AUDIO TYPES ACCEPTED:

 

• Broadcast television programming (excluding sports, reality, pre-production material)

• Webcasts/podcasts/webinars/teleseminars/teleconferences

• Training/instructional/educational videos

• Hosted or moderated panels/hearings/conferences/seminars

• Conference calls/financial earnings calls/phone calls

• Lectures/speeches/sermons/presentations

• One-on-one interviews (including interviews of a legal or medical nature, though we do not accept medical dictation)

• General dictation/voicemails/recorded statements (including legal dictation)

• Radio shows

• DVD commentaries

• Oral histories

• Psychiatry/therapy sessions

 

AUDIO TYPES  NOT ACCEPTED:

 

• Audio transcripts requiring major editing, sentence restructuring, or summarization/paraphrasing

• Note-taking, meeting minutes, data entry

• Transcription from handwritten material   

• Focus groups/casual group meetings/breakout or roundtable discussions/press junkets/classroom discussions/group interviews

• Reality or sports programming/entertainment pre-production material

• Dialogue/continuity scripts requiring visual cues or timecoding

• Material requiring translation

• Medical dictation

• Legal hearings/court reporting services

• Rush material requiring same-day turnaround
  (please allow for a 24-hour minimum)

• Tapes, CDs, DVDs (digital only please)

 

AUDIO SUBMISSION:

 

We are a strictly digital service--tapes, CDs and DVDs are not accepted.

We accept most file formats (.mp3, .wav, .wma, etc.). 

Please note:  We can convert and download YouTube video URLs for no extra charge--simply send us a link.  

All audio files are reviewed for sound quality, technical issues, and adherence to our accepted audio types (above) before accepting work.  This applies to one-time jobs and ongoing projects.  We may decline files that stray from our accepted audio types or are of such poor sound quality (poor mike setup, background noise, phone static) that we don't believe they can be reasonably transcribed. That said, we are skilled at handling the challenges of any transcript--accents, interruptions, fast speakers, mumblers, multiple speakers, disjointed speakers and terminology research.  We strongly encourage you to review the audio recording tips below if you are still recording your project.

 

On the Contact page, please either email a link to your audio for download or request the password to send your audio directly on the Client Upload page for review.  Please briefly list your file length and type (interview, lecture, conference call, etc.).  If you have a project with multiple files, please send a typical file from your project as a sample.  Upon approval, turnaround, style (verbatim/semi-verbatim) and any formatting preferences will be discussed.  Your files are completely confidential and secure.  Please contact us with general inquiries.  We're happy to answer your questions.

AUDIO RECORDING TIPS:

 

• Use a digital recording device and place external microphones close to the speakers and at an equadistant position between speakers.  Use optimal volume settings on your recording device.

• Recording to cassette tapes tends to diminish audio quality because there is an inherent “whoosh whoosh” sound on tapes due to the recorder's motor.  If you are limited to tapes (converting to digital), avoid second-generation recordings (recording over a recording), as there can sometimes be an “echo” of the original recording, and/or the audio quality of the second recording becomes somewhat diminished.  In other words, use a fresh tape.

• Do not rub or hit the microphone, breathe into the microphone, type (especially if you are recording from a PC), whisper, or loudly rustle papers or wrappers, as this noise can block out what people are saying.

• Using speaker phone on phone calls tends to diminish audio quality.  Where possible, have your participants pick up the receiver or use a headset.  Where possible, have callers call in from a landline rather than a cell phone, as reception on a cell phone can be poor.  VOIP/Skype calls tend to produce worse audio quality (dropped calls, technical glitches, etc.) than landline calls.

• Conduct the recording in a quiet setting where there is no significant background noise.  Airstrips, playgrounds, construction areas, rooms with screaming children, and loud restaurants would be examples of where NOT to conduct an interview.  Even something as seemingly innocuous as wind, air conditioning noise, or clanking forks can seriously affect the quality of your recording.  

• Provide all supporting documentation to your audio, such as names lists, seriatims, agenda lists, PowerPoints, websites. 

• Conduct your interview with as few interruptions as possible.  There is a natural flow to a conversation where this can be unavoidable, but if your aim is to get something transcribed, understand that interruption can make it difficult to pick up parts of the interviewee’s comments.

• Provide an audience microphone for lectures and seminars with significant audience participation/audience Q&A.  Make sure the lecturers are miked.  At minimum, place your recording device close to (or on) the podium or sit in the front row.

• The human ear does not necessarily "hear" the same way as a recorder, either for better or worse.  Just because you could hear things in a live setting and were there does not mean your recorder adequately picked up what you heard.  So do a "test run" of your conversation by exchanging a few sentences, stop the recorder, and play it back to check if your recording adequately picked up the dialogue.  At that point, you can decide to place the recorder in a better location between speakers, attach external microphones, boost your volume settings, change your physical location, or all of the above.