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Recording TipsWhen Recording
Can You Hear It?Make sure your recording device is set to capture all of the speakers in the room. If the recording level isn't set high enough, not everything will be recorded. For transcription purposes, it is better to record too loud than too soft. The recording may sound louder than what we will be hearing over a transcription machine, but a few extra decibels will make it easier to transcribe and save you money. Do a test recording of all participants before your session, not just the first speaker. By testing each voice in relation to their proximity to the microphone(s), you can eliminate the problem of soft-voiced people sitting too far away to be heard. Testing will also assure that your recording device is functioning correctly. Be sure to turn off your recorder's voice-activated feature. Often this feature will cause the beginning of words and sentences to be cut off. If you are recording a "panel discussion" or other group meeting, remind participants before you begin that cross-talk and side conversations can often overshadow the voice of the main speaker. Try to keep windows closed, particularly those facing traffic noises or parking lots. Refridgerators, air conditioners, fans, and other devices will add background noise as well. Coughing obliterates speech in a recording. A package of cough drops on hand might tactfully help silence a persistant cough. The Missing WordWhen people who are specialists in certain fields are interviewed or take part in a general discussion, they inevitably drop their voice, mumble, or otherwise distort the most important words they use simply because they are so familiar with them. If there is a moderator or interviewer, it helps to remind people of this before recording and to repeat such a word if possible during the interview. Special Words and PhrasesIf your subject is technical, it would be of great help to us to receive a list of the unusual words used or those expected to be used. This saves us time and you money. Tips About TapesNever use 120-minute cassette tapes - they are too thin to withstand the constant forward and reverse action of a transcribing machine and tend to break more easily. Good-quality tapes result in good sound and longer life. Never leave tapes or recording devices in hot places - heat will destroy them very quickly. High-bias cassette tapes will record sound much more accurately than low-bias cassette tapes. High-bias cassettes also reduce the amount of "hiss" that occurs in the recording. Try not to use microcassettes. They produce a poor-quality recording and may increase your cost to transcribe. Please label tapes clearly so that we can reference them in the title of your transcript. If you need to include more information, please attach a separate note with additional details. If using a video camera and recording onto MiniDV, be sure to use the SP setting, NOT the LP setting. MiniDV tapes recorded in LP mode may not be compatible with another video playback devices. MicrophonesUse external microphones whenever possible because they are more sensitive and record sounds more clearly and accurately, thus improving our ability to transcribe. An external microphone ($60-$80) will often pay for itself with your first transcript. For one-on-one interviews, we highly recommend using lavaliere (aka lapel) microphones, utilizing one for the interviewer and one for the interviewee. For group recordings we recommend a set of boundary (aka PZM) microphones designed to pick up sound from a large area. You can place them on a conference table. We recommend putting a mouse pad underneath each microphone to reduce noises from the table, e.g, paper shuffling, pen and pencil drops, etc. Digital RecordingDigital recording devices are very much mainstream in the market today. We highly recommend considering purchase of a digital recorder due to the overall recording quality, ease of distribution of recorded content, and ease of transcription. Refer Digital Transcription. Digital recorders come in many shapes, sizes, and offer different storage methods. We recommend hard drive based recorders such as Creative's NOMAD Jukebox3 or similar devices. Flash memory recorders while convenient and less expensive, often don't provide the best audio quality. You may also want to consider devices that record directly to CD-R such as the Marantz CDR300. While more expensive they offer very high quality and reliability, not to mention the simplicity of recording directly to CD-R. Unfortunately, they may also be more cumbersome for field interviews. When creating digital audio files for transcription purposes, we presently recommend the following formats:
As a rule of thumb, if your original audio recording is of good quality, using MP3 or 22 kHz WAV is completely acceptable. If your original audio recording is of poor quality (low volume, background noise, etc.) we recommend using 44.1 WAV files. This allows us to provide audio restoration if required. We would be glad to consult with you to best select a recorder, microphones, or file type for your project or refer to you an audio recording producer. Please contact our Media Specialist at contact@ttctranscriptions or by telephone at the number listed below. How Long Does It Take?As a general guideline, an hour of audio/video can take four to five or more hours to transcribe, depending upon the quality and content of the recording. If turnaround time is important to you, use shorter recordings or shorter tapes. The more transcriptionists we can assign to a project, the quicker it can be completed. Call Us BEFORE Recording!
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Contact Us: contact@ttctranscriptions.com
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