Making a video is one thing, however, trying to transcribe this video into text, is a whole other kettle of fish. Thankfully, it is the digital age that everybody lives in today, which means that there are quite a few different technologies and software that you can keep in mind when trying to go about transcribing your video into text.
This article aims to shed light on how you can do this, first highlighting the importance of finding a reliable and accurate platform to transcribe your video into text. Then, shedding light on the importance of text for accessibility and inclusivity, in terms of subtitles and hearing deficits and also, keeping the language text option in mind. So, without further ado, it’s time to jump into this tantalizing topic.
Find a Reliable and Accurate Platform
One of the most important steps to transcribing your video into text is finding a reliable and accurate platform. It will either be almost impossible for you to do by yourself or it will take you weeks, especially if your video is over 10 or 15 minutes. This is why going for an established transcription platform is a far better option.
It is massively important for you to find a reliable platform, that transcribes your video correctly, which is where accuracy also comes in. Try to find a platform that has been around for a while, has excellent testimonials and reviews and has clearly been tried and tested by multiple users, like Happy Scribe’s video to text converter, as this is an excellent example of an established platform.
The importance, of accuracy is not only vital in terms of correctly summarising what has been said in the video but also in terms of accessibility and inclusivity, which is going to be touched on below.
Understand the Importance of Text for Accessibility and Inclusivity
Just as a lot of websites today are designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind, keeping font large, reducing the brightness of certain websites and ensuring that there are no flashing lights on the website for more sensitive viewers, the same goes for accessibility and inclusivity in text.
One of the main ways the texts are important in videos is for subtitles. Not all of those who are hearing impaired are able to lip read. Furthermore, lip reading is an incredibly niche skill and not just something that every hearing-impaired person can do and therefore having your video converted to text allows you to add subtitles to your videos so that everybody has the same access to it.
Also, don’t forget that videos are often recorded a different languages. For example, if you’re a travel YouTuber and you’re trying to show what it’s like to travel through Spain. You might be a Spanish traveler and therefore speak Spanish on your video. However, if the subtitles are not there and the hearing impaired individual can’t speak Spanish and therefore can’t read your lips, then they don’t have access to the video like somebody else does. Therefore, it’s not only crucial that you add subtitles but that you add subtitles in multiple languages so that everybody has access. Speaking of languages, this touches on the point below.
Keep Language Texts in Mind
When it comes to converting your video into text, you need to keep the language in mind. Many different platforms will have a little button at the bottom of this site that clearly indicates which languages they offer. Try to find a platform that gives you the languages that you need. Don’t forget that you can convert your video into multiple languages and then publish them independently of one another, to suit every hearing and speaking individual.
Using as many languages as possible is important, as it covers a broader spectrum of people. It might even come in handy for you as a videographer, as publishing them with different languages in terms of subtitles might even allow you to garner a larger audience. Say, for example, you had German videos and only had German subtitles. This would keep your audience quite small, limited to only German speakers. However, if your audio was in German but you could add different subtitles in Spanish, Portuguese, English and Norwegian, then you’d essentially be broadening your market of the people who can listen to your videos and read along.
Looking to the Future
As you can see from the above, the most important thing that you need to bear in mind when it comes to converting your video into text is the platform that you use. Try to find a reliable and accurate platform, to ensure that the effort that you’ve put into the video actually translates in the text.
Additionally, it is vital that you keep inclusivity and accessibility in mind. By adding subtitles to videos or even just transcribing videos into text, for those who are not able to view videos, you’re opening a whole world of possibilities for those who do not have all senses.
Lastly, keeping the variety of languages in mind is also crucial. Many individuals only speak one language or only speak two languages and if you’re trying to reach a broad public and also make your information more accessible, you must try to include as many languages as possible.
