Services provided by Uppercase Transcriptions
Voice Transcription
The transcription style may vary depending on the recording’s intended purpose. The styles below are useful as guides, but editing decisions are based on common sense and an understanding of the transcript’s purpose. Please discuss your preferences with Uppercase.
- True verbatim transcription (word-for-word)
- Clean verbatim transcription
- Edited transcription
True verbatim includes everything that has been said including hesitations and half sentences. This form of transcription is mainly used for legal purposes, for example when transcribing ‘under-caution’ police interviews (PACE – Police And Criminal Evidence interviews).
When using clean verbatim, hesitations and meaningless half sentences are omitted in order to maintain the flow and essential meaning of what has been said. Contractions (for example, “that’s” or “I’m”) are retained but grammar will be corrected unless the speaker uses a colloquialism or dialect that is important to retain. Sentence structure is sometimes altered to provide clarity or to correct non-standard English, particularly when English is not the speaker’s first language. Please inform Uppercase if you do not want grammar or non-standard English to be corrected.
Edited transcription (also known as ’intelligent transcription’) is very similar to clean verbatim. It is more formal and sentences are perhaps more readily edited for the sake of clarity or good English. Contractions are usually written in full (for example, “that’s” becomes “that is” and “I’m” becomes “I am”). As in clean verbatim, grammar and sentence structure are corrected.
Edited transcription is mostly used to transcribe speeches or presentations that are intended for publication. The emphasis is on creating full and coherent sentences that convey the essential meaning of what a person is trying to say.
Uppercase can transcribe documents using British or American spelling.
Unless otherwise instructed, Uppercase will use the clean verbatim style with British spelling.
All transcriptions are independently and carefully proofread against the recording.
Video Transcription
Video recordings can be transcribed using the same styles as in voice transcription. In addition:
- descriptions of relevant actions can be added (for example, ‘Mr A signs the Agreement’); or
- each scene can be described more fully in a separate column next to the transcribed speech.
Audio-Typing
Audio-typing differs from transcription in that the author has dictated the recording and no further editing is required – for example, letters, articles or legal documents.