The National Archives, an Underappreciated Resource
When most filmmakers, and people in general, think of the National Archives, they think of that beautiful building next to the mall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are on display. What they don’t realize is just how much of a treasure trove of historical footage and media is right under their noses. Not … read the full article.
Transcription Services 101 – Communication and Organization
A professional transcription business is about one thing, words on a page. It’s simple, right? Just plug a media file into your transcription software and bang… Well, as you might know, its a lot harder than that. In this brief article, I want to cover two basic components of the operation that separates the professional … read the full article.
Transcription Turnaround – Honesty, Responsibility, and Accountability
When it comes to the professional transcription services arena, Word Wizards is known for maintaining the perfect mix of accuracy, speed, and price. There seems to be a lot of scammers out there these days claiming to be champions of low price, fast turnaround transcription. There’s an old adage to remember, if it seems too … read the full article.
Transcription Technology: CloudScript On The Front Page
CloudScript, our new transcription workflow solution, was featured on the front page of TIVA-DC Magazine for the September / October issue! Recently, we sat down for an interview with Gale Nemec, TIVA-DC Publications Chair. The finer points of this interview appeared on the front page of the most recent issue of TIVA-DC magazine. Gaining Momentum … read the full article.
Transcription Tips – Transcriptionist Best Practices
Hello out there in cyber space! On this wonderful Friday at the end of September, I want to share some tips that will help you be a more professional and trusted transcriber, whether you’re working for a company, or you’re a freelancer. Business, government agencies, private institutions and everyday citizens rely on transcriptionists to get … read the full article.
Docs In Progress – Documentary Experts Check Out CloudScript
Last night I had the pleasure of joining Docs In Progress for their Alumni Open House. It was an intimate gathering of some graduates of Docs In Progress courses. Docs In Progress teaches aspiring documentary producers and enthusiasts how to make documentaries the right way, offering a wide variety of courses related to documentary and … read the full article.
CloudScript – Optimize Your Media Workflow
The Future of Time Code Has Arrived! CloudScript is an innovative new tool that allows you to sync a transcript or b-roll log with a media player. Simply click on any time code and instantly jump to that point in the file. CloudScript is available in several versions to fit your specific budget and project … read the full article.
Transcription Turnaround – Timing is Everything
Word Wizards, Inc. continues to thrive in the transcription business despite relentlessly increasing domestic and international competition. One of our key advantages is the ability to handle seemingly impossible turnaround requirements with the same quality and attention to detail as any other job. Even though it often causes logistical complications for our managerial team, were … read the full article.
New Service Launch: CloudScript – Transcript Media Player
Early this month, Word Wizards began introducing our existing clients and friends to our new service, CloudScript. CloudScript is a simple tool that allows a user to sync a transcript with time code to a media player. In seconds you can have a transcript that allows you to click on any time code in the … read the full article.
Transcription Tips – Add an Amp to your Audio Setup
Contrary to popular belief, transcription can be a dangerous profession. Once and a while, audio gets out of control; background noise, clipping, clicks, the perils are real, and you can save your ears and a big headache by including a simple and affordable audio amp in your setup. An Amp on Both Your Houses By … read the full article.
Apple’s WWDC 2012 – Industry Impact
Que the trumpets and raise the banners, Apple has some important new announcements and once again the world will shudder under their unrelenting innovative dominance… Well maybe it was not quite that dramatic, but they did have some good news to share! Today I am going to quickly review the new tech highlights released by … read the full article.
Transcription Trends: Software – The John Henry Paradox
Today I read an article about the newest update to Phillips’ Speech Processing Software SpeechExec Enterprise. The impressive dictation and transcription management software just got a full overhaul and is now bristling with new features. The following excerpt from the MarketWatch report sums it up pretty well. “The new software version supports faster turnaround times … read the full article.
CloudScript: The Future of Transcription Workflow
Word Wizards is proud to present our newest service, CloudScript! Over 30 years of working in the media transcription industry has provided our team with rare and valuable insight into how and why people need our transcription services. We have noticed an important trend in the past few years, the name of the game these … read the full article.
The ONLY I.T.A.R. Compliant Transcription Company
When it comes to a project of a sensitive nature, be it legal, militaristic, classified, or otherwise not intended for unauthorized eyes, who are you going to trust? Now, we are not trying to put down firms who have chosen to enter the transcription industry utilizing offshore labor, in fact we capitalists respect and encourage … read the full article.
Transcription Tips: Fixing Incorrect Time Codes
Once and a while somebody makes a mistake, details get lost in translation, and your transcript is in jeopardy. When time codes in the transcript do not match the time codes in the reel, there is a BIG problem. What is a video professional to do in this nightmare scenario? Word Wizards to the Rescue! … read the full article.
Video Transcription – A Tool for Pros and Joes
Video transcription companies like Word Wizards have been assisting the professional video production industry for a long time, making the lives of editors, producers, and audio mixers much easier. As with any industry, time is money, and wasted time in post can be reduced significantly with the use of a standard or time coded transcript. … read the full article.
Mining For Gold – The 2012 WIFV Job Fair.
Each year Word Wizards is privileged to recruit talent at a media related Job Fair sponsored by Women In Film and Video of DC (WIFV.) On March 24th, at the Luke C. More Academy, in SE DC, prospective employers from across the spectrum of film and video production came to collect resumes from energetic job … read the full article.
Transcription Gear: Typing Gloves
If you have every experienced the pains of long term typing fatigue, you know that it can be excruciating. Word Wizards is dedicated to taking care of our professional transcription typists, and we have a new product that seems to help relieve / prevent some of the strain. Presenting, handy dandy typing gloves! These … read the full article.
Transcription Tech: MXF Proxy Files and Tapeless Workflow
Word Wizards lives on the cutting edge of the video industry. Thus, our facility is set up to ingest, trans-code, and transcribe all proxy formats. Most transcription companies will make you convert these files yourself and externalize this cost to your team. Here at Word Wizards, we have the technology and the expertise to handle … read the full article.
Transcription Gear: The Ergonomic Keyboard
Typing hours and hours, day after day can be heavy on the hands. At Word Wizards, we value or speed typists for their high level of education, rapid typing speed, and their overall ability to transcribe in context from any media format with very few mistakes. Here at Word Wizards, the talented hands of our … read the full article.
Transcription Gear: Tinted Glasses Reduce Eye Strain
Word Wizards, Inc. is proud to boast that we take care of our transcription work force. As with any business, keeping our human capitol healthy is paramount to productivity, and more importantly its the right thing to do. We have long insisted that our staff use Ergonomic Keyboards while transcribing to reduce the chance of … read the full article.
Analog Transcription – Betacam, VHS, Audio Cassette Tape
Word Wizards, Inc. continues to offer transcription, digitization, and archiving services for Betacam, VHS, and Audio Cassette Tapes. These long forgotten analog formats were once the backbone of the video and audio production industries in ages long ago. Now, vast stores of Betacam, VHS, and audio cassette tapes sit alone in dark dusty boxes stored … read the full article.
Transcription Tech: A Salute To The Foot Pedal
When we first got into the transcription game, the technology of the foot pedal was top secret and complicated. In fact, we had to pay a private engineer to make our transcription foot pedal system to work properly in conjunction with our secret time code technology. Almost every component in the primordial transcription system was … read the full article.
The Joys of Dropbox
I’ve been late to the party most of my life, so it’s no surprise to me that I’ve only now discovered Dropbox, while I’m sure the rest of the world has moved onto the Next Big Thing. But that’s okay, I’m here to tell you that I’ve spent a fair amount of time flailing about … read the full article.
Transcription: A Word With Many Meanings
For our first post of 2012, we bring you a short lesson in the language of transcription: In the English language we have the wonderful tradition of using the words that carry multiple meanings depending on the context. The word “transcription” or “transcribe” is no stranger to the homonym phenomenon. Context is the key and … read the full article.
Time Code: Old Dog New Tricks
Time Code, the stuff that editors once dreamed of. A continuous stream of data (usually audio) that allows video footage to be edited digitally in a non-linear format. Providing transcripts synced to time code was once a very technical and labor intensive process. In fact, when Word Wizards first explored Time Code transcription, the equipment … read the full article.
Understanding Professional Transcription Services
When the Word Wizards go out into the world, we often get asked the question, “what does a transcription company do and why would someone need that?” As always, simple questions require not so simple answers. As defined by Wikipedia, “A transcription service is a business which converts speech (either live or recorded) into a … read the full article.
TIVA-DC at the Government Video Expo
There were some impressive booths this year at the world famous Government Video Expo, held in Washington, D.C. Big industry names like Panasonic, JVC, and Roland put together incredible demonstrations of their latest and greatest products. Innovation was abounding, and at the heart of it all, TIVA-DC, long time supporter and organizer of the GV … read the full article.
TIVA-DC Presents The 2011 Peer Awards
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Word Wizards! Do you like glitz, glam, stars, and swanky awards shows? Sure, they have plenty of that out on the west coast, but did you know that right here in DC we have a thriving video production industry of our own? Last weekend, TIVA – DC (Television, Internet … read the full article.