Going with that trend, Adobe has decided to add new capabilities to their entire Creative Suite for collaboration and distribution on the “cloud.” By paying a subscription based fee, one can work on projects in Creative Suite from multiple machines with the CS software installed. The idea that you can access your creative & design work from anywhere and at any time is a very intriguing prospect, especially for our graphic design department.

Instant Collaboration

Creative Cloud for example would allow a graphic designer in Alaska to collaborate with their client across the globe at any time of day and on any computer they wish to access it from as long as the necessary software is installed. Or if you’re on the road traveling and only have access to edit your web design project for 30 or 40 minutes a night then you can easily log-in with your laptop work on it a bit, save it for later, and instantly send it back to the office for review.

Data Asset Security

Another positive aspect of putting everything on the cloud the risk of losing data is signifigantly minimized. If you have Adobe’s Creative Suite installed locally and it wasn’t backed up properly or if something haywire happened with your systems or hard drives then you could potentially lose a lot of
very important data.

Putting your work on the cloud eliminates the risk of loosing your work in the event of a computer crash. If your computer won’t boot up then you can always use another machine and instantly access the cloud based creative design project you had been working on.

Cloudy Forecast

The ease of use and accessibility cloud services gives the end user is amazing but I think what attracts people the most to the cloud phenomenon is the freedom it gives you. The very fact that a video editor or web designer could collaborate on a project anywhere and at any time is enough to attract customers
to cloud based subscription services like Creative Cloud.

Compliance with I.T.A.R. (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) does not come easy. This certification, issued by the U.S. State Department, is generally intended for organizations involved with international arms and military applications. When filing for this certification, we laughed as we checked the “other” category to describe our services, other is located somewhere between nuclear warhead production and experimental particle beam weapon research.

Trust But Verify

Why would a transcription company choose to get I.T.A.R. compliance? In a global economy, our organization now faces extreme pressure from international competition. One of the stipulations of I.T.A.R. compliance is a strict “on shore” policy for work performed due to the often sensitive military nature of the content of these projects. Well, it appears that our modest U.S.A based transcription company is one of the last of its kind. Yes,  our short term profits may have suffered slightly when the economy tanked and clients explored cheaper, lower quality, offshore transcription options. However, our commitment to providing premium quality transcription services and maintaining a workforce of well paying American jobs has paid off once again.

Why are there no other I.T.A.R. compliant transcription companies, simply because nobody else in the world qualifies.

Word Wizards to the Rescue!

They call us Wizards for a reason. In our efforts to provide the best quality transcription services in the world, we have developed a useful little trick that allows us to fix numerical discrepancies in continuous or even non continuous time code transcripts. Using a custom built algorithm in Microsoft Excel, we can turn your time code transcription nightmare into a lucid dream without breaking a sweat. If you find yourself in need of time code repair to get your transcript based work flow back on track, we can help!

Whats the bloody secret?

O.k., so maybe its not that complicated… We always recommend that you enlist our services as professionals to fix a defunct time code transcript. However, if you are looking for advise on how to do this yourself, the following is an explanation of how we use MS Excel to automatically calculate the offset in time code transcripts that have been done incorrectly.

1. Format your spread sheet to only display values in 00:00:00 time format.

2. Copy all “out of sync” time codes into individual cells in a single column. (lets say column A)

3. Type in the correct offset into the first cell of column C.

4. In the first cell of column B, create a formula that adds the offset to the original time code, making sure to “lock” the offset with $ signs (example =A1+$C$1 )

5. In column C Double check your corrections by subtracting the offset from column B (example =B2-A2) all of those values should equal the original offset, if not there has been a mistake.

6. “drag” the formula down for each column and row that has an incorrect time code!

The Power of Programs!

Microsoft Excel is an unsung hero of the 21st century. Personally i am incapable of performing individual calculations at length without making mistakes in the math. However, I am very apt to write formulas and algorithms that do the calculations automatically, allowing me to focus on the output. In this case we have solved a long standing frustration of our industry using a few simple key strokes. Headache solved, thank you Word Wizards. If you cant figure it out yourself, call us and we will help you get back on track.

Save The Predators

A “predator” is someone who acts as producer and editor on the same project, and in some instances they are the writer as well. Typically, “predators” work for those companies who lack big corporate budgets and are operate out of small, typically unsung post hoses and production companies. A transcript with time code can help these individuals manage their media, organize their product, and make their cuts and refinements with a complete written account of their video reels and the gems they seek within. The predator may be unsung, but they are often responsible for seemingly impossible work loads, and are often known to produce broadcast quality media at astonishing prices. Keeping your predators healthy and happy is paramount, with long hours, insane expectations, and impossible deadlines always weighing heavily on their, and only their, shoulders. Transcripts help these heroes of small cap production stay on target, saving time, money, and stress from being otherwise wasted.

Media Management for the Consumer

More and more consumers are turning to transcripts with time code for a cost effective solution to manage personal media such as home movies, video clips, and family audio recordings. Let me play out a scene for you; you have all your old home movies sitting in a box (or boxes) somewhere. Slowly they loose quality over time and so you decide to digitize the footage and store it all on a hard drive. Someone wants to watch the part of your high school graduation ceremony when the speaker says her famous quote that inspired you to achieve greatness. You could spend hours looking for that one tape, and even more time searching for the spot where the graduation speaker says her legendary piece. With a time coded transcript you can use the “find” feature in your word processing software to find her quote and exactly where in the tape it was. Time coded transcripts allow you to search for anything in your media and identify exactly where it is and what it says. Home movies 2.0!

Pros, Joes, and Twinkle Toes

Whatever your reason for shooting video or recording audio, transcription services can make your life better and more efficient. Our mission here is to give you the told to make your media project as easy and efficient as possible while protecting your limited budget and resources. If your new to the concept of transcription, we invite you to try it out and see for yourself how powerful this tool really is.

Recruiters for media production professionals in education and public sector broadcasting were represented by American University, WHTU Howard television, Media Concepts, PBS, C-Span and AFI Silver Docs. Major production houses such as Henninger Media, Interface Media Group, and Maslow Media Group were looking to hire employees related to production and post-production. Boutique production houses such as EFX Media, Sapling Pictures, Team People, Will Interactive, and “Yoh” were snapping up resumes from video editors, producers, camera people and production assistants. One of the finest audio post houses in the DC area, Ott House Audio, was looking for a few good sound techs. Hundreds of recruits braved the rainy weather to present their skills and talents before the recruiters.

Word Wizards sought employees and contractors for our own special niche in the media production world.  We are always looking for fast, accurate typists for our core service, audio and video transcription.  Many production professionals start their careers as interns transcribing sound bites; thus they are a natural fit to work for us.  Some candidates were extremely proficient, exceeding 100 words per minute for their tested typing speed.

Many others have produced logs, closed captions, and subtitles during their time within the media production industry. Several of these individuals found that they can earn some cash from us typing and logging, while awaiting the production job of there dreams.  Along with four fast typists, we’re considering hiring a Spanish and Arabic translator to add to our translation capabilities.

In addition, Word Wizards also does a lot of graphic design work for print and digital media. Some very impressive resumes were collected form people, who work with InDesign, After-Effects, Quark, and PageMaker.  These highly trained graphic design specialists are vital. When a client requests something special, we have many different outlets to find the right designer for the project.

Word Wizards would like to thank Women In Film and Video for gathering such an impressive group of talented people for the recruiters to review.  Qualified producers, video editors, camera people, audio and graphics professionals also owe their gratitude to WIFV for making the event happen. It is our fondest hope that the Job Fair will remain a feature of the media production landscape far into the future.