How I transcribe audio with HappyScribe

We do oral history interviews, big writing projects, and need to produce subtitles for video. HappyScribe has become Rhonda Lauritzen's favorite go-to service, and this tutorial walks you through how it works, and how accurate their machine transcription service is using a real file as an example.

[@EvalogueLife]

Here is an article where we walk through the various transcription tools we use for different applications: evalogue.life/tools-and-resources/transcription-tools/

[@kc7791]

I have video & audio interview I did with my brother on PhotoBooth on my Mac. I can save this on my desktop but it looks like it has saved them as a movie. Can these be transferred much like you have done with Zoom? These are very long sessions and it has sadly taken me so long to transcribe that I have since lost him. I had hoped to type them then use them to go back and amend them with him or add on to them. That chance is now gone. I am hoping to do my other brother and a family friend but I admit I hate the transcribing process and have put it off because of that. So two questions. 1) Can I use the above movie/audio interviews with these programs? & 2) When you said it is 20 cents per audio min. Does that mean if my interview is 60 min. it would be 2O cents times that 60 min or is that the time it takes for them to process it? Thanks for your presentation. I really appreciate your sharing it with me.

[@EvalogueLife]

K C - First, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother. It's hard to lose our loved ones. Even though you didn't get as much as you wanted, at least you have something - so you should be commended for that. Here are some quick answers: I regularly upload video files to HappyScribe. It's faster to upload audio files, but it isn't necessary to separate the audio if you don't know how to do that or don't want to spend the time. (You can export an audio-only track in many video editing programs). Next, the cost is $0.20 per audio minute uploaded, not the time it takes to process. I hope these tools are helpful to get your project moving along, and to focus your precious time on the parts that only YOU can do - being with your loved ones.

[@kc7791]

@@EvalogueLife Thanks so much for your quick response and your words of empathy. I so appreciate it. It was a difficult year I also lost my sister-in-law. But it made me realize how important it is to not loose time recording their stories. No one did record my sister-in-law because we thought she would always be here. She rarely talked about her younger life because it was a difficult one. Now her story is lost. I so appreciate what you do. Thanks so much for your help and how you help others.

[@kc7791]

@@EvalogueLife My husband and I think this would certainly be worth it especially since there are so many more people I want to interview in the future. If I need some advice on how to do this I might try to get back to you. Hope that would be okay?

[@EvalogueLife]

@@kc7791 Yes, please do reach out if you have specific questions.

[@kc7791]

@@EvalogueLife I have another quick question. I went to the site. Is the .20 a business fee or the fee for anyone? How do we pay them?

[@violetaieremie]

How many words there are in an video hour? Can I count a script words in Happyscribe?

[@EvalogueLife]

Hello! Most people speak about 140 words per minute, anywhere from 120-150. Per hour, that's about 7,500-9,000 words.

[@EvalogueLife]

I'm not seeing a clear wordcount in HappyScribe but it would be easy to copy text into another word processing program and get that information.

[@lbennett9412]

Wow! Who knew?!?

[@EvalogueLife]

Isn't this technology amazing? It is exciting how quickly breakthroughs have happened the last couple of years to make it really work well.

[@lilimarlene313]

Sounds good, but I don't think any automated program will be able to understand the thick Southern accents of my relatives!

[@EvalogueLife]

Ah yes, that can be an issue. It might be worth a try because even if you have to edit some words it might be faster. There are times, however, when you have to buckle down and do it manually. I use oTranscribe when I have to type a transcription myself because the accent is too thick or if the audio quality isn't good enough. Here is our article on how we use it: evalogue.life/review-of-otranscribe-a-diy-option-for-transcriptions/