Archive for month: March, 2014

After working with many journalists and authors, I have come to realize that very few, if any, work on one project at a time. Whether it is their work project or their family/life’s project, or a combination of both.

We try to assist them, not only by saving them time transcribing their audio / video for them, but also by organizing the transcription / audio / video portion of their projects and the billing information they need to be properly paid themselves for the work, as well as keeping the different parts of their projects together and easy to work with.

How do we do that?

CLK starts by acknowledging receipt of every single file. They know we have received it. We ask them for a drop-dead deadline. Although we work to return all files within 72 hours, and of course even sooner whenever possible, regardless of the length of audio, everyone has different deadlines. So if they need it quicker, they just let us know.We never want to push them further to their project deadline and cause more stress in the process.

We gather the names of the participants / speakers, and we are sure to label each speaker accordingly. We can time code the transcript or number lines if they wish, and we use a clear simple format for them to be able to review the transcripts for content they may need in their end product.

We clearly mark any portion where there may have been an inaudible word or phrase, so they can take a listen and see if they can hear it. They were the ones in the room during the recording.

But we don’t stop there.

Naming their files:

We name the finished report exactly the same as the audio, so our clients can match up the corresponding audio with the finished report.

Helping manage and track a budget:

We add the total length of the audio into the name of the report, so our clients can confirm that the complete audio was transcribed – there wasn’t a download / upload issue causing only a partial transcript or they didn’t send us the incorrect file to begin with.

We also add the total cost of each audio into the file name, so that our clients can better manage their budgets as they go along, rather than worry about it in the end, when their concerns should just be putting it all together into the fabulous end result we all enjoy in that book, magazine, online, or production piece.

In addition, our clients can further maintain their budgets by giving us precise times on the audio they want transcribed, down to just a few seconds, to blocks of minutes throughout the audio. This way they don’t end up paying for material they do not need for their project. We all know some interviewees can get chatty.

Helping their billing, through our billing:

Many of our clients use our invoices to invoice their clients and will request separate invoices for one or all of the audio files using project codes or other client information. This allows them to keep their project invoices organized, and they don’t have to sort through which transcript coincides with which project and which invoice is for which project.

Many times, we have clients request the invoice be sent directly to the project manager they are dealing with. We are happy to do that. Of course our client’s are ultimately responsible for the invoices, but being able to forward our invoice to their client for them allows them the freedom to ‘keep it moving’ and not worry about that part of the task.

Working with them to save them time and money:

We know how hard it is for our clients to monitor every little aspect of their project, and we try to make it just that much more simpler and cost-effective. It may not sound like much, but we find that in the end, our clients appreciate the added little extras we do to keep their projects organized and labeled appropriately.

We are always observing our clients work online, and watching for additional ways to help them organize and make the process of transcribing and organizing the audio / video portion of their projects that much simpler to work with.

 

How can we assist you with your transcription needs? We are an email away from beginning your project!

 

Visit us at www.clktranscription.com and find out today!