Using Transcripts for your Corporate Video Projects

The Opportunity

The production values in corporate videos are really amazing these days. Filming from the sky and beautiful tracking shots around the subject are becoming commonplace as technology has got better, smaller, and cheaper. A few years ago, only the corporate videos with the largest of budgets could afford the comparable shots that came from helicopters and multi-operator dollies.

And as it has become easier to shoot more content, from multiple cameras, at higher resolutions, you are inundated in post.

We all know this and hear it often: story needs to reign above all else.

So how can transcripts help accomplish that goal and alleviate frustration in the edit?

The Problem

When you take on a corporate video project, your aim and outcome is usually quite defined (with often tight budgets and short timelines). Once the production wraps, most teams jump straight into the edit by skimming interviews, bookmarking important-sounding quotes, and dropping them onto the timeline.

We can't blame it all on the clients' constraints; admit it, you're excited to dive right in and see all those drone and gimbal shots.

So your story starts to take shape on the timeline itself. However, there are risks:

1. Did you pick the best quotes from the ideal people to deliver it at the right points in the video? As the delivery timeline is tight you may not have listened to the interviews in their entirety.
2. Are the interviewees, whose lines you've selected from, an inclusive representation of the client and its customers or do they all look alike? Is there someone else who delivered a strong line and is visually more representative?
3. Your client wants to replace a line or replace an interviewee altogether: you need to find alternative quotes quickly and it may require a lot of scrubbing to find, if you can even remember who said what and when with all the footage shot.

The Solution

Get your interview footage transcribed.

You can script the film's spine by pulling the most salient lines. And when needed, you can quickly find alternative quotes and speakers.

>>But your timeline and budget is tight and transcription is notoriously slow and expensive. And who has the time to prepare files and export a low-res version with burnt-in timecode and then zip and e-mail them?

It used to be this painful. Not anymore.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq6WUbhERYg[/embed]

With Simon Says, you can swiftly transcribe your interviews by using our automated speech recognition service. Upload your (original) files, pay, and immediately start to receive the timecode-synced transcript.

Cost: The cost is based on interview length: 33¬¢ per minute, or less if you choose a subscription plan. (Compare that to the traditional transcription companies who charge $1� �5 per minute!)

Speed: Watch as your interview is transcribed live and in real-time. (Traditional transcription companies' slow turnaround times are measured in days. Ours are measured in minutes.)

Accuracy: As you are recording with pro mics and minimal/nil background noise, your files are optimal for speech recognition. With clear dialogue, we routinely see 90% accuracy and above. Nevertheless: make any necessary edits, assign speaker labels, bookmark quotes, annotate key sections, and export.

Export: Save to Word, Excel, and SRT. (Import to Premiere Pro and FCP is coming soon.)

As the producer/director/editor of corporate video projects, we know you're dealing with your client's budget constraints and tight timelinesÔøΩ and your excitement to dive in. We have solved slow transcription times and we have significantly reduced the cost. (We unfortunately can't help you temper your enthusiasm to jump into the edit suite.)

Now you can better map out the story and focus on including the key messages.

Additional Uses

Some of our customers actually transcribe interviews and make a shortlist of quotes for their clients to pick from. This is a tremendous benefit as both director and client get on the same page faster and in advance of going deep into the edit, eliminating multiple rounds of back-and-forth.

Additionally, if you need subtitles because of legal regulation or your client's policy, you now have a verbatim transcript. Some clients also ask that footage is saved for posterity which means it needs to be tagged, searchable, and retrievable. And when they ask you to do the ten-year retrospective, you will be glad the footage has been memorialized into the written form!

Corporate videos require much creativity to achieve their goals and thankfully the tools and tech are becoming more accessible to the independent production company. Getting transcripts, specifically with automated transcription, is part of this shift. You can now better focus on the script-writing, be more responsive to client changes, and achieve the fullest potential from the interviews and for the story.

Start transcribing with Simon Says today to reduce your editing time, eliminate arduous rounds of changes, and focus on creating a final product that surpasses your client's expectations. And receive free credits when you sign up.