decision, I appreciate any help that you can give me.

In the job posting, I would say that I was looking for someone with at least thirteen years of education, aptitude with computers, and excellent english skills. A significant proportion of the work involves mathematical notation, so I would ideally like someone with some sort of background in math.

I was thinking of communicating with them via Skype, so they would have to have their own computer with a broadband connection. Since I sometimes need to use specialized software they would also have to install some specialized software on their computer as well as a software client that would allow remote control of their computer such as logmein.com. Ideally I'd like to be able to have a Skype connection going while I watch what they're doing on their computer and potentially take over control using software designed for technical support to help diagnose a problem on your computer (such as logmein.com).

I would pay them using paypal in dollars. I don't know how much to pay, and would appreciate any information people could offer on this question. I want to pay a good enough wage that I could expect that whoever has the job will value it, without breaking the bank. (I saw on a recent documentary that at least a couple of years ago, call center employees got about $200/month.) They would have to keep track of their hours, and I wouldn't have a very good way of telling whether or not they were being honest in reporting how long activities took. Ideally, I would find two people, and if one person started taking significantly longer than the other one, then I would give proportionately more work to the person who was doing a better job.

Anyway, these are the best ideas that I've had thus far about how I might do something like this. Any suggestions or feedback that you have would be greatly appreciated.

I'm particularly interested in hearing about:

1.) How could I find someone with good enough English skills?
2.) What should I be careful of in terms of protecting myself from who knows what?
3.) Does this even sound feasible to you?
4.) I would advertise the "job" under part time jobs, but for simplicity in terms of tax reasons I would consider the person to be an independent contractor. What advice can people give on the tax and legal rammifications of doing something like this?

Thank you.

Batch Speech Transcription programs?

empath — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 04:39:03 -0800

Batch Speech Transcription? Are there any programs that, given a directory of wav or mp3 files, can do voice recognition and transcription on them? I don't need perfect accuracy.

Business is good, am I asking the wrong price?

jlstitt — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:16:15 -0800

How much to charge for podcast transcription? I have been working very hard to start a podcast transcription service. One of the first questions people always ask me is "How much?" ... It's a fair question and probably the first I would ask, too.

I know that several companies charge $1 per audio minute for transcription and that seems a little steep to me.

The question is...what is a reasonable price for podcast transcription. What would you pay?

Notation for Hip Hop lyric transcription

iamck — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:58:42 -0800

What is/could be a useful "notation" used to transcribe hip hop lyrics that would account for the lyrical delivery (i.e. syllables, accents, pauses, word length, etc.)...? Viewing the lyrics from a hip hop track don't give any insight into the actually delivery of the lyrics, which are one of the most important (and IMO subconsciously overlooked) aspects of emceeing. While most music can be replicated from the transcribed notes and lyrics, hip hop transcription doesn't seem to contain enough information to allow reproduction or analysis of the complex patterns involved.

Mac Voice Recognition and Transcription

thirteen — Mon, 12 Jul 2004 14:13:24 -0800

I am looking for a Mac based solution to a transcription problem. I want to have a set up where a Mac could play an MP3 file of an interview (possibly recorded on an iPod with a voice recorder), capture the sound with some sort of voice recognition, and give me back a raw text file. Is this possible, or am I still 5 years too early to be hoping for such a thing? Barring that, is there transcription software availablle that will slow down the audio, and allow quick rewinds controlled by some sort of pseudo analogue device.

Does anyone do medical transcription?

TuxHeDoh — Mon, 22 Mar 2004 09:39:16 -0800

Does anyone do medical transcription? Can someone point me to a site that gives a good overview of needed equipment, cheap courses or something. It's tough to wade through the sales pitches that a google search turn up.