transcription job Thread poster: Jennifer Greene
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I am offered a transcription job to listen to an one hour long MP3 format recording and type what is said in a word document. How many hours does it take to turn an hour long audio recording into a transcription.
Thanks
Jennifer
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It can vary depending on the density and speed of the speech, whether it is clear or difficult to decipher, and what equipment you are using to listen to the recording. Given all that, a general rule of thumb is that each minute of the recording may take approximately six minutes to transcribe. However, you should not give a final quote until you have had a chance to listen to the recording, and to check the quality and density all the way through.
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Bill Greendyk 
United States
Local time: 11:47
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
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| Completely agree with GoodWords | Dec 9, 2005 |
GoodWords wrote:
However, you should not give a final quote until you have had a chance to listen to the recording, and to check the quality and density all the way through.
I'm doing a transcription job of more than 100 hours of of a conference given by the same person. While obviously I couldn't listen to the *entire* recording, I listened to various clips from various tapes before giving a quote. This can be very difficult to quote on, because as GoodWords says, the quality and density of speech can vary greatly. Therefore, I would agree wholeheartedly that you should listen to the entire recording before giving your quote. Good luck!
Bill
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IanW (X)
Local time: 17:47
German to English
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Judging on a similar job I had recently, six times would seem to be a cautious rule of thumb.
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| labour-intensive | Dec 9, 2005 |
Basically, allocate a full working day to this.
I'm doing tapes at the moment and they're a flaming nightmare.
The audio quality is AWFUL - one speaker is sitting too far away from the tape, another speaker is constantly interrupting and talking over everyone else (BTW she also stutters and is talking absolute rubbish!), another woman is very softly spoken but has a very thick North Dublin accent, so I have to keep rewinding the tape to work out what she saying before L... See more Basically, allocate a full working day to this.
I'm doing tapes at the moment and they're a flaming nightmare.
The audio quality is AWFUL - one speaker is sitting too far away from the tape, another speaker is constantly interrupting and talking over everyone else (BTW she also stutters and is talking absolute rubbish!), another woman is very softly spoken but has a very thick North Dublin accent, so I have to keep rewinding the tape to work out what she saying before Loudmouth interrupts her again.
Transcription itself is not that bad, it is just very time consuming.
I understand secretarial service companies charge per minute, but then again, they have proper equipment for this kind of thing. I just charge per hour though.
Another thing - ask if you have to include "lexical fillers" in your transcripts... phrases like "you know, like, umm, aaah, emmm..."
[Edited at 2005-12-09 11:54] ▲ Collapse
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| Time consuming but rewarding | Dec 9, 2005 |
I recently undertook a transcription of a court hearing in Cuba and had to transcribe the entire proceedings including what the interpreter said in both Spanish and English.
I found that for each 15 minute segment it took roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours, which would be in line with the 6x rule. I encountered a number of problems due to the elderly witnesses who muttered and spoke very quickly. In addition there were instances where names/company names were used and I had to revert ... See more I recently undertook a transcription of a court hearing in Cuba and had to transcribe the entire proceedings including what the interpreter said in both Spanish and English.
I found that for each 15 minute segment it took roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours, which would be in line with the 6x rule. I encountered a number of problems due to the elderly witnesses who muttered and spoke very quickly. In addition there were instances where names/company names were used and I had to revert to google to try to ascertain the correct spelling.
Although the transcription process was very time consuming I found it to be a rewarding experience.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
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Jennifer Greene
United States
Local time: 10:47
English to Chinese
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you all!! But here are my problems. | Dec 10, 2005 |
Thank you all very much for answering my question. I used the 6X rule for my quote but just came to find out the Chinese transcription takes a lot longer. It took me 20 hours to do a one-hour Chinese audio from MP3 format.
Problem One: I had to listen to the recording and handwrite down what is said then type it into Word. Because I can't pause and type at the same time
Problem Two: multiple people (6-7 people) talking over each other( I had to listen to it over and over again)
... See more Thank you all very much for answering my question. I used the 6X rule for my quote but just came to find out the Chinese transcription takes a lot longer. It took me 20 hours to do a one-hour Chinese audio from MP3 format.
Problem One: I had to listen to the recording and handwrite down what is said then type it into Word. Because I can't pause and type at the same time
Problem Two: multiple people (6-7 people) talking over each other( I had to listen to it over and over again)
Problem Three: I have to idetify each person by FV1(Female Voice one) and MV1(male voice one) ect.
Any suggestions?
Thank you very much? ▲ Collapse
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