The development of technology and access to tools allows for the optimisation of work in many industries, including the translation sector. One such example is transcription. The word “transcription” comes from the Latin word transcriptio – copying. This is a textual transcription of a recording. This way of presenting content contained in audio or video materials is useful in many situations: when we want to watch a movie in a foreign language and need a translation in the form of subtitles, for research purposes, or during court hearings.
Until recently, this service was most often performed by someone who had to listen to a recording or video material and then write down what they heard. With the development of technology and the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence (AI), automatic transcription is being used ever more frequently. Automatic subtitles created from the video material can be easily downloaded using your browser, without special programmes or skills. Such a feature is offered by Youtube, for example.
Our office was approached by a client requesting the verification of video transcriptions from the Youtube platform. The downloaded subtitles were in Polish. The client was interested in checking the content and the timing of the speech, using time codes. The project included a set of guidelines regarding text editing, including the character limit, two-line subtitles, distinguishing dialogues, proper nouns, and punctuation rules.
The challenge for our team was time, in two different ways:
- They wanted the order to be completed quickly.
- Access to the films was only possible within a specific time frame.
Due to the provided criteria, a team of reviewers was involved in this project, specialists who corrected the automatic subtitles and checked whether the time stamps had been appropriately marked. At Skrivanek, we have a base of suppliers verified in terms of tool usage and specialising in specific fields.
In this case, it was important to us that the reviewers verifying the transcription had experience in the humanities, as it was a film about historical themes. It was also crucial that the project participants used suitable programmes that allowed for checking and creating subtitles. We received two file formats from the client: video material and subtitle files in the .srt format. The task was therefore not only to check the grammatical correctness of the subtitles but also to verify their compliance with the movie.
The client received from us verified subtitles in the .srt format, which appear at the appropriate moment when applied to the film, meaning that their time codes have been set correctly.
If you need a transcription of a recording, the creation of subtitles for video material, translation of films or preparing subtitles in another language, we can offer you solutions tailored to your expectations. In our company, we are constantly testing new technologies to ensure the development of our services. Contact us!
