Used with CubeACR and Cloud Convert, Happy Scribe is a Game Changer for Content Creators
Back in ’88, I used my handy tape recorder to capture all of my interviews so I could listen back, check quote accuracy, and have a backup of the information. First, we used large cassette tapes. Then, microcassettes became all the rage—high-tech stuff, we thought.
The challenge was listening to the full interview to precisely extract salient points and quotes or to completely transcribe it—a laborious process, at best. I always wished for a transcriber, but for a poorly paid writer, that wasn’t economically feasible.
Fast-forward 37 years, and I still record all interviews. Now, however, I can have a complete interview transcript in front of me within mere minutes of hanging up the phone.
I use three tools to capture the interview and get to the written transcript.
Cube ACR: An app that automatically records cell phone calls, identifies different speakers, and generates an AMR audio file. *
Cloud Convert: A free online service that converts AMR files to MP3s for easy integration with Happy Scribe.
Happy Scribe: An online transcription service (fee-based) that fully transcribes MP3 files. Two service choices are available: human-made, meaning a person transcribes the file with 99% accuracy within 24 hours, and machine-generated, which is completed almost instantly with 85% accuracy. The human-made fee is hefty ($2 per minute), while the machine-generated option is paid with credits based on a selected plan. Plans range from pay-as-you-go, per-minute options to those covering 72,000 minutes with many perks. For me, the Lite plan works: it’s $6 a month and gives me 720 minutes of transcription per month.
With this process, the end result is a transcript in Word format (.docx) that is:
- fully searchable
- allows text editing and copying,
- shows segmentation by speaker (Speaker 1 for the interviewer and Speaker 2 for the interviewee), and
- includes timestamps.
No more listening back to a recording for hours, trying to find the spots that address specific quotes, typing as fast as I can while listening, and having to hit rewind every minute or two. Woo-hoo!
The bottom line: instead of hours working with my interview recording, I spend about 15 minutes converting the interview to MP3 and getting the document from Happy Scribe. A huge win. Saving time, money, and frustration is bliss.
Vidoegraphers, don’t feel left out. Happy Scribe can also generate video transcripts and subtitle.
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